Flying Phobia and the Fear of Flying

Recently, someone read an article of mine about overcoming fear of flying and contacted me on behalf of the person with whom she was imminently to take a plane to go on holiday. The friend was in such a state that it was the only way she could think of to help them.

Over the years that I have been working as a hypnotherapist, fear of flying has been one of the phobias I have treated most often. Fear of flying has been found to be common amongst a large proportion of the population.

It is probably not difficult to come up with reasons why that might be, after all we are used to having our feet on the ground and mostly being in the driving seat of our lives. Indeed, most people who come for fear of flying will cite such reasons as feeling unsafe being in a metal tube far above the earth and not being in control of the plane, as reasons for their phobia.

There can of course be many causes to the root of such a fear. It might have resulted from a flight where there was a high degree of turbulence or witnessing someone else’s distress on a first flight, for example.

The reasons why the phobia exists are immaterial although if the fear has resulted from a particular experience, we would deal with that. Basically, what someone is experiencing when that fear comes over them is what we call a conditioned response. In a nutshell, fear has been linked to flying for whatever reason and is triggered whenever a flight is to take place. With hypnotherapy, what we are working on is breaking this old conditioned response and linking the experience of being in a plane with greater calmness, ease and even indifference. Imagine being in a plane able to read, chat and watch the in-flight film as if you were in your own front room!

You can most likely get relief from your fear of flying in a couple of sessions. Ways of working with phobias have become more refined over time, probably because they are so common amongst the population. Now, it is possible to receive therapy for a phobia without actually experiencing the fear itself. The technique I use most frequently puts you into a state of deep relaxation and calm in order to break the old conditioned response.

When receiving therapy for a flying phobia, it is best to come for your sessions within 3 months of your next flying experience. This is so you can test the work and reinforce the positive results with an actual flight. I would also suggest not leaving it until the last minute either. Although you will still benefit if you only decide to take action a day or two beforehand, a slightly longer gap just allows the changes to settle down into your unconscious more fully.

With summer holiday season creeping up on us, there is absolutely no need to suffer with a flying phobia. Your whole trip will be so much better and more enjoyable when you can be indifferent to travelling to the airport and getting on that plane.