If you have ever been afraid of flying on an airplane, you are not alone. The fear of flying, known as aerophobia, is one of the most common phobias that people can experience. This fear can be a debilitating, overwhelming feeling. It may even prevent you from getting around; traveling the world, or visiting the ones you love. Overcoming such a phobia used to take years of therapy, but now there are hypnotherapy and NLP techniques to treat phobias for faster, life-changing results.

Exactly What Is A Phobia?

Are you wondering exactly what a phobia is? All phobias are considered a form of anxiety disorder, and many people who suffer from them will experience anxiety attacks and other unpleasant symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, or an increased heart rate. Many people report feeling sick or losing their self-control, and arrange their lives around their phobia in an effort to avoid their fears.

For people with a fear of flying, even the mere thought of boarding an airplane might cause an anxiety attack. Other people may feel only slightly uneasy while on the ground, but grow hysterical once the plane takes off.

Imagine a scenario in which a woman with aerophobia is sitting on a plane before takeoff. She starts to feel nervous and her heart begins to race. She knows it is safe to fly, but she is afraid nonetheless. Once the plane is in the air, she can't help but sob uncontrollably, and continues to cry throughout the flight until she can finally get off the plane. Although it may sound extreme, this sort of reaction is shared by a surprisingly high number of people.

How Are Phobias Characterized?

All phobias are characterized by intense, irrational fear. People with aerophobia are afraid of flying even when they know that flying is actually a very safe form of travel. They often feel humiliated when they react by crying, shaking, or having an anxiety attack, but feel powerless to control themselves. For many people, this fear of embarrassment is as discouraging as the fear of flying itself.

In actuality, people with phobias cannot control their reactions because their fears are rooted at an unconscious level, which no amount of conscious effort or willpower can change. This is where hypnotherapy comes into play. Ericksonian hypnotherapy and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) techniques operate at the unconscious level of the mind to effectively treat phobias.

How Is Aerophobia Cured?

A good hypnotherapy program for treating a phobia contains several comprehensive steps. The first step uses hypnosis for relaxation, relieving anxiety and tension. Once a person is relaxed and stress-free, hypnotherapy directs new thoughts in the unconscious mind to extinguish the phobia. NLP itself eliminates fears by specifically targeting the phobia causing thought process.

Unlike traditional hypnosis, which uses direct post-hypnotic suggestions, Ericksonian hypnotherapy uses indirect suggestions hidden in conversation to persuade the unconscious mind to follow a new, more logical line of thought. It works better than conventional hypnosis because people tend to ignore direct post-hypnotic suggestions, but find it harder to resist indirect suggestions that are hidden in interesting stories and metaphors.

The specific wording of post-hypnotic suggestions in traditional hypnotherapy means that many conventional hypnosis programs will only work for a particular given phobia. A great feature of an Ericksonian hypnotherapy and NLP program is that it is not phobia specific and will treat any phobia, in any individual. It is sure to work for most people because the program is composed of several different hypnosis techniques arranged for maximum effectiveness.

Visual Kinesthetic Disassociation - VKD

The most effective phobia busting NLP technique that I know of is known as the Visual - Kinesthetic Disassociation. The nickname for the V/K is the "one session phobia cure," and with good reason!

The combined Ericksonian hypnosis and NLP program is perfect for an independent thinker who wants to quickly beat an irrational phobia once and for all. People can complete the step-by-step program at their own individual pace, but are frequently amazed at the ease with which they complete the program and overcome their fears. The results people see with hypnosis often appear simply phenomenal.

Conclusion

Hypnosis and NLP are life-changing tools for many people suffering from phobias. Ericksonian hypnotherapy and NLP have helped countless people overcome their fears. The techniques are remarkable for helping people who are afraid of flying to enjoy air travel and all of its benefits. For years, hypnotherapy has been used to improve people's lives all over the world, and beating phobias is just one of the ways in which it helps people.

A list of the common uses of hypnosis.

Alan B. Densky, CH spent 30 years helping clients overcome absurd fears and phobias. He offers a powerful phobia treatment based on NLP and hypnotherapy. Learn more at his Neuro-VISION® hypnosis website using his Free article library and video hypnosis library.