Fear of flying or travel

It’s that time of year when many people are planning holidays. But for some, the excitement is overshadowed by a fear of flying or travel. If that sounds familiar, know that you’re not alone – and it doesn't have to stay this way. It’s possible to learn how to manage travel anxiety and move forward with confidence.

Where does travel fear come from?

In a typical hypnotherapy session, we look at where the fear originated.

Common roots of travel anxiety:

• It could be a learned reaction. Maybe you grew up with someone who was afraid of flying or travelling, and the fear was learned.
• Perhaps it's a fear of uncertainty of going to a new, unknown place.
• It could be about losing control. The pilot or driver controls the aeroplane or train, or coach.
• Maybe you had an uncomfortable past experience, turbulence, or an aborted landing.

Travel sickness and psychological associations

Travel sickness might be an issue for you. This can arise not just at the thought of flying, but also when travelling by train, coach, or car. Travel sickness tablets and pressure bracelets may help deal with the physical aspects of this.

It's interesting to note that when commercial flying first became widespread, and flying was new and a big adventure, many people were sick. Far fewer are now, which confirms that there is a psychological aspect, as well as a physical one. It can even become a fear of sickness (emetophobia), or fear of the fear. We could explore the psychological aspect of travel fear. It is one of the most common fears that we see in hypnotherapy. 

The ancestral root of travel anxiety

It might help to know that it can be what we call an 'ancestral fear'. This is an unease that can be triggered in some people as they leave their familiar 'cave' and head into the unknown.

In the past, and even today, some people are forced to travel as a result of some catastrophic event in their lives over which they have no control; war, famine, or persecution. The likelihood is that these events would at some point have happened to our own ancestors and can needle into someone's vague sense of unease, without knowing why. 

How can hypnotherapy help?

As soon as you start to shine the light of day on a fear, it starts to become more manageable. Together, we look at coping techniques that you feel comfortable, and that you can actually use – not just for flying, but for any other anxiety-making issue. 

Sometimes, if there has been a poor past experience, it might not have been dealt with and is still causing an emotional reaction. We can go back and ‘diffuse’ old past experiences. You will still know that they happened, but will no longer be affected by them. What was past will finally have been dealt with. 

It might be that you are allowing thoughts to stray into the future: "What if x happens?" Catastrophising is when your mind jumps to the worst possible scenario and fails to be satisfied with any of the possible answers. Challenging scary thoughts can help. Just because you have a thought, it doesn’t mean it’s true.

It’s important to remember that any thought only has a much power as you are prepared to give it. If you dismiss it, it will lose its power. You can acknowledge the thought and realise it is ‘just a thought’. Thoughts are not facts. You can challenge yourself by asking ‘How likely is that?’ or reminding yourself that just because you thought something, it doesn’t mean it's true, or is going to happen.

Maybe you have postponed travelling for a long time. If you have done so, you have inadvertently reinforced the idea that travel is dangerous and best avoided. However, your brain is like a little scientist recording every scary thought, and increasing and reinforcing the fear. It is possible to change your mindset and take it back the other way. It’s not enough to simply tell yourself that it's OK/safe to fly or travel. You actually need to do it to convince your brain that it is safe to change that old mindset.

Avoidance of a situation reinforces that you just escaped the scary thing, when in fact, you might have missed out on a lovely holiday and really regret this afterwards. When you have challenged your fear, always remember to tell yourself well done. Some people forget this important last part, and tell themselves, "Well, I should have been able to do that anyway. Everybody else does." Forgetting and never giving themselves credit that they couldn’t do this last time, but can do it now.

If all or any of the above are making you or someone close to you feel apprehensive about travelling, and when you are away, about returning home, why not reach out to a professional to discuss it further?