Podcast 19: Fly with confidence with hypnotherapy. Today I’ll be talking about fear of flying, how this is commonly experienced and how you can use hypnotherapy to help you fly with confidence. Listen to the podcast for my 5 top tips for a calm, relaxed state of mind.

There will also be a free hypnotherapy audio at the end of this podcast that you can enjoy, keep and come back to time and time again. 

Are you one of the many people who find it a bit nerve wracking to fly? Does the thought of it give you butterflies or knots in your stomach?

Fear of flying is one of the most commonly experienced phobias, ranging from mild anxiety to full blown panic which can feel irrational at times. A fear of flying can interfere with holidays with loved ones or business travel which could make you avoid that career you’ve always wanted or going to that country you’ve always wanted to visit. A holiday is supposed to be relaxing, if the thought of flying makes your blood run cold it can make what should be a relaxing experience a really tense and uncomfortable experience.

Why do we experience a fear of flying and how does this turn into a phobia?

A phobia usually builds up over time, it might start with a small incident like

• Bad turbulence or having to make an emergency landing
• Seeing accidents on the news
• Someone you know might have a fear of flying and this has transferred to you, perhaps a parent or guardian had a fear of flying when you were a child?

There are many different aspects of flying that can create anxiety which can include worrying about

• Terrorism
• Fearing the plane will crash
• Claustrophobia
• Fear of panic attack
• Fear of heights
• Worrying about the pilot or their abilities

These anxieties all start with the flight or flight response which is there to protect us. It’s a response all mammals have, when we experience something that we perceive as exciting or dangerous our bodies and minds make a snap decision.

Do we fight or run? This causes a reaction within us that we have no control over. It is an automatic reaction to the stimulus. Humans are so intelligent that we can turn this response on just by thinking about something we find stressful and this is why thinking about being in a plane, booking a holiday, looking at a plane in the sky or seeing your luggage in the cupboard can cause this reaction and make you feel anxious. Our minds can’t tell the difference between a real and a perceived threat so our bodies react in the same way to a thought as they would to a physical threat.

How do you know if your fight or flight response has been triggered?

Commonly people will experience

• Sweating
• Feeling tense
• Racing heart beat
• Shallow breathing
• Dry mouth
• Feeling sick or actually being sick
• Worrying about the flight for days, weeks or months in advance
• feeling claustrophobic
• feeling out of control
• feeling fidgety or uncomfortable
• or having a panic attack

Hypnotherapy is a great tool to help you make the changes you need to overcome a flying phobia. You can reduce the symptoms the anxiety causes and change your subconscious reactions to flying in a calm and relaxed state of mind. As I’ve said before, there are many different aspects of flying that can cause anxiety and there is an intervention for each one of these. Reducing anxiety and increasing relaxation will help you fly with confidence!

Looking into your reaction to flying, or the thought of flying, can help change the experience in the future. This gives you more control over your thoughts, feelings and reactions when you want to fly.

There are numerous techniques that can help you fly with confidence so if you find you need more help visit www.altptherapies.co.uk to have a bespoke recording made for you with your challenges in mind.