Man Lives in Coffin to Cure Phobia (no kidding)

Granted, this source isn't the highest on the news media food chain, but I just couldn't resist commenting on this story.

There's an old school belief in the field of psychology that in order to conquer a fear, a person has to face it, understand it and then overcome it. Here we have the most extreme and ridiculous example of that philosophy.

Take a look... (the original story is available by clicking the headline above)



A 78-year-old man has built himself a live-in crypt in an attempt to cure himself of a phobia.

Brazilian tourist park operator Freud de Melo suffers from taphephobia - the fear of being buried alive - and has decided to live in a converted coffin in an attempt to ease the condition.

The crypt features a television, a water pitcher, an air vent and tubes which he uses to speak to those outside the contraption.

"I have awful, awful nightmares of trying to dig myself out from underground," said de Melo.

And now, he's still going to have those nightmares. However, from now on, he's going to wake up and find himself in a coffin.

That should be cheery.

Now, I don't know whether he's eventually going to get over this fear or not. However, I do know that there are easier ways of doing it.

You see, the likelihood is that Senior de Melo would never have to face that fear his entire life. By obsessing on it, and then by subscribing to the "face it, conquer it" belief system, he has actually created the situation he feared the most and made it a reality.

The problem isn't that he's afraid of being buried alive. EVERYONE is afraid of that! The problem is that he's obsessing on the thought of being buried alive. It's a thought-pattern, like any other. Some people can't stop thinking about an ex. Some can't stop thinking about cigarettes. The problem isn't the thing... it's the thought.



Everyone is afraid of dying in an airplane crash. That's a realistic, genuine fear. The problem is when a person thinks about it so much, or in such a way, that it becomes overwhelming, even paralyzing.

Understanding the fear (i.e. "flying is statistically safe than driving") does absolutely nothing to calm that fear. The troubling thoughts are coming automatically, directly from the subconscious.

The quickest way to change these thoughts (as yet) is through hypnosis. When your thoughts change, so do your feelings. That's why some of my clients will lose a fear of flying in less than an hour. The change doesn't "make sense" any more than the phobia did, but it works just as well, and it's permanent.

A skilled hypnotherapist could have this guy sleeping better - in a normal bed - in a very short amount of time. It's a shame he's all the way down there in Brazil...