Fear of Flying
This could be the
strangest thing ever – a travel agent that hates flying. Well not really, there are lots of people who
have a fear of flying and I just so happen to be one of them. It’s not pleasant but I can absolutely relate
to those who say they have this fear also.
With the need to try and get my fear under control due being diverted
because our plane hit a bird on take off.
This was the point where my fear hit new heights, I was so upset and
refused to get back on the replacement plane, that the only way was to have a
Valium! I refused to ever step foot on a
plane ever again. I must say, looking back, Ryanair were fantastic and
were so calm and reassuring throughout the whole experience, it was just me
being a complete pain.
Little did I know
that my husband Tom, had then booked me a surprise trip to New York and he
wanted to guarantee that I would get onto another flight, so he booked me one session
with a hypnotherapist. Thinking it won’t
work before you’ve even gone, will have negative effects, so going in with an open
mind helps. What I have learnt is
that you need to train your brain to think of an alternative solution to the
panic/situation you are in.
My hypnotherapist talked
me through the different stages of what I do and don’t like about flying and it
was clear it was only going to be tested once I was on a flight. She
taught me to think about the things I hate most about flying; saying a
repetitive word over & over again and how it would take my mind off the
situation. I need to say, prior to this I was taking valium for EVERY
flight and would never travel on my own. After my hypnotherapy, I felt
confident enough to travel on my own and valium was no longer needed!
After the hypno
session, I was given a voice recording to listen to before, during and after a
flight & it worked. 6 years later, I still don’t like flying by any
shape or form, but I can manage the situation.
It is a means of getting to my destination and I class it as an enjoyable
experience, whereas before, I would dread it – in fact, so would my husband.
In 2016, I had a
slight wobble and could not control the situations. We travelled to Canada to do a trip through
the Rockies and before we had even left Heathrow I was having panic
attacks. The pilot advised that we were
unable to ‘push back’ as there was a technical fault that they were
investigating. The longer this went on,
the more stressed I was becoming. To the
point where I raised this with the crew and the next thing I knew, the co-pilot
was walking towards me and then knelt beside me to explain exactly what was
going on. To me, it felt as though I had
taken a huge step back to where I was before and I knew that I needed to return
for a top up session. So in January
2017, I found a new hypnotherapist myself going back to a hypnotherapist for a
‘top up session’. After discussing various options, a week later, I flew to Tenerife and I was
like a new person again.
It’s not the
easiest of fears to have, when you see young children sitting with not a care in
the world and tackle flights, while I, the adult, crumbles to a mess due to a
flight not even leaving the ground due to technical issues. So when you can openly admit that you have
the fear and can talk to someone who can help you, it makes planning and
booking holidays so much more exciting.
This year, I challenged
myself to the most flights in one trip.
I can proudly say that I managed to fly Birmingham to Dubai, to
Singapore, to Bali, to Dubai and back to Birmingham, I managed all of this and
I survived!
Top tip: Make it stress-free, pre-book every seat on every flight you take. This takes majority of the pressure off for
me – with so much going on before any holiday, remembering 24 hours prior to
departure to book seats is unbearable.
Majority of airlines now charge for this, but factor this into the
budget of the holiday.
As the New Year approaches,
make 2018 the year that you conquer that fear.
Don’t let it put you off going on holiday, seek some help and you could
be jet setting all around the world!
Top tip: There are a number of courses available:
Virgin Atlantic's Flying without Fear programme
British Airways Flying with Confidence programme
EasyJet's Fearless Flyer programme
If you are in the Birmingham area, I can highly recommend Steve Woods - a local hypnotherapy business. It worked for me, so give it a go, there is no harm in trying something else to beat the fear of flying.
Visit Steve's website here; Experiential Hypnosis Ltd - https://experiential-hypnosis.com/
Email: steve@steve-woods.com
Phone: 07828 971 058
Why not add this to your Christmas wish list:
Fly
without fear - written by an ex pilot and a hypnotherapist. It’s a
great book to keep and you will always have it to refer back to if you have any doubts.
Simply contact me on 0121 314 6650 / 07860 944207 or email me at charlotte.mitchell@travelcounsellors.com if you want some inspiration on ideas that will help you achieve your next holiday goals!
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