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Hypnosis to Become a Confident Flyer and Banish a Fear of Flying · The Hypnotist

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  Welcome to The Hypnotist, the show that gives you inside
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  access to cutting edge hypnosis with real clients facing genuine
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  issues. Brought to you by the
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  hypnotherapist, demanded by celebrities, CEOs and even
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  royalty. Adam Cox.
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  These recordings took place live from Adam's clinic in London's
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  world famous Harley Street. This podcast features powerful
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  hypnosis, so do not listen while driving or operating machinery.
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  This recording is not suitable for those with epilepsy or
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  severe mental health issues, so get yourself comfortable and
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  enjoy today's episode of The Hypnotist.
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  Hi, it's Adam here and in this episode of the.
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  Hypnotist you're going to be. Listening to a hypnosis session
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  all about fear of flying and. It was with a.
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  Client that had a very, very long haul destination.
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  They were flying from the UK all the way to Australia via
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  Singapore. So that meant that they had four
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  flights within the space of about two weeks, two flights to
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  get there and two flights to get back.
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  And that was the perfect opportunity for them to banish
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  this fear for good. And a lot of people with
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  phobias, even if they make progress, they have this
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  niggling doubt of but what if it doesn't work the next time?
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  Or what if I freak out on the next flight?
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  And that. Becomes a self fulfilling
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  prophecy. What's really useful when we're
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  talking about anxiety and particularly beliefs about fears
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  and phobias, is to have what's called a convincer strategy.
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  What has to happen in order for you to believe that you don't
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  have that fear anymore? Because there might be certain
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  things that you believe that you're not afraid of.
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  If I said a kitten, you know you've got a fairly.
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  Good. Sense of certainty that you're
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  not afraid of a kitten and there'll be loads of things that
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  you have a belief about that fear and that creates a self
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  fulfilling prophecy. So when progress is being made,
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  what's really important is that if there are, let's say, echoes
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  or even moments of anxiety, that doesn't mean that you
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  necessarily have the fear. It just means you felt fear at
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  that particular point in time. And I'm sharing this story with
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  the client in the actual session.
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  I don't have a fear of flying. I don't have a phobia of flying.
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  But there was. One flight where I was on an
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  internal flight in Colombia and almost everyone on the plane
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  right before we took off started praying.
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  I'm not a religious person, but seeing everyone on the plane
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  pray like their lives were at stake.
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  And clearly it was a cultural thing.
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  You know, I felt anxiety in that moment, but I didn't come to the
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  conclusion that I now had a fear of flying.
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  It was just I felt anxious in that moment because seeing
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  everyone think about their mortality.
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  Triggered something in me. But I looked at that as the
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  anomaly. It's like I'm not afraid of
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  flying, but I felt anxious that time is a better way of framing
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  it than oh, now I'm afraid of flying and therefore I can't
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  fly. So there is that certain things
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  that is really useful. So what we had in this session
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  is. What they would.
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  Need to do in order to make the evaluation.
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  They're not afraid of flying anymore.
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  And that would be, you know, being able to sleep while
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  they're flying or enjoy a good book or enjoy a good movie.
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  Or. Enjoy, you know, certain
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  elements of it, you know, feel relaxed, be able to have
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  conversations, you know, evaluate that they felt
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  comfortable on the plane and that would all be evidence that
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  they fear has gone. But also it involves coping
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  strategies. In order to feel anxious, you
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  have to think at some level about the future and be making
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  evaluations. And therefore, mindfulness is a
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  really good hack to get out of any temporary feelings of
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  anxiety if you're fully in the moment.
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  And that just means experiencing your senses based on what you're
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  experiencing in that moment, not in the past, not in the future,
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  but in that moment is a good way to really make it very difficult
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  feeling anxious at all because you're invested in the moment.
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  And there are certain things like watching a movie or reading
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  a book that gets people in natural trance states anyway.
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  So if you're totally immersed in a book, you probably don't
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  realize you're turning the pages and therefore for that moment
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  you're in the story and not on a plane.
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  So there's various things going on here.
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  So if you have a fear of flying, you might get some value from
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  this session. I've got lots of other sessions
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  on my podcast as well about fear of flying, but they're all
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  created for specific individuals.
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  So if you want a bespoke session for you, there'll be a link in
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  the show notes. Click that book a free Zoom
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  consultation call with me and we can have a chat about working
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  together. For now though, you may just get
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  value from this and not need to work with me directly.
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  So find a quiet, comfortable place where you won't be
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  disturbed. Relax and.
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  Enjoy the session. Take a deep breath in, and as
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  you breathe in, breathe in a resourceful feeling of calm and
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  relaxation. And as you exhale, feel a
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  wonderful sense of letting go. Breathing in, relaxation and
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  exhaling any feelings of tension, stress or worries.
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  For a lot of people's, stress seems to congregate around the
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  jaw, the neck, and the shoulders, sometimes around the
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  forehead, whereas anxiety feels more like deep in the gut.
