Overcoming Fear of Flying
Fear of flying is one of the most common phobias, with an estimated 20%-40% of people suffering some form of anxiety associated with flying. This can have a profound effect on people’s lives, interfering with their ability to travel overseas on holidays or for business, effecting their families and their possible career choices.
Hypnotherapy can really help individuals who suffer from fear of flying. It enables the therapist to get in touch with the root cause of the fear and to re-evaluate the thinking patterns and behaviours that drive the anxiety.
I recently came across a fascinating news story about a British schoolboy who was forced to stay in Abu Dhabi for almost 16 months after developing a fear of flying. Joe moved to Abu Dhabi with his family in 2009, but when it was time to fly home in June last year he suffered so much anxiety at the thought of flying that he was unable to board the plane. His dad was forced to stay in Abu Dhabi with his son and begin his search for a way to get Joe home and reunite the family.
It was hypnotherapist Russell Hemmings who was able to successfully treat Joe and enable him to finally board a plane for home. Hemmings, a British hypnotherapist living in the neighbouring emirate of Dubai, treated Joe for three months before he was able to board a Qantas flight home to Heathrow. Even though Joe began to feel anxious at the airport, Hemmings was able to successfully calm him using hypnosis techniques. Weeks of preparation for the flight through therapy sessions meant that the tools Joe needed to allow him to conquer his fear had been deeply planted into his subconscious mind and he was able to tap into these using meditation and deep breathing whenever he felt his anxiety returning.
Joe made it home and was reunited with his mum and his dog, from whom he’d been separated for 16 months, a really happy ending to a traumatic story.
Fear of Flying can be helped through hypnotherapy – if you suffer from this and want to have a chat about how I can help you, give me a call on 0418 942 319 or contact me here. And start planning that overseas holiday!