Do you find flying scary? Are you filled with anxiety just thinking about it? How would you like to think about it instead – excited? Or maybe just bored? Yes, some people are simply bored by flights and can’t wait to land and get off the plane. Some people are excited and enjoy the thrill of the whole process.
The people who come and see me are often not only filled with anxiety during the flight, but also in the days leading up to it, as they anticipate the flight itself. They realise that anxiety about flying is a little stupid, since flying is actually far safer than driving on a motorway. Nevertheless, they have developed an anxiety about flying that they don’t seem to have any control over.
Where Does Fear of Flying Come From
We all have a very primitive fight-or-flight reflex, which is where anxiety comes from. Everyone has different triggers for anxiety, and it manifests itself in many different ways. A common form of anxiety comes from a fear of flying. It is not that the primitive fight-or-flight centre in the brain understands anything about flying – it is simply that it has got things wrong.
There are wildly different estimates for how many people are afraid of flying – estimates that range from 2.5% to 40% of the population. These are people whose holidays are ruined by the worry about the flight, or who avoid taking a flight altogether.
If you are one of them – you might want to consider doing something about it. If you are just a bit nervous and can cope with it all – then maybe you can live with it. However, if you are avoiding flying or even thinking about cancelling your holidays, the read on.
Hypnotherapy is one of several ways you can use to help get over the anxiety you feel about flying. I am going to tell you about hypnotherapy – but if hypnotherapy does not suit you – there are flying confidence courses as well as other types of therapy available. Don’t just live with it – recognise that you can do something about it.
Hypnotherapy for the Anxious Flyer
Anxiety comes from a primitive part of the brain that we have little control over. It contains all the automatic mechanisms we need to escape from danger or fight a foe – things that were very useful to humans when we lived in a more primitive and dangerous society.
It is because we have little control over anxiety that hypnotherapy is a useful tool. It allows us to challenge the idea that flying is somehow scary that lies deep in that primitive part of the brain. It allows us to scramble up that idea and replace it with something more palatable, so that a flight can be relaxing and enjoyable – or even boring – all of which are preferable to the anxiety-ridden flights of your past.
If you are considering hypnotherapy – you are best not leaving it to the last minute. A hypnotherapist cannot magic it all away in one quick session. Ideally, you should be thinking more in terms of three or four sessions in the couple of weeks before the flight.
And Finally …
I work with people with anxiety, in one of its many forms, using hypnotherapy from my clinic in Fleet, Hampshire. I help my clients get back in control of their lives and return to a state of normality. If you would like a chat about a fear of flying, or any other form of anxiety, I would have happy to listen and answer any questions you have about hypnotherapy. Just Contact Me and I would be pleased to arrange a chat on the phone.
Photo by Eva Darron on Unsplash