Hypnotherapy is a popular and potentially powerful way to help people overcome fear of flying and specific triggers like turbulence.
But how does it work?
We ask hypnotherapist and member of Hypnotherapy Directory Tim Maude how hypnotherapy can help with fear of flying. He answers some key questions, including whether hypnotherapy can treat fear of flying and how it can help some people cope with turbulence in the moment.
Tim, can hypnotherapy help with turbulence anxiety?
Hypnotherapy is an excellent way of dealing with all aspects of fear of flying, including anxiety about turbulence, anxiety about landing and takeoff, fear of not being in control, fear of the aircraft crashing, as well as claustrophobia induced by being inside an aircraft.
Hypnotherapy can help with anxiety that arises before the flight, as well as “in the moment” anxiety that occurs during the flight.
Hypnotherapy works by “rewiring” those parts of your brain that operate independently (often called the subconscious). You are probably sick and tired of friends telling you that flying is safe. Of course, they are right, but the anxiety centre in your subconscious does not respond to logical argument.
How does hypnotherapy address the root causes of fear of flying?
Maybe you previously had a bad experience of flying, or just worry a lot about what could go wrong. It doesn’t matter where the fear comes from – what matters is getting rid of it.
The root cause of your fear of flying is an over-stimulated survival instinct that lies deep in your subconscious. In neuro-scientific terms, it is an over-active amygdala, which develops an erroneous view that flying is somehow dangerous. It attempts to protect you from this “danger” by making you anxious, so that you will be ready to run away when danger strikes!
Hypnotherapy addresses this part of your brain so as to change its view on flying, resulting in a calmer, or even an enjoyable experience.
Can hypnotherapy help with anticipatory anxiety before a flight?
Worrying about the forthcoming flight produces anxiety that is often worse than the flight itself. It can start days, weeks or even months before the flight. The more you worry, the worse it seems to get. The worry reinforces the subconscious idea that flying is dangerous.
Hypnotherapy helps you calm the anxiety caused by anticipation of the flight by subtly addressing the subconscious, and defusing the idea that flying is somehow dangerous.
How many sessions does it usually take to see a difference?
I usually advise clients who have a fear of flying to see me for three one-hour sessions. These can be face-to-face or online.
- Session 1 is about understanding how the subconscious parts of the brain create a fear of flying, and also about getting used to hypnosis.
- Session 2 is about dealing with past bad experiences of flying so that memories of them are less traumatic.
- Session 3 is about recalibrating the subconscious so that it starts to view flying as safe. The best time for this session is a few days before an actual flight.
Some clients have a lot of other anxiety issues, in which case, I would recommend that these are tackled first.
Can hypnotherapy help me cope with my turbulence anxiety in the moment?
Turbulence is a normal part of flying. When turbulence happens without any warning we all feel a sudden shock run through us. If you have a fear of flying, however, this shock can trigger a massive surge of anxiety that lasts a lot longer than the turbulence itself.
Hypnotherapy will not prevent the sudden shock that everyone feels when a plane unexpectedly hits a patch of turbulence. However, hypnotherapy can calm down the anxiety that builds immediately afterwards.
How is hypnotherapy different from approaches like CBT for fear of flying?
CBT is more analytical than hypnotherapy. It helps you understand what happens when you are overwhelmed with anxiety, which may be different from other people’s experience. Changes to thinking patterns and actions can then help bring the anxiety under control.
Hypnotherapy, on the other hand, works more subtly. You may not be aware of the changes as they are happening, or what you are doing to make the change. By getting you to think about flying in a very different way, the subconscious can be “rewired” and allow the anxiety to dissipate.
You just need to choose an approach that works for you.
Get help from the experts
This is the latest in our series of Expert Insights. In this series, experts tackle the questions you have, including how CBT can help with fear of flying and turbulence. If you need to understand what’s causing your fear of flying – and ways you can deal with it – check out our Help Desk and download the Calm Flight Toolkit.
If you want a structured way to cope with fear of flying, check out the Fly Above Fear system.
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