Afraid to Fly? Hypnotherapy May Help
“Can hypnosis for my fear of flying really work?” This is a common question many people in Chicago wondering as they try to work through a flying phobia. Perhaps this describes you?
If so, then you are like a lot of folks who experience serious anxiety at the thought of boarding a commercial aircraft. For some people, just thinking about getting on a flight is enough to cause symptoms of a panic attack.
This article is all about flying phobias and anxiety with the goal of helping you assess how hypnotherapy may help you to work through your fears.
Right off the bat, you need to know that many people are afraid to fly. In fact, a recent report in Time Magazine suggests anywhere from 2-6% of the population struggles with this problem.
What is Fear of Flying Phobia? (Aerophobia)
If you have a phobia involving flying or being on an aircraft, you may a clinical condition that falls under the umbrella of “anxiety disorders”.
Phobias come in all sorts of different shapes and sizes but commonly hold the following characteristics, which have been adapted from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).
Check these out:
1. Excessive, persistent fear of a given object, situation or thing. (Example: Flying)
2. Exposure to the object, situation or thing brings on excessive fear and in some, panic.
3. A recognition that the fear is irrational and excessive
4. Avoidant behaviors related to the feared experience (avoiding flying, airplanes or helicopters)
5. Fearful behaviors are not part of another mental health issue (examples: OCD, PTSD)
People who have an extreme fear of flying are considered to have a situational type phobia, which makes perfect sense when you consider the situation itself involves “taking flight”.
Hypnosis for Fear of Flying
If you are like most people searching for solutions, there is a good chance you are hoping you can visit a hypnotist for one session and your flying fears will magically go away.
If only this were the case. For the vast majority of people, phobias, like most anxiety issues, take time to work through and aren’t ameliorated over the course of an office visit.
That’s not to say it doesn’t happen for some people. But that is usually very rare.
But here’s the good news, according to the research. When hypnotherapy is used to help facilitate other forms of anxiety therapy, such as CBT, people tend to have meaningful results.
What’s important that you know is this. Hypnosis isn’t “therapy” in and of itself. Instead, it’s a tool that can be called upon to help facilitate other forms of therapy.
Be sure to visit this article from the American Psychological Association to learn more.
Fear of Flying Hypnotherapy – Common Bond
Many people who are curious about the use of hypnotherapy for flying fears generally share several common characteristics. Can you identify with any of these?
- Prior bad experience flying (horrible turbulence)
- Has elevated levels of stress
- A difficulty giving up control to others
- Uses alcohol in-flight to “calm nerves”
Hypnosis for Flying Fears – How Does it Work?
You may be wondering how hypnotherapy works for anxiety, panic, and phobias?
Assuming you are working with someone who is a licensed mental health professional who also holds board certification in clinical hypnotherapy, the following usually occurs:
Typical activities:
- An initial appointment to discuss your fear of flying that includes an assessment of your personal health history (medical, mental health, etc.).
- A potential referral to your physician to rule out medical causes for anxiety, such as a physical condition or; medications that may be causing you to experience fear, stress, and worry.
- A determination if hypnotherapy as part of psychotherapy is appropriate for your situation.
- Cognitive rehearsals through guided imagery, which is a mainstay of hypnotherapy.
- An assessment of how your anxiety has been reduced through therapy using Subjective Units of Distress (SUDS).
- Adjunct hypnotherapy that is designed to encourage calmer reactions to flying while helping you to become desensitized to aviation related sounds, movements (turbulence)and sights.
- Instruction on deep breathing techniques, used as coping mechanisms.
- Guidance on how to use self-hypnosis and meditation to promote calmness.
A key feature of hypnotherapy for a fear of flying is creative visualization, coupled with guided imagery. Using this approach, a hypnotherapist will mentally guide you through various flying scenarios.
In this way, you become aware of your fears but not necessarily “afraid”. Calm distance is created between the various things that amp up you up when flying, such as:
- Sudden, unexpected noises
- Turbulence
- Changes in cabin pressure
- Flight deck announcements
- Common, aircraft specific aircraft noises
Hypnotherapy for Phobias and Flying
When you work with a licensed professional who offers hypnotherapy as part of anxiety counseling, you gain the insight of a professional who is able to help you through work through your phobias using a variety of therapeutic modalities.
Common approaches may include:
- Traditional Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Insight-Oriented Counseling
- Behavior Modification
- Relaxation Techniques (Relaxation Hypnosis)
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
- Exposure therapy (example: visiting the airport).
Is Hypnotherapy for Flying Fears Right for Me?
If you have been living with a fear of flying that has caused you to miss out on things like business trips, family vacations or visits to friends/relatives, hypnotherapy may be a powerful tool that can be called on.
Remember, if you have a phobia to flying, you may have an anxiety disorder. This means it’s important that you work with a therapist that has the requisite education and training to help with these types of issues.
Choosing the Best Hypnotherapist
If you are looking for someone that offers hypnosis for phobias, such as flying fears, consider these quick tips.
- Here’s a list of Chicago’s best 5 hypnotherapists for anxiety
- Be leery of anyone who offers “quick fixes” or “instant results”.
- Remember there is no such thing as a magic wand; something your common sense is probably already telling you.
So, how do you pick someone to help you with your needs? Here’s what the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis suggests when searching for a hypnotherapist.
“Choose a health care provider who is properly trained, licensed and credentialed. This means that the individual has graduate training and holds a currently valid license in a health care field, such as medicine, dentistry, psychiatry, psychology, social work, or nursing.”
Getting Help with Flight Phobia in Chicago
If you are considering hypnotherapy to help you with your flying fears, you can contact us using this contact form or call us at 773.528.1777.
We hope you found the material shared in this post helpful. If you want to learn more about flying fears, be sure to visit our flight anxiety page.