The Fear of Flying

Fear of flying is a surprisingly common problem. Before I became a Clinical Hypnotherapist I actually suffered with it myself, so I have a huge amount of sympathy for clients who arrive at my clinic with this phobia.

It can severely limit our horizons, be it for business or pleasure. However, hypnosis can tackle the fear of flying psychologically, and quickly and easily help you overcome your fear by helping you to become more confident about flying.

Air travel has become an everyday means of travel for many, and an essential part of our work and personal lives. But it is estimated that up to one in ten people suffer from a fear of flying. That fear can be generated for various reasons, with myself it was claustrophobia – so sealing me up in a plane and hurtling me into the air wasn’t my idea of fun at all! It can also be caused by a feeling of loss of control.

The subconscious part of your mind is responsible for your survival, generating ‘fight or flight’ responses, so the fear of flying is caused by the unconscious part of your mind warning you that it’s dangerous to get on a plane. Now if the plane was obviously not in a condition to fly then fine, your subconscious is doing a grand job. However, in the case of a flying phobia, that protection mechanism, which is meant to keep you safe, has become over-sensitive and is now a problem.

The client is asked how they would like to feel when they fly, then hypnosis is used to relay this message to the subconscious, alleviating the need for it to become over-protective and generate negative feelings.

Over the years, many people have used hypnosis to not only overcome their fear of flying, but learned to look forward to flying and to enjoy it!