fear-of-flying-hypnosis.com
fear of flying
g. m. johnson, phd ~ clinical psychologist
hypnosis for fear of flying
hypnosis tapes for fear of flying
fear of flying is irrational
the capacity and ability to ignore dangers
treatment of fear of flying
controlling fear via the "unconscious"
hypnosis - powerful, natural healing
what head-cleaners' "free to fly" does
other resources to conquer fear of flying
Fear of flying is a common dilema, made all the more common by recent events. Fear of flying is a fear of travel by airplane that causes severe distress, panic and/or avoidance of flying.
Fear of flying is basically a condition that is contributed to by the fact that most of us seldom need to fly. When we hear of an automobile accident the shock and dismay that we experience would in all likelihood cause fearfulness of riding by car if it were not for the fact that we immediately deal with our anxiety by getting into our car and going somewhere within minutes or hours of the impact of the information about the accident. Certainly there are people who on hearing of a car accident do not want to be in their car after that and, as a consequence of avoiding driving, the fearfulness increases. These people ultimately need counseling or some sort of help like antianxiety meds or hypnosis.
hypnosis
Hypnosis can be a very effective, empowering solution to the problem of aviophobia -- fear of flying. Hypnosis can provide relaxation and substantial or complete relief from the claustrophobia, feelings of powerlessness, negative thoughts, panic, anxiousness and fearfulness often associated with fear of flying.
hypnosis tapes
Hypnosis via recording offers most of the benefits associated with in-person hypnotherapy at much less cost and with much more freedom of scheduling. Hypnosis via recording is a blend of the benefits of in-person hypnosis and self-hypnosis. Hypnosis is a very effective, alternative medicine solution to any difficulty that has at its root unconsciously mediated reactions, attitudes, urges or beliefs.
fear of flying is irrational
Fear of flying is irrational -- that is, it isn't a rationally thought through fear. It isn't practically, rationally thought through. Though fear of waiting may be very rational these days when it comes to using modern aviation as transportation, fear of flying (even these days) is a fear of a mode of transportation that is statistically safer than the transportation methods most people use to get to the airport.
Fear of flying is rational in the sense that there actually are things to fear about flying. But fear of flying can be said to be irrational, too, in that individuals who experience fear of flying do not fear many other things in their lives that are actually as dangerous or even much more dangerous than flying is. The most obvious example is the individual who fears flying but drives a car without concern, mentioned above. And there are thousands of other examples that may be less obvious but just as accurate. It is a simple fact of life that there is no way to be completely safe in any real physical sense anywhere, ever, and that everyone completely ignores hundreds of dangers every day -- dangers that loom over their life and that hopefully have been judged as dangers that nothing can be done about.
There is no actual safety. All safety is relative and many potential dangers are simply beyond doing anything about. The air in one's house may be dangerous even with windows open. Butter may be dangerous, margarine may be dangerous and insufficient fat in the diet may be dangerous. I hear that my diet coke is dangerous, my love of fish is dangerous, my love of meat is dangerous, insuffient meat is dangerous and leaving out carbohydrates might be dangerous. And trusting anyone but yourself might be dangerous but trusting myself to do better than a trained, expert professional might be more dangerous. The earth may quake, an asteroid may hit, aliens from another dimension may invade, the water and air may run out and the Big Bang threatens to reverse itself. Just hide in the basement? No, if the raydon gas doesn't get you, an earthquake, an asteroid or just an accidental fire upstairs and you'd be safer blindfolded and alone on the median of a busy highway.
the capacity and ability to ignore dangers
Good news! Everyone has the capacity and the ability to ignore dangers that they can't do anything about. The evidence of this fact is in the observation that life is so repleat with mild and moderate dangers that no one could have any kind of life if they paid attention to even a large portion of them. Ask yourself how often you have heard that the dinosaurs were completely wiped out by an asteroid. Ask yourself how often much of your life you spend fearful and in panic about the fact that an asteroid might be about to hit the earth. Absolutely everyone living is ignoring some potential dangers. Even the individual who is functionally paralyzed by his or her fears is ignoring the fact that being functionally paralyzed is a vulnerable, dangerous position to be in.
controlling fear via the unconscious
It is in the unconscious mechanisms of the mind that decisions are made with respect to which things are worth paying attention to and worrying about and which are not -- and how worries are rank ordered. Decisions about which things we pay attention to and worry about are made by unconscious mental processes that are not directly available to think about or "consciously" control.
