Flight vs Fight?
The holiday is booked, will it be the flight or another fight? New clothes have been bought, the dog’s been booked into a kennel and the neighbour has a key with strict instructions as to when and how often they water the plants. Excitement mounts as the suitcases are packed, the children squabble over what toys they can fit into the case, the tickets have been printed and the day has finally arrived.
Flying Time
With all the organising and rushing to finalise work commitments, it’s time to switch off from everything and look forward to a relaxing two weeks in the sun. However – amongst all that planning you recognise that feeling of dread creeping in. You remember the flight. It starts as general anxiety but you brush it off but it is there, niggling in the background and as the day of departure nears, the physical symptoms kick in. Suddenly butterflies appear in your stomach, you may become clumsy, short-tempered and as the panic silently settles in as a permanent resident in your body, the memories invade your head and you remember why you dread this time of the year. You hate flying! You cannot bear to think of the flight ahead.
Rationalisation the Flight
No matter how you try to rationalise it to yourself, that flying is the safest mode of transport, that air pockets are a natural occurrence that the aeroplane drops through safely and that the pilot and crew have gone through years of training and that their expertise will ensure a safe flight – you can’t get over the fear.
‘What if’ becomes the mantra over and over again in your head. What if the pilot has a heart attack during the flight? On the other hand, what if a flock of birds fly into the engine during the flight? Or, what if there is a bomb on the plane? What if the plane overshoots the runway? Of course, any of these objections could happen but common sense has to prevail. The bus you take to your work every day could crash if the driver took unwell. A dog could run in front of your car and cause you to crash. There could be a bombing at your local shopping mall or someone could crash into you as you go about your everyday business.
Fear and the Flight
It is all about putting everything into perspective. All the above events could and have happened to people in the past. However, you can’t let fear ruin every moment of your life. A little bit of fear is okay as it keeps you alert and safe. We are all different. What one person sees as a thrill, another sees as the most awful experience. What one person can brush off as an unfortunate event and continue as normal can leave the other person mentally debilitated for life by the trauma of what they experienced. It is because aeroplane crashes are so rare that they make the headlines in the first place. Car crashes and other accidents rarely make the headlines. This is because they are such common occurrences and unfortunately happen regularly.
Flying and Hypnotherapy
So how can hypnotherapy help you to overcome the fear of flying and enjoy it? Hypnotherapy can help with the individual symptoms that make up the overall feeling of impending doom felt by the person afraid of flying. The therapist will begin by using techniques to relax the client. These techniques will allow the person to separate the physiological sensations felt when they think of flying. The therapist may question the client and ask what exactly it is that he fears. It could be that he just doesn’t like the physical sensations often felt when the aeroplane takes off and lands or goes through turbulence. Or perhaps it’s just the possible end result – somehow crashing. Or perhaps it is the fear of his loved ones being in potential danger.
The therapist can bypass the conscious mind and address the unconscious mind to rationalise the fear. By treating the physical signs of anxiety and using techniques to remain calm, the person will no longer be alerted by these physical prompts which immediately send signals to the brain to react. The therapist will also intercept the signals the brain sends to the body via adrenaline rushes whenever they think of flying by reprogramming the mind to accept flying as a safe and effective way to travel. The therapist will ask the client to concentrate on the end result. That is, an enjoyable holiday away from everyday life, enjoying new experiences and seeing his family happy.
“No one has ever collided with the sky”
