Flying

With the holiday season on the horizon we have had many enquiries regarding the fear of flying. The first question is whether this is a fear or a phobia. A phobia is probably best described as an irrational fear, so the sufferer should begin by asking themselves if they trust the mechanics of flying – are they afraid that the plane will actually crash. If so, there is not much hypnosis can do to help as their fear is as rational as if confronted by a hungry tiger. But in most cases this fear is seen as irrational because the clients know that it is statistically more likely for them to be killed crossing the street than in a plane crash and that flying is amongst the safest forms of transport. The issues that trigger a negative response are wide and varied – claustrophobia, vertigo, control issues, travel-sickness or memories of a previous trauma.

For example, one client experienced a panic attack during a turbulent flight and was not able to fly again, believing he had developed a phobia. During hypnosis we discovered that the flight had triggered a memory of when he was a small boy travelling in his father’s car on a winding road through the Alps. His mother was screaming for him to slow down – causing fear in her son. He was strapped in a confined space, without any control of the situation - there was violent movement and a sense of panic. All of these ingredients were recreated during that flight some 30 years later, bringing back those memories and affectively regressing him back to a child. Once we had identified the cause of his fear he was able to rationalise what had happened during that flight and he was able to continue flying. We have had particular success in dealing with the fear of flying and will be happy to answer any enquiries.