Overcoming Fear of Flying – How Safe Are You Up In The Air?

Recently I ran another great Fear of Flying course with the awesome Serena at Sim2Do Flight Simulator Centre in Mildenhall.

On this particular fear of flying course there were a lot of questions about how safe flying actually is. Sure, we are all told that flying is the safest form of transport and so any fears around flying aren’t really rational or logical, yet what are those things in place that mean flying is so safe?

After all, isn’t it just a piece of metal somehow moving through the nothingness of air at the control of some pilot or other in the cockpit??!!

And haven’t we all read the news stories of plane accidents and crashes. If flying is so safe, how come these scary stories seem to keep popping up in news feeds?

Research estimates that anywhere up to 40% of people experience a fear of flying, the experience of an unreasonable amount of anxiety regarding flying and causing it to be avoided or endured with intense anxiety.

On our fear of flying course, we not only include hypnosis and coping mechanisms to reduce anxiety and put you more in control of your thoughts and feelings around the flying process, we also cover anything and everything to do with air safety, how planes work and what exactly goes on behind the scenes to keep you safe.

Here I am enjoying myself at the Flight Simulator Centre whilst Serena took our participant for a flight in the simulator:

Fear of Flying

Some people who have a fear of flying and who come on our course have endured previous traumatic or eventful flights and these have ‘conditioned’ them in how they respond to flying and things associated with it. They may have been involved in flights with some sort of emergency, severe turbulence, diversions, aborted flights or even difficult landings. These fearful experiences can then lead to them worrying and feeling anxious about the prospect of an upcoming flight.

Many other people with a fear of flying may never have flown before and may struggle with the anticipation and thought of being up in the air. Many others will have flown before with no adverse events or traumatic flights yet still, when faced with flying, continue to experience fear, dread and anxiety about it. And, of course, any other prevalence for anxiety can influence, flavour and exacerbate your flying related thoughts and feelings.

And so flying history is only one dimension of the things we work with people to address on our course.

Yet a fear of flying can be more complex than simply experiencing anxiety, fear and dread about flying. It can include elements of feeling trapped, fears about heights and being in a confined space, fears of crashing, worries about severe turbulence and a fear of a loss of control. As many flying phobics point out, in a car (as driver or passenger) there is always the potential option of stopping and getting out, and you may get a sense of control whilst you drive, but in the plane you have to trust the ground staff, the pilot and the traffic controllers. That sort of sense of not being in control can massively exacerbate your fear.

As if that wasn’t enough, many people also worry that they will be anxious when they fly or that they will have a panic attack on the plane. You may worry about how you would cope if you were struggling with extreme anxiety, how you would endure it until landing and what other people might think if it did happen.

If you have ever experienced strong anxiety, dread and fear you will know how draining and unpleasant it is. The prospect of that happening for several hours as you endure your flight can be enough to encourage you to try and back out of flying if you can. People who experience fear of flying report physiological reactions such as muscle tension, tremors, heavy breathing, heart palpitations, chest pain, dizziness, dry mouth and flushed or pale face. They struggle with psychological reactions such as impaired memory, narrowed perceptions, poor or clouded judgement, negative expectancies and preservative thinking. And there can be behavioural reactions such avoidance.

You can experience these sorts of symptoms in anticipation of flying, during flying or even more generally with regard to planes and flying in general. On our course we use research based questionnaires to help identify where your anxiety is strongest so we can focus your course on the areas that will benefit you most.

Overcoming Fear of Flying

On our fear of flying course, Serena and I cover a whole range of factors and aspects around flying to put you more in control with the knowledge and tools you need when you fly.

One aspect that gets covered, as it is often something that is part of the fear, is turbulence. Serena covers a whole wealth of things around the weather and turbulence and what it all means for you whilst you are sat there on the plane (I’ve written a little about this here: Coping with Turbulence and A Fear of Flying). Serena also covers anything you want to know about air traffic control, pilots, how pilots keep the cockpit safe and aircraft maintenance (as well as anything else you may want to know like what all those sounds and movements are all about).

On top of that I take you through some of the most effective techniques and strategies for feeling calmer and more in control before and during your flight (as well as the hypnosis bit).

A well as our fear of flying course you can, of course book the flight simulator experience alone if you think that would be the most useful to help you with your fear of flying, and you can naturally also book hypnotherapy sessions with me if you would like more help and support around flying. It’s everything you need to make your trip a flying success!

To your success

Dan Regan

Overcoming Fear of Flying Hypnotherapy in Ely & Newmarket

You can read and learn more about overcoming the fear of flying by scrolling through the articles here: Phobias And Fears

Seeking help to overcome your fear of flying? Contact Dan now or book your Fear of Flying Course today

Find out what other people have said after their hypnotherapy sessions with Dan: What People Say

And check out these powerful hypnosis downloads that can start helping you right away: Hypnosis Downloads