Worthing Hypnotherapy To Overcome Fear Of Flying
Do you want to learn how to stop dreading flights?
Would you like to learn how to feel calmer, safer, and more in control when you travel?
How much better would life be if you looked forward to holidays without the dread?
My name is Alex Vrettos, I’m a Therapeutic Hypnotist based in Worthing, and I've been helping anxious flyers since 2011. In person and online.
Most clients are happy with what we achieve in three sessions
I recommend my three-session structure for £270, but a pay-as-you-go option is available.
You do not need to spend the rest of your life dreading airports, turbulence, or long-haul flights.
Client Testimonial
“Sorry for the late reply. I'm currently travelling in Nepal, and I thought it better to wait till I had flown even more to respond. I've found the hypnotherapy very successful. I feel no physical or mental sensations while flying, including through turbulence, despite some of the flights being quite turbulent. For the first few flights, I had slight anxiety over whether the hypnotherapy would work and would continue to work. This fear went away the second the plane took off, and I have stopped feeling it before flights after having taken a few. Thank you so much, as it has made a real difference in how much I can enjoy my holidays.”
See another story here about a client summiting Mount Snowdon who could not previously walk up the South Downs.
It's easy to dream of better climates when you live in England, but getting to them feels like an ordeal at best, impossible at worst.
Perhaps this means your world remains small, or perhaps you have to suffer to get to your favourite faraway places, which drains the excitement out of the adventure. Then the whole trip is marred by the anticipation of the journey home.
It's embarrassing. Everyone else seems relaxed and excited about the journey, while you are feeling trapped, sweating, tense, nauseous, and barely keeping a lid on it all, terrified that you could panic and make a scene at any moment.
Does this sound familiar?
You know it’s safe, but your nervous system disagrees.
The thought of going on holiday is ruined by the fear of the journey.
Weeks of dread before a trip.
Or it’s just impossible to get around to booking.
Have you ever been unable to leave on a fully paid-up trip?
So why does flying feel so frightening to you?
Why Fear Of Flying Happens
If you experience fear of flying, it doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you. Your mind is actually working exactly as it was designed to.
You like being alive, so it’s natural for your mind to question being in a metal tube travelling at 600 miles an hour, 30,000 feet above the ground. Your brain is wired for survival.
Acceleration, turbulence, lifting off the ground, and coming into land can all trigger thoughts about danger and safety. Those thoughts are completely normal.
Almost everyone who flies has had similar thoughts at some point. The difference is that for most people, those thoughts quickly pass into the background.
When you struggle with a fear of flying, those thoughts feel convincing and emotionally real. Your imagination starts treating possibility as danger. Your thoughts about what the turbulence might mean feel more real than the safe aeroplane that is transporting you.
Once that happens, your nervous system responds as though you are in genuine danger, even while you are sitting safely on a functioning aircraft.
How To Stop Fear Of Flying With Hypnotherapy
During your sessions with me, you will learn how the mind and body work together to create the fear response.
Together, we’ll work on changing your relationship with the thoughts and feelings that currently feel so threatening, helping your nervous system respond in a calmer way.
Instead of becoming pulled into catastrophic “what if?” thinking, you can begin focusing on where you’re going, the people you’re travelling with, and the cracking holiday you’re about to have.
We’ll mentally rehearse flying with a cool head and a calm heart, helping your mind and body learn a different response to the experience of flying, at a pace that feels comfortable for you.
Imagine booking a flight and noticing a 'what if' thought and simply smiling at how much that used to bother you.
See yourself sitting at the gate, feeling a little nervous, but steady, rather than desperate to escape.
Enjoy undiluted excitement for your next adventure.
Imagine arriving excited for your holiday instead of emotionally exhausted, and then being able to relax and enjoy your holiday without a growing sense of dread for the flight home.
It is all achievable.
What Help For Flying Anxiety Looks Like With Me
I generally work within a three-session structure, although some people choose to have additional sessions depending on their goals and previous experiences.
Session 1: We’ll explore your experience of fear and help you understand how the mind and body work together to create the fear response. I’ll also introduce you to hypnosis through some simple experiential exercises and thought experiments, which can be good fun, so you can feel comfortable in your understanding of hypnosis and begin seeing your anxiety in a different way.
Session 2: Using hypnosis, we’ll explore where this fearful pattern may have come from and why your mind learned to respond this way in the first place. From there, we can begin reshaping those responses into something calmer and more helpful.
Session 3: We’ll strengthen the progress you’ve made, build confidence around future flights, and help your mind and body become more familiar with responding calmly to the experience of flying.
If you'd like to explore whether this approach feels right for you, you’re welcome to get in touch.
Fear Of Flying FAQs
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Fear of flying is an unhelpful form of self-hypnosis. Thoughts of being 'trapped' on a plane, thoughts of technical issues, thoughts of bad weather are experienced as threat. You are experiencing imagination as reality. Hypnosis is a great treatment for fear of flying as it uses the same psychology to resolve the issue. Hypnosis engages your imagination in a way that does not create a fear response.
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Medication can sometimes reduce symptoms temporarily, but many people want a longer-term change in how they experience flying itself. A fear of flying does not mean there is anything wrong with you, and therapy can change your relationship with those fearful thoughts so medication is not necessary.
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Three sessions is a realistic expectation to have when it comes to fear of flying treatment.
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During our first session we will cover this - what is hypnosis and how is it a part of our day to day psychology?
When you experience fear or anxiety when you are in no danger this is self-hypnosis - you are experiencing imagination as reality.
You are already experiencing hypnosis or there would not be a problem.
Simply exploring this idea with me could be enough to resolve the issue.
Hypnosis is about focus and engagement, not losing control. I will introduce you to hypnosis in a way that is comfortable for you.
CONTACT
This can feel like a big step, but it’s time to start feeling better.
Book an appointment or contact me for a chat. If you’re not local to Worthing, online sessions are available.
Unfortunately, hypnosis cannot guarantee success, but I can guarantee that every effort will go into creating that success for you.