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  And just imagine, as you're breathing in that resourceful
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  relaxation, imagine it melting away any stress or anxiety, just
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  like snow melting under sunshine, and feel how good it
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  would feel for any of that stress or anxiety to feel like
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  it's leaving your body in your outward breath as you breathe in
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  and breathe out. I wonder if you.
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  Could use the power of your imagination to imagine observing
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  escalators, perhaps in a shopping centre or even an
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  airport, escalators that go up and down.
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  And I want you to see the rhythmic movement of those
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  escalators, maybe see them side by side, see one going up as the
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  other goes down. Get a sense of opposing forces,
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  different directions simultaneously as you breathe in
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  and breathe out. Get a sense.
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  Then sometimes sensations in your body can feel similar.
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  Maybe your arms can feel heavy and loose in one moment, and
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  then light and floaty in another.
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  And as you stare into these escalators, I want you to recall
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  the time where something used to make you feel anxious.
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  And maybe there was a time that you would avoid certain things
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  because you didn't like. How it made you?
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  Feel, but continue to stare into those contrasting directions of
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  the escalators as you get a sense.
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  Then sometimes something can affect you emotionally, affect
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  your thoughts, and then it doesn't.
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  I want you to get a sense. Then there was a time when you
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  couldn't do something or didn't want to do something, and now do
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  that thing with ease. And just imagine these
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  escalators are connected to a busy airport.
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  I want you to imagine walking up to the escalators and allowing
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  them to take you all the way up to a level.
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  And as they do so, imagine yourself accessing a higher
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  state of consciousness. As the escalator enables you to
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  rise, you feel deeper. I'm deeper, relaxed.
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  Imagine you're now approaching that next level higher in that
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  airport, a vast terminal, and get a sense that there is a
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  quiet excitement in the air, passengers walking with purpose.
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  Maybe there's a distant sound of announcements, that sound that
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  luggage trolleys and suitcases make when it's being wheeled
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  around. I want you to get a sense that
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  you know the destination you're about to go to.
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  Perhaps you could imagine seeing a boarding pass or a passport in
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  your hand and see the destination on that boarding
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  pass. As you see the destination,
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  smile to yourself. You want to go to that
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  destination. You don't have to.
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  There's no gun to your head saying that you have to go to
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  that destination. You're making a choice to go to
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  that place. So feel a sense of calm,
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  anticipation field and you have all of the resources not only to
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  get to that destination, but to enjoy the journey.
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  Imagine all of those necessary steps before you could even
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  board the plane. Approaching security, perhaps
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  waiting in a lounge area, maybe there is some kind of passport
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  control or checking of documents.
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  Feel a pragmatic sense that you've done this before, you can
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  do it again. All of this is very manageable.
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  The key thought that seems to be ruminating in your mind, I can
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  do this, I can handle this, no big deal.
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  And as you get to that departure lounge, as you see it getting
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  closer to the time to board the plane, feel a growing sense of
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  positive anticipation that the moment you board the plane, it
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  is a portal, a gateway to new experiences, the creation of new
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  memories, new possibilities, and you feel very ready.
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  Imagine hearing some kind of notification to board the plane.
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  And you do. The anticipation is there, but
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  in the absence of anxiety or fear, you're anticipating the TV
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  shows you're going to watch, the food you're going to taste, the
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  comfort of the chairs, or perhaps things you're looking
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  forward to on that flight. And as you settle into your
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  seat, maybe there's a familiar click of a seat belt.
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  And notice in any moment, you can just have that long outward
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  breath to feel. In the moment, as the plane
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  makes its way to the runway, glance out of the window.
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  But you have a sense of a different frame of thinking.
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  You're in a dialogue, seems confident, assured.
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  I want you to get a sense that the evaluation is that you will
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  enjoy this flight. You don't know where it comes
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  from. It's just a deep sense.
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  Then not only are you going to be less scared, you're going to
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  be so much more confident that you can enjoy more elements of
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  it. I want you to get a sense.
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  Then you're now taking off, but you're more interested in the
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  things you get to do. Maybe walk around the cabin,
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  recline your chair or start watching something or reading
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  something that stimulates you and notice before long how
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  quickly you feel so comfortable in your seat and imagine
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  reaching something to engage with.
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  Maybe ATV show or a movie. A film, a book, a word search
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  and notice how quickly you can immerse yourself in that new
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  thing. You realise how easily your mind
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  becomes absorbed, how the world outside fades as what you focus
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  on becomes what you give your attention to.
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  You can't help but thinking then anxiety needs attention to
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  survive, so you will choose to give your attention on those
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  things that give you something positive back in return.
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  Maybe you can imagine watching a show feeling completely drawn
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  into the story, the characters, the emotions.
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  You're fully engaged, so much so that time passes effortlessly
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  and there'll be moments you even forget you're on a plane at all
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  because you're in the world that you're experiencing.
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  Perhaps you've found yourself immersed in a book, one that
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  truly captivates you. You don't even realise you're
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  reading the words or turning the pages, you're immersed in the
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  story. You just happen to be flying
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  while you're reading that story, but that's all happening outside
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  of your conscious attention. Or you might decide to enjoy a
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  meal, a meal that maybe you've chosen in advance, savouring
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  each bite mindfully. And mindfulness is simply giving
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  something your attention. It could be the smell of the
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  food, the temperature of the food, the taste or texture.
