The last couple of weeks will
probably have been the busiest of the year at airports around the country. People heading off to far flung destinations will have been crowding the cafes and concourses waiting to depart. Some will consider their
holiday as having started once they sip on their first wine or beer in the airport bar, whilst others will be attempting to steady their nerves. The seasonal rush to sunny climes will be a time of great excitement for many, but for a sizeable
minority it will be filled with trepidation. These are the folk who fear flying. If you are one of these, your initial pleasure at the idea of a break in the sun or a visit to relatives may quickly dissolve into a time of tension, when you might even be considering the idea of a trip overseas a foolish mistake.
Naturally, the reasons people are afraid of flying differ greatly and so as a therapist it is important for me to discover what the real fear is that triggers their phobic response. It may have been caused by an earlier turbulent flight, a concern about claustrophobia, a fear of being sick or getting an upset tummy. Loss of control is something that is commonly cited by clients, although in
truth we have very little control over most things; it’s the perception of control that has been lost. Anxiety about the inability to ‘get off’ is common too, with the fear of collision surprisingly rare in my experience.
With the causes and concerns being so different it is important that I adapt my approach and not make assumptions as to what is required. I generally set out to discover if a fear relates specifically to flying, to all forms of travel or transport or is instead perhaps connected to Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Knowing whether someone’s fear is very specific or much broader is useful so that I can select my treatment approach.
Whatever the cause of your fear, I’m confident that I can be of help. I’m trained in a number of psychotherapeutic and psychosensory techniques, NLP interventions and of course hypnotherapy and I use all of these methods to help my clients overcome crippling fears and phobias. If you have a flight booked that is beginning to unnerve you, get in touch. Pushing a forthcoming flight out of your mind might seem a smart approach, but it’s best to seek therapy before the prospect of flying is making you anxious. Therapy for phobias can take as few as one session or may require a few appointments, but it is likely to be quicker than you might expect, which is good news, isn’t it.
