Hypnosis for Fear of Flying
You Can Overcome the Fear of Flying with Hypnosis & Hypnotherapy
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The fear of flying is a phobia known as aviophobia or aerophobia where your brain tells you that it is dangerous to get on a plane. The fear is set in motion when the protection mechanism of the brain, which is supposed to keep you safe, becomes over sensitive and creates a problem.
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It is a condition which is surprisingly common in a time when air travel is an everyday occurrence. This can make things complicated, inconvenient and even incapacitating in some instances.
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Different people deal with this fear in different ways. For instance, some may drink alcohol to ease their flight anxiety while others may turn to prescription tranquilizers to calm the nerves. Some others may be afraid to board a plane for fear of losing control and suffering from a panic attack. And then there are those who avoid flying at any given cost.
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The interesting thing is that statistically flying is considered as the absolute safest way to travel. Yet tell that to someone who is afraid of flying and you will see how deeply ingrained the fear is.
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Living With the Fear of Flying
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If you have a fear of flying, then you know how it can interfere with your plans of going on vacation, business trips, visiting family and friends or even simple traveling. Since it affects everyone differently, you may experience uneasiness while making reservations, weeks or days before a flight, during takeoff or landing, or when a flight experiences turbulence.
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Plus, the fear of flying does not mean the same thing for everyone. In fact, individuals suffering from aerophobia related anxiety may exhibit completely different reactions. You, for one, may have a fear of claustrophobia when you board a plane but the next person may be inexplicably afraid of terrorism on board. Likewise, a third party may be hesitant to get on board because they feel the plane might crash.
Even common stressors like being in crowds, in a rush, the wait times, weather delays can be so overwhelming that it may actually prevent people from flying. In some cases the fear of flying may simply stem from other phobias such as agoraphobia or the fear of heights.
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So the levels of distress associated with aerophobia can easily range from mild anxiety to absolute panic or even outright terror when someone with the condition thinks of traveling by air.
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What causes the fear of flying?
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As with other types of fears or phobias, the fear of flying is also generated by the subconscious mind. In fact, by definition, phobias are irrational fears because people are not born with a phobia but are conditioned instead.
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What this means is that a phobia is a ‘conditioned response’ to something unpleasant that may have triggered the fear in the first place. In the case of flight anxiety, it could be something like experiencing extreme turbulence during a flight or even experiencing an emergency landing during one of your flights. In other words, it is a learnt fear where your subconscious goes through an experience which adapts it to the fear.
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Since the fear emanates from the deep recesses of the subconscious mind, it has a strong foothold even in the conscious mind. So while your conscious mind may not actually remember what triggered the fear in the first place, your subconscious just won’t let go. That is why every time you think about being airborne, you stomach might churn, your heart flutter and you feel your fear reaching fever pitch.
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This fear can strike anyone regardless of their age, status, gender or intelligence. Others who do not understand this fear may try to help by reassuring you but it may not be the best course of action. If anything, such reassurance may actually make you feel like the fear is only an invulnerability and that you are weak.
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Instead there is a more effective way of addressing this fear through hypnosis.
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How Hypnotherapy can Help?
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Since phobias are conditioned, the theory stands that they can be de-conditioned as well. Hypnotherapy can help you with this by re-conditioning your mind. This treatment method uses specialized techniques to identify the cause of the fear and then neutralize it at its deepest level. This removes the conditioned response and allows you to not react with fear when faced with the phobic situation again.
Once the phobia gets removed, you can then regain your independence and function in a more rational manner.
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To look at it another way, hypnosis works to connect with the subconscious where the fear is ingrained. Jake Rubin, M.A. works to change the negative thoughts and behaviors associated with flying and make them more positive. This gives you more control over your fear and helps you re-evaluate your reaction.
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Hypnotherapy uses different relaxation techniques along with the power of suggestion to encourage a positive change. Suggestions are completely tailored to your individual needs since the reason for the fear also varies.
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The aim of this treatment is to not only remove the nervous response from the subconscious but also to resolve any past trauma leading to the fear itself. Jake also teach you relaxation techniques to better manage your stress associated with aerophobia.
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Successful hypnotherapy sessions will make you feel like a confident flyer and you will look forward to flying as a rational and comfortable experience.
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Jake Rubin, M.A. of Westside Hypnotherapy has helped countless individuals overcome a fear of flying and can help you as well. Click below if you would like to set up your Complimentary 20 minute phone consultation to find out more, or feel free to schedule an appointment online.