Hypnosis And Fear Of Flying
Can you imagine flying and not being able to leave your seat or take off your clothes? The fear of flying is one of humankind’s greatest phobias. It affects 9% of people and is estimated that there are over 18 million people in the world who have an irrational fear of flying. One possible cause could be that hypnotized individuals actually create their own fears as a result of subconscious suggestion. Every time a person perceives something negative about going in for flight, such as thought-images about crashing, they will develop a fear towards it. In order to help someone overcome their fear, it requires hypnosis therapy from a trained professional.
Most people with flying phobia are afraid to fly alone and in most cases they are ashamed to admit their fears. They constantly feel anxious in airports, security check points, take offs and landings. There are many people who try to overcome their fears by taking sedatives before flying or simply not fly at all. The fear of flying is the most common of all phobias and the most difficult to treat.
Fear of flying
Hypnosis for fear of flying therapy has been proven effective in so many studies that psychologist have now recommended it as a first choice for treatment of this disorder. As with any phobia, it takes time and patience to treat the problem from its roots through hypnosis sessions. The first session must be done away from public places and flights, as it is likely that someone with the fear of flying would run away screaming in a panic.
The flight phobia can be overcome in two ways. One is through the hypnotist suggestion that resolves the problem instead of diminishing it. The second method is to treat the phobia by going under hypnosis, which will minimize its effects on one’s life. Any person who has the fear of flying should not rush into any treatment until they have given it adequate thought, because a wrong decision can actually intensify their fear and cause panic in public places or take-offs and landings.
A guide to recognize a good hypnotherapist is by checking out their certification. Control and regulation of the hypnotist should be done by an independent body that oversees all hypnosis
qualifications, training and ethical practice. If you would like to find out more about fear of flying hypnosis, then please visit this website for information on useful resources for treatment: http://www.fearofflyinghypnosis.com/
Hypnotherapy can be used to help people with their flying phobia recover and they should not feel embarrassed that they suffer from this problem, because it is very common. It will be helpful for anyone to go for hypnosis before making any decisions about how to solve this problem. Once this is done, then the phobia can be treated from the subconscious mind and one can then fly without any fear, as hypnosis is all about positive thinking and relaxation.
Pilot’s fear of flying has been discussed by a number of writers in professional fields such as aviation, psychology, psychiatry and medicine. In 1929 the first study was made public that proposed that the fear of flying may have its origins in childhood or even pre-birth experiences. Next came Freud’s theory in 1939 that proposed that all fears are weakened or exaggerated reactions to childhood experiences. Some of these studies also explored the relationship between flying phobia and anxiety and how this could be treated. In the 1960s psychiatric research started to explore hypnosis as an alternative method of treatment.
One of the first well-documented cases where hypnosis was used to treat flying phobia was in 1964. This involved a 26-year-old male who was treated with general relaxation followed by gradual desensitization and direct suggestion for irrational fear of flying by means of hypnotic suggestions for relaxation, positive imagery, direct suggestions for relaxation, positive imagery etc.,. The patient was then able to take a flight from London Heathrow Airport to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport without any problems. The patient was a British airline pilot who since childhood had had strong phobia. It was found that his fear arose from an unconscious fear of choking which he attributed to a disturbing experience when he was about three or four years old. He was treated with hypnosis and after some hypnotherapy sessions he no longer feared flying. This illustrates very well the approach that can be used to treat this phobia. The second case focused on the use of hypnotic techniques in treating a young lady who experienced unreasonable panic on being alone in her aircraft cockpit, especially during take-off and landing situations. This study was also conducted in 1964 and involved an 18-year-old woman who was able to fly without any difficulties after a single hypnotic session.
In 1975 another case of a flying phobia in a pilot treated with hypnosis featured in the literature. This included the use of direct suggestion and patient role playing. "Hypnosis has been used, with considerable success, to treat such psychoneuroses as claustrophobia, agoraphobia, social neurosis and flying phobia". This case study is significant as it shows that hypnosis can be used to treat these types of neuroses.
Attempts were later made to combine hypnosis with the use of psychoeducation and social skills training among other strategies. This was seen as an effective combination, although it too has been found that they are not as effective as using these techniques alone.
In today’s world there is still a lot of research work that needs to be done in order to fully understand flying phobia, stress relief, anxiety and relaxation etc. However there are many hypnotherapists out there who have had extensive experience in the field and have been able to successfully treat the problem with hypnosis therapy both alone and in combination with other therapies. The success rate today is high enough to recommend this approach for flying phobia treatment without reservations.
"The Air Traveler’s Phobia" is a self-help guidebook and tape program published in 1979 that has been of special interest to hypnotherapists. This was the first self-help book for the treatment of flying phobia and many others have followed suit. It is not just a book but also a tape guide which highlights key points from the text. However this method has been described as a one-sided view as it provides no guidance or help, only instructions on how to use it.
In recent years, there have been new developments in the area of fear of flying such as the technique of virtual reality exposure therapy developed by Ashton-Miller et al. in the United States. These techniques use the combination of a virtual reality and exposure therapy to treat the fear. The fear is increased during exposure and decreased by the lavender or blue gel anesthesia goggles which prevents eye movement during exposure. It has been found that this hypnosis therapy is very effective in treating flying phobia for some people and could be a viable treatment option. Some people report visual flashes but don’t consider these as a problem as long as they are able to concentrate on other things while flying in the airplane without any problems whatsoever.
Conclusion
Flying phobia is a common issue that can affect anyone and this is why it is important to seek out any help that you need. There are many modern techniques that can help alleviate the fears of flying and today there are also self-help books available on the subject as well as many therapists with experience to help you overcome your fear of flying.
References:
Liebert, Raymond, L., & Morris, Herbert, J. (1962). Fear of flying: A psychiatric problem? American psychologist 17(2), 200-207
Pekeris, George N. (2004). The search for the causes and treatment of the fear of flying phobia.