Fear of flying: Top 10 reasons and how to overcome them

Flying - logically and statistically, it’s harder to find a safer form of travel. And yet, the thought of it can leave you shaking like a leaf. Whether it’s turbulence, a fear of being sick, or simply not knowing why you feel uneasy, you're not alone.

The good news is that any behaviour that you’ve learned can be unlearned. Let’s explore the most common reasons people fear flying – and how hypnotherapy and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can help.

Top 10 reasons people fear flying

1. Loss of control

There you are trapped in a metal tube, strapped in. You control none of the variables: how high you are, how fast you fly, how long it will take, the weather. Everything is in the lap of the gods. It’s the same for people who dislike rollercoasters, cable cars and zip lines. It’s all out of your hands.

2. Turbulence

Linked to a loss of control, suddenly the plane jolts. Drinks slop. Some people may suddenly squeal. You’ve seen the disaster movies where the worst happens (it’s a film).

3. IBS

You’re worried about proximity to the toilet. Say you’ve got a window seat. Will you get out in time? Will you be up and down all the time, and feel embarrassed? You start to feel out of sorts at the check-in gate, worried about where the nearest toilet is. You keep this feeling going as you board.

4. Emetophobia (fear of vomiting)

You’re afraid you’re going to be sick. After all, there’s a sick bag in the pocket in front of you. You’re also afraid someone near you will be sick. Emetophobia is also linked to your fear of losing control or being unable to escape a situation, like a plane.

5. Learned behaviour

Someone in your family is afraid. Or you hear someone say, “Oh, we’re all terrible travellers in this family”, and you take it on board as a truth. You believe the adult. You accept this is normal behaviour.

6. Claustrophobia or agoraphobia

You’re trapped in a metal tube. Cramped up in your seat. The person in front has put their seat back. There’s no escape. On the other hand, maybe you look out the window, and there’s a wide open space in all directions. There’s a vast ocean of nothingness. Alternatively, you might be afraid of heights. Most jets are flying at a height greater than Everest.

7. Fear of panic attacks

Quite literally, you’re afraid you’re going to be afraid. You think you’re going to have a panic attack in front of others and all the negative associations that come with it:

• Fear - you’re somehow incapable.
• Shame - you don’t have the same level of ‘bravery’ as others.
• You lose control - you value being in control above everything else.
• No one can help you - you’ll have to suffer alone.
• You’ll be judged - others will think less of you.
• You’ll spoil things for others - you carry a guilt.
• You’re ‘making a ‘scene’ - being afraid is socially unacceptable.

8. Taking on board other people’s stories

You’ve heard anecdotes of other people’s horror flights. Stories that have no doubt been embellished. They want to appear heroic, or that they’ve witnessed something way more scary than you will ever face.

9. You castrophise

You’re a ‘what if’ sort of person. You can create your own vicious circle of doom. You apply this to flying

10. You’ve no idea why

Flying is a thought that disturbs you. Simple as that. Where did it come from? You’ve no clue.

How can hypnotherapy help?

Hypnotherapy is a way of relaxing so a message can be landed at the deepest level. Hypnotherapists call it ‘talking to the subconscious’. What you learn under hypnosis in a therapy room can stay with you outside in the real world. Through check-in, take off, the flight and landing.

How effective is hypnotherapy for a fear of flying?

The science and the data make a powerful case for using hypnotherapy. For example, in the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, there is study after study that comes out in favour of using hypnosis.

How hypnotherapy and CBT can help you overcome flying anxiety

1. Regain a sense of control

If you fear a loss of control, think about this. There is one thing you always control - your response to things. You don’t have to let any outside event disturb your inner peace. Hypnotherapy is a great tool for this: taking away the meaning.

2. Calm turbulence anxiety

Let’s look at the observable fact. Pilots have technology to predict turbulence and minimise any effect. There are air traffic control reports, on board radars, and of course, you can simply put your seat belt on.

And the University of Reading's Meteorology department calculate that there’s less than a 1% chance of encountering any sort of turbulence that makes a difference of any sort.

3. Manage IBS and gut tension

Hypnotherapy is good for this. Imagining and creating a sense of calm. Taking away your gut tension.

4. Overcome emetophobia

Yet again, hypnotherapy is good at taking away the thoughts of any vomit. You can visualise being calm. Not bothered.

5. Unlearn fearful beliefs

Anything that can be learned can be unlearned. For example, with hypnotic desensitisation. That’s imagining a scenario under hypnosis and seeing yourself not being in the slightest bit bothered. In other words, you don’t have to believe your thoughts.

6. Reduce claustrophobia

Hypnotherapy is ideal for this. Simply relax, and we can work on ‘reprogramming’ your subconscious to dial down and fear of a confined space.

7. Stop fearing panic

With hypnotherapy, you can learn at the very deepest level that you’re not your thoughts. You don’t even have to believe them. So the idea of a panic attack becomes an old thought, a past behaviour.

8. Tune out other people’s stories

Other people’s stories have nothing to do with you. Their fears, exaggerations and recollections are their business. Yours is to fly away and enjoy your holiday. Simple as that.

9. Break the habit of catastrophising

Hypnotherapy - ‘talking’ to your subconscious - is an effective way to change the message, even to no message at all. You’re just not bothered. It’s way less tiring.

10. When you don’t know the cause

If it's something you believe with no observable fact, then hypnotherapy can help you dismiss it for its lack of evidence. Send the fear of flying on its way.

What happens when you dial down your fear of flying?

You make life so much easier. In effect, you open up the world. You don’t have to drive or take the train. You can go anywhere.

If the rest of the family can fly and you can’t, it can be a pinch point between you all. You’re stopping tension and resentment.

You can look forward to your holiday; you don’t have to be demoralised, knock your confidence and feel that things will never get better.

Get the map out. Look at far-flung places. You can now go anywhere. Explore.