Flying anxiety and claustrophobia
In our clinical work it sometimes seems that the work we are asked to do comes in ‘batches’—for example, we might not see a client who has flying anxiety for months, and then suddenly we see five in a week. I’m not sure why this happens—perhaps a particular topic is the subject of a TV show or a newspaper article. The last couple of weeks has been a bit like this. We usually see one or two people a week who suffer from flying phobia, but lately it seems there has been an increase in clients seeking help in this area.
Surveys suggest that in Australia, between 35% and 45% of the population are uncomfortable with flying at some level. This can range from feeling anxious about flying to experiencing severe anxiety or panic attacks when faced with boarding a plane. In an age where most Australians need to fly for business or pleasure, this makes the fear of flying one of the most common phobias.
Even though consciously this anxiety may seem irrational to us, our subconscious mind can create feelings of anxiety because it believes it is protecting us—one of its main functions. As flying is not natural human behaviour, the reaction of the subconscious is quite logical. However, statistically, flying is known to be by far the safest method of travel—far safer than, for example, driving a car or crossing a road, which we all do almost every day without giving the danger a second thought.
Hypnosis for the fear of flying
Re-evaluating the reaction of the subconscious is the first step to successfully overcoming the fear of flying, and hypnotherapy is a proven way of achieving this. At Brisbane Hypnosis Clinic in Hawthorne, we have helped many hundreds of clients regain their confidence and enjoy flying and travelling.
A recent client emailed us after her sessions and a flight saying:
“I am just writing to say thank you thank you thank you!!! I survived my flight to FIJI and back (into a cyclone no less!) without one single white knuckle moment!! You can’t begin to imagine how awesome that feels!! Thank you so very much!! I only wish I’d been to see you sooner!!!”
