Traditional fear of flying courses typically concentrate on the fear of a plane crashing but having successfully used hypnotherapy for the treatment of fear of flying for eighteen years, I have found a multitude of reasons why people are terrified of getting on that plane.
Fear of flying may have something to do with a conscious fear of crashing but considerably more to do with other hidden subconscious fears.
It may involve a person being a nervous flyer because they suffer from claustrophobia and the thought of being ‘trapped’ in a seat for eight hours is a very frightening prospect.
Sometimes a person does not like to be in a situation where they feel they are not in control. These people typically lead very controlled lives and have specific traits e.g. always wanting to drive rather than be a passenger.
More common is a fear of turbulence, and not just the feelings of movement but also the associated fears of vomiting in front of others, the subsequent embarrassment or not being able to get to the toilet in time.
As you can see, helping a person to overcome Fear of Flying is therefore not a straight-forward process and requires specialist therapy.
Several studies have found that up to 40 percent of people have some degree of anxiety about flying, said Dr. Lucas van Gerwen, an aviation psychologist and professional pilot.
Several studies have found that up to 40 percent of people have some degree of anxiety about flying, said Dr. Lucas van Gerwen, an aviation psychologist and professional pilot.
Some hypnotherapy techniques involve the therapist making positive suggestions whilst a person is in hypnosis that the fear has disappeared. In my experience this can be a temporary solution only because the root cause of the fear will still be present.
I believe that the only permanent solution is to locate and address the root causes of the fear. Most likely these are lodged in the subconscious mind and have been there since the person was a young child. Sometimes these fears remain un-triggered in the subconscious for years, but a trauma in later life, such as a bad experience on a flight can cause this fear to become triggered and become a major issue. This isn’t a complicated process and can sometimes be treated in only a few sessions.
I am an award winning hypnotherapist with 18 years of experience in helping people with a fear of flying. Call now to book an initial consultation or just a chat to see how you can finally be free from your fear
“I’ve been terrified of flying all my life, absolutely terrified. When I got this job I knew I’d have to fly, which I hadn’t done for years, but I couldn’t turn it down.
I’ve done every type of therapy, fear of flying courses, in-flight simulators, I’ve had drugs, hypnosis, everything, but then somebody recommended a regressive hypnotherapist called David Samson who I saw for eight sessions over three months. The idea is that your fear is learnt behaviour and that you weren’t born scared of flying. It’s hard to explain to someone who isn’t afraid of flying, but whatever he did, it worked.
Last October I went to Tokyo and when it was bumpy on the return flight I slept all the way back, whereas normally I’d be in physical pain and completely terrified, unable to do anything”
Alexandra Shulman
Former Editor of Vogue
Copyright Georgia Kuhn – Telegraph Magazine 2012
“Hi David,
As promised, positive proof that I made it to California!
Well, once again thank you so much for taking me from that “no way” beginning session through to the “I can do this” stage and then coming through the whole experience drawing on our sessions to help me along the way – I will continue to use that positivity wherever I can.”
Luisa Marshall
