Fear of flying

Fear of flying

Many people experience anxiety when they have to get on a plane. Some people are distressed when taking-off or landing, when they encounter turbulence or anything unexpected or unexplained, or just sitting in the enclosed space of the cabin. For some people the fear of flying is overwhelming. Flying is something they dread or choose to avoid altogether.

While it is natural to experience some degree of nervousness as a passenger, a phobia is not rational. No amount of ‘self-talk’ on its own is going to cut through your fear and reassure you. You can think of a phobia as a bunch of tightly wound neurons that fire in anticipation of what you fear. This can lead to panic, and in extreme cases, avoidance of flying.

How does hypnotherapy for fear of flying work?

Hypnosis provides a form of experiential learning. In a deeply relaxed state, you can experience new ways of viewing and controlling your fear. The tightly wound neurons your subconscious has created and reinforced over time can be unravelled, loosened, and set free.

How does hypnotherapy differ from CBT or exposure therapy?

One of the greatest barriers to overcoming a phobia is avoidance. By avoiding what it is that you fear, you never learn that you are capable of confronting and overcoming your fear. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and exposure therapy work by helping you learn to adjust your cognitions (thoughts) toward the feared stimulus, while gradually exposing you to what you fear.

Hypnotherapy provides a kind of ‘virtual’ exposure therapy, using dissociation techniques and reframing to target your thoughts and feelings toward flying. Under hypnosis, you are more open to suggestion without your conscious habitual thoughts getting in the way, which means you can learn to overcome your fears quickly and easily.

Overcome your fear from the comfort and safety of your chair

If your fear is holding you back from experiencing your life fully, help is at hand. From the comfort and safety of your chair, you can learn to control your fear, to relax, and to enjoy your experience of flying. So what are you waiting for?

Christine offers mindfulness and hypnotherapy in beautiful Byron Bay. Skype sessions also available. Learn more.

Photo credit: chris.alcoran, flickr