FEAR OF FLYING - LET'S UNDERSTAND IT...

Firstly - fear is a natural and normal human 'negative' emotion. The purpose of negative emotions is to tell us that something needs attention; an indication that we need to take some kind of action to clear that; a red warning lamp.

When it's about fear - it's about 'danger'. Most fears are learned behaviors (even though some behaviors might be "hardwired). There is such a thing as "learned fear" - and that's important for survival - however, this sometimes extends to other areas that are a common, non life-threatening reality - and in that moment, Fear of Flying will probably develop. That has nothing to do with flying itself or the level of safety (or lack thereof) aboard a plane.

The Root Cause vs. the First Event that one remembers

It's important to understand the difference between the Root Cause and the First event that you remember. The root cause is (as the name says) the ROOT of the issue (and it may be or not remembered; it might be a strong event or a mild one). The first event that we remember is the first from the series of Significant Emotional Experiences (S.E.E.'s) pertaining to the issue in question.

The Root cause of Fear Of Flying varies from individual to individual, however most fall into one or more of the following categories:

A Single Traumatic Incident. A highly stressful or frightening real event at which, instantaneously Fear of Flying is created. Very similar to a child being bitten by a dog and developing an immediate phobia, a single traumatic incident is a one-time experience at which there is such extreme fear - even if only for a moment - that the nervous system 'learns' to associate fear to help the individual avoid such situations in future. It is simply an ASSOCIATION (a negative one)

The initial fear, by the way, may be nothing to do with flying. We hear from clients that the problem started at a time when they were under extreme stress for something completely unrelated, but the mind associated the negative feelings to flying.

An Associated Traumatic Experience. This is where the individual does not directly experience the fear, but 'associates' to someone who does, either in a real situation, or, more rarely, when watching someone in a movie - or even a dream - experience a traumatic event. September 11 has generated a massive wave of Fear of Flying (even though security is far stronger than it's ever been)

A Slow Build. A slow build occurs when a mild case of Fear of Flying – probably rooted in a moderately bad flight escalates over time to become a severe one. What is happening here is that the individual is 'accumulating' fearful experiences, so that the evidence used by the mind/nervous system is becoming increasingly irrefutable that fear is the appropriate emotion, so it is created automatically in anticipation each time... creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.

In all cases, it's a CONDITIONING of our nervous system to respond (inappropriately) with fear in a situation when it is not warranted.

Sometimes Fear of Flying can simply be developed from seemingly harmless experiences, or seem like 'its always been like this'. The truth is it hasn't always been that way - we only think it (have you ever seen a new born baby afraid of flying?!?) but it may have started way back in an early childhood.

A 'Learned' Response, like Fear of Flying can Always be Unlearned...

In all the years we've been helping people overcome the most extreme fears and phobias, we have never found a case that could not be overcome, provided the individual was determined to do so.

The human system is capable of learning new responses incredibly quickly (how else could a single incident lasting only a few minutes create a problem in the first place?!?) and with the correct techniques a fearless, comfortable response can always be restored.