Overcoming Your Fear Of Flying – How To Start

Though consultation with a local professional may be a good place to start, and to get a diagnosis, few psychologists and psychiatrists are trained to deal effectively with fear of flying. Instead, they attempt treatment with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, relaxation techniques, or medication.

Medication. Research shows medication helps prior to the flight but causes increased distress during the flight itself.

Relaxation. Few fear of flying suffers will find relaxation techniques adequate. Once feelings start, relaxation offers no help.

CBT. Distress begins milliseconds after being triggered by noise or turbulence, and quickly escalates to high anxiety or panic. CBT cannot keep distress from starting. Being word-based and thought-based,CBT is far too slow to keep up.

The treatment of fear of flying is so specialized that there are only a handful of professionals qualified to treat it. Having dedicated twenty-eight years to the development of advanced help for fear of flying, both as an airline captain and a licensed therapist, I’ve found the solution is to keep distress from starting.

Protection to combat distress must be established prior to flight. Protection must operate so quickly that distress is stopped before it becomes conscious. In other words, for protection to work, it must operate automatically and unconsciously.

Information on how fear of flying can be combated effectively is available in the free library at http://www.fearofflying.com/wordpress/

Posted by Jenny @ 9:17 am