While many people will snigger and laugh at those who have a phobia of flying, there are many different flying phobia courses available today. Teaching sufferers to overcome their phobias is big business and, while there are some scams and frauds out there, many of the flying phobia courses do work.
Learning different techniques
The fact that we are all very different, we react differently and we think differently makes it impossible to give a one size fits all approach to coping with phobias. However, it is possible to bring together specific ideas and each individual would be able to take away the techniques which work best for them.
In many ways it is the formal teaching of phobia coping mechanisms which can put many people in the right frame of mind to embrace the ideas in full. Let’s be honest, if you were left at home with a book about your worst phobia and how to cope, how many of us would actually get to the end of the book?
Quote from Phobiasupportforum.com: “We’d love to hear exactly what it is that makes travel difficult for you, as we may feature a holiday section in the future that helps address some of these issues. We’re always looking for ways to improve the lives of phobia and anxiety sufferers (myself included – getting on a plane is the next big test for me this year because of my agoraphobia).”
Flying phobias do impact lives
Even though a phobia of flying is seen by many as somewhat relevant it can does have a major impact on many people’s lives. We have heard stories of those with flying phobias attempting to go on family holidays overseas only to freeze on the plane and feel a panic attack coming on. Only those who have felt a panic attack will know exactly how this feels and how debilitating it can be.
As if a fear of flying is not bad enough in your personal life, there are many people in the world of business, sport and ensure business that have had their careers impacted by a phobia of flying. We only need to look at one of the world’s best footballers Dennis Bergkamp who was unable to play in many of Arsenal’s overseas games for fear of flying. He attempted to overcome this by driving to some of the European destinations but others further afield were impossible for him to reach.
Learning self-control
It may seem easy when you see it written down on a piece of paper but learning self-control is the first step towards fighting your phobia. If you ask a phobia sufferer they will tell you exactly when their fear kicks in, when their anxiety starts to go through the roof and when they feel most vulnerable. There are a number of breathing techniques, simple mind thoughts and processes which you can go through to control your fear of flying. In many ways phobias in general are directly linked to a perceived loss of control when you’re thoughts and body actions take over what we would deem to be “normal life”.
Conclusion
If you have a fear of flying we strongly recommend checking out some of the online/offline flying phobia courses and certainly not dismissing these out of hand. This type of approach will work better for others but the fact remains that some of the experts out there will be able to at worst diminish the impact of your fear of flying and at best hand you back control in these difficult episodes.
