How Hypnotherapy Can Help You Overcome Your Fear of Flying
Flying can be quite an uncomfortable feeling for some. The fear can vary greatly from person to person. Some can get on a plane and feel uneasy for the entire flight, while others can’t even get themselves on a plane at all. Just the thought of flying will make them feel uncomfortable and they will avoid the situation at all costs. For some, the thought of not being able to fly will create a sense of anxiety because they feel like they are being held back or limited. Whatever the feeling or situation, it all depends on the individual and is based on personal and past experiences. The good news is that there are options to help you face and work through your fear of flying. This article aims to inform you on how hypnosis and hypnotherapy can help you work through your fear of flying.
It is estimated that roughly 1 in 3 adult Americans are either anxious about flying (18.1%) or are afraid to fly (12.6%). The reasons why include a fear of mechanical problems during the flight, bad whether, flying at night, or flying over a body of water. Although there are risks involved when taking a flight, they are extremely small when compared to everyday things we encounter in day to day life. Life involves risk, but when you look at the stats, flying is a very safe form of travel. In fact, it’s much more dangerous to drive a car. There is only a 1 in 11 million chance of being involved in an airplane accident! And it’s estimated that 96% of passengers survive airline accidents! All of these statistics were provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). You actually have a greater chance of being struck by lighting (1 in 3000) in your lifetime than ever being involved in an airline accident. All this being said, rationally there is really nothing to fear or be afraid of. Why do these thoughts. emotions and feelings persist?
Why Do I Fear Flying And What Can I Do About It? The reason is because the fear is irrational. Nothing to feel bad about either, it’s just the way we are wired as humans. It’s a survival mechanism that kicks in and makes us react before we stop and take the time to process and think things through. Evolutionarily, if our predecessors hadn’t been designed this way we may have never have survived as a species. Life was more chaotic back in the day. Imminent danger was around every corner, as our hunter / gatherer ancestors roamed the planet. As we have evolved, our brains have changed but remnants of the past still follow us. We are capable of thinking through things and allowing ourselves to view our irrational fears and phobias in a different light. Our personal experiences and culture teach us what to fear. This doesn’t mean we can’t learn to view them from a different perspective. If you are willing to welcome change, then change is possible. If you are willing to face your phobia and work through irrational thoughts, you can free yourself from those unwanted feelings.
How Can Hypnotherapy & Self-Hypnosis Help Me Manage My Fear? Many fears and phobias can be deeply seeded within the unconscious. You may be surprised at what the initial cause is. These are “programs” or experiences that have taught us how to cope in a particular situation. Though this is a learned behavior, it can be re-learned or looked at in a different way in order for you to incorporate a more desired response.
We are highly adaptable and hypnotherapy is a tool that can help you revisit and revise old unwanted responses to situations. There is also a lot of positive scientific and medical literature to support its use. Typically 4-5 sessions, with continued self-hypnosis practice at home can help most people feel drastically better about what is troubling them.
Hypnosis is not for everyone, but it has been shown to have beneficial effects in helping people manage their fear of flying. I’d be happy to further discuss this with you if you would like to learn more.
If you have any questions, interested in trying out a session, or getting a personalized self-hypnosis recording made, please reach out and feel free to send me an e-mail.
Written By: Sebastian Di Cesare PhD, RHt - a research scientist & practicing Registered Hypnotherapist based in Vancouver, Canada.