Some people find it unsettling to think that part of their thinking and learning takes place outside their conscious awareness but this is just another one of those realities of life that a person just has to accept. These unconscious processes are normal parts of our minds and make up a big part of who we are. Life works best this way. You wouldn't have time to orderly pay attention to the process of every thought process. It is more efficient to have hundreds or thousands of things going on and only focusing attention on a few.
The mind - pretty much everyone's mind - is wired at an unconscious level to be very cautious of dangers and is wired in a manner that makes it very tough if not impossible to simply consciously decide to ignore. The mind takes in information in a variety of ways, processes it and makes changes in priorities, danger warnings, etc. in complex ways that science is only barely able to guess at.
Just because inner thought processes can't be controlled or monitored doesn't mean we can't learn ways to modify those processes. For most of the complex value systems that people construct in their minds without really being consciously aware of doing so, we don't really know why someone's mind decides to worry about this and not about that. We do know, however, how to sometimes influence or change those inner decisions. Breathing, for example, for most folks is very easy to moderate. Heart rate and blood pressure, too, can be monitored and moderated using relaxation techniques or biofeedback. Much of what operates "unconsciously" can be "consciously" changed, fine-tuned or turned off through various forms of learning and pursuasion techniques -- i.e., reward, punishment, hypnosis, observational learning, biofeedback and meditative techniques.
As with most phobias, fear of flying is usually a fear reaction that is due to an unconscious thought process - an unconsciously occurring reaction to the thought of some aspect of flying - that is usually the result of a fearful thought or experience at some time in the individual's distant past. The unconsciously occurring reaction is a response meant to be protective but it is exaggerated and limiting and in many cases the cause of difficulties in jobs and relationships. It is an irrational intended-to-be-protective fear that cripples rather than protects -- in the same manner that being fearful about leaving one's house is a protective fear that cripples.
the treatment of fear of flying
Fear of flying - like most fears - can be treated by altering the mental mechanisms that cause the fear reaction. This is sometimes easier said than done but often much easier than people expect. One of the most effective, lasting treatment of fears is called "desensitization." Desensitization occurs when a) you experience a fear stimulus, b) you resist urges to escape or run from it and c) everything goes okay. The basic therapeutic formula is to experience the fearful stimulus while reminding yourself to relax rather than run. Another very effective means of treating fear of flying can be via hypnosis focused on sustained relaxation, thoughts distracted from fears, increased subjective experience of time traveling, increased feelings of pride and self esteem in even small successes, reduced feelings of claustrophobia or powerlessness, ease in falling asleep if wanted and increased ability to focus on reading, writing, listening to music, etc.
hypnosis - powerful, natural healing
Hypnosis is a powerful, natural healing modality that has the potential to access and influence unconscious mental processes indirectly through the use of imagination and deep focus of attention. Though not effective with all people in all situations, for most individuals hypnosis can be a powerful, effective, empowering tool that can eliminate or markedly reduce fears about flying.
What head-cleaners' "free to fly" Does
The head-cleaners hypnosis recording "free to fly" reduces or eliminates the fear of flying through a progressive set of imageries and suggestions that focus on a) utilizing already present and practiced conscious and unconscious mental processes that make it possible to be unconcerned and calm about potential dangers that one cannot do anything about, b) reducing anxiousness, claustrophobic feelings and feelings of powerlessness, c) making time pass more quickly, d) developing relaxation "triggers" associated with certain aspects of the airplane passenger experience and e) increasing the ability to pay attention to other things or sleep during flight. The recording (available in both tape cassette and CD format) presents the same voice saying slightly different things in the left and right channels of the stereo recording. There are two versions of the two voices presented together -- one with a background sound of an airplane flying by and one without (on the tape cassette these are sides A and B and in CD format, each version is on a separate CD of the two CD set). Suggestions are presented in a very indirect, permissive manner and a transcript of the hypnotic material can be accessed and read prior to or after listening so that the listener can be assured there is nothing tricky or heavy-handed in the hypnosis.