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  If you are aware of any of these sensations, you are mindfully
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  eating. And if you're mindfully eating,
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  your attention is on your experience, not on any other
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  thought at all. And maybe after that meal, you
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  reach for a word search or a puzzle.
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  Not because you need to, you just feel like stimulating your
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  mind. If you're trying to solve a
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  puzzle or find a hidden word, that's where your attention is
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  and where focus goes. Energy flows.
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  Do you enjoy these moments? Something begins to shift.
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  You realise that if you can enjoy the flight, even in small
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  ways, then there is nothing left to fear.
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  If you can immerse yourself in a book, in a show, in a meal.
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  Or in a simple puzzle, then you are not enduring the flight, you
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  are enjoying it. You are flying with ease.
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  You are a confident flyer. There are some people that
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  consider themselves a confident flyer after flying just three or
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  four times, but if someone has flown over 100 times, that is
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  confidence. You know you can board the
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  flight and get to your destination.
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  As the flight continues, you reflect on this growing sense of
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  comfort. The thinking shifts from what
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  about the next flight to a simple reframe.
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  If I can enjoy this flight, I'll enjoy the next one.
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  If I can confidently fly now, I can confidently fly in the
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  future. And I wonder how long it will
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  take until the penny drops. You are no longer afraid of
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  flying. Everyone that takes regular
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  flights has felt anxious once or twice.
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  So feeling anxious on a flight is not sufficient evidence to be
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  afraid of flying. They are the anomalies.
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  You are a confident flyer that every now and then experiences a
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  temporary wave of anxiety that quickly subsides and the more
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  you think of that, the truer it becomes.
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  You are a confident flyer. As you start to think back on
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  previous flights, you realize something else quite profound.
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  You are far more courageous and resilient than you ever gave
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  yourself credit for. Because even if anxiety was
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  present at times, you still boarded the plane, You still
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  flew. You still chose to embrace the
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  journey. And if anxiety couldn't deter.
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  You before. Then when you enjoy flying,
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  nothing will stop you from flying again every flight you
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  take and have taken. Every moment of.
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  Calm you experience, every book you read, every TV show you
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  watch, every meal you enjoy. That altitude, each one, is
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  proof you are free from fear, that you are capable, that you
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  are a confident flyer. And while you're on this
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  imaginary flight, imagine the next flight, a future flight,
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  but this time, imagine you're seeing yourself like you're
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  someone else arriving at the airport, smiling, looking
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  relaxed while going through security, feeling excited or
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  just ambivalent while ready to board and see yourself immersed
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  in things that make you feel calm or enjoy the experience.
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  While you're on the flight, you're making the evaluation
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  that the next flight will also be relaxing, calm, and
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  enjoyable. If every flight you take, you
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  not only enjoy the flight, but preempt that the next flight
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  will also be enjoyable. You are creating a powerful,
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  self fulfilling prophecy that will go on forever.
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  The moment you are enjoying your flight, you evaluate the next
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  flight will be fine. When the next flight is fine,
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  you evaluate the next flight will be fine.
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  And this can go on indefinitely, creating the very loop that was
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  working against you to now work for you.
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  See yourself as free, capable, making the evaluations.
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  You think about that next flight, that you are a confident
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  flyer and see the evidence of that confident flying in the
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  very thought of your very next flight.
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  And I want you to see something specific, see yourself on a
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  flight. Where there is.
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  Some kind of turbulence or movement.
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  But see yourself composed, perhaps unfazed.
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  It doesn't deter you from watching your TV show or reading
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  your book. It doesn't stop you.
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  And perhaps you can imagine other people on the fly looking
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  more anxious than you do. And that just gives you even
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  more evidence that you are a confident flyer.
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  And when you accept this belief to be true, let me know.
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  But nodding your head and now you believe it to be true, you
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  will seek out references and evidence to make it more true.
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  And the more you look, the more you will find evidence that you
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  are a confident flyer. Many people would say 100
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  flights is more than enough evidence that you are a
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  confident flyer. The more you think about it, the
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  more truer it becomes. And the truer it becomes, the
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  more you feel like a confident flyer, until before long it will
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  feel like that other thing that used to make you afraid and no
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  longer does. No difference at all.
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  Imagine landing at your destination, a big smile,
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  feeling like anything is now possible as you hold on to that
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  feeling of pride, elation, satisfaction, and a deep sense
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  of confidence. It's time to return to the
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  present, so take a deep breath in through your nose and out
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  through your nose. Wiggle your fingers and wiggle
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  your toes. Connect fully into the here and
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  now as I now count from 1:00 to 10:00 to awaken you.
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  Starting to count. 123 Waking up 456 more alert 7-8.
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  Open your eyes. Open your eyes, 910.
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  Wide awake, wide awake, wide awake.
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  Thank you for listening to The Hypnotist with Adam Cox, the
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  show that gives you inside access to cutting edge hypnosis
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  with real clients facing genuine issues.
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