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OVERCOMING YOUR FEAR OF FLYING
This article was prepared in co-operation with  the independent British airline Flybe.
Fear of flying is a very common condition with some studies suggesting one-in--five members of the public experience it.   In fact it is so widespread it has at least five different psychological terms – aeruophobia … aerophobia … aviophobia … aviatophobia or even pteromechanophobia.  So if you are among those suffering from this phobia, you are not alone. It is worth remembering however, that the risks associated with flying are so low that one`s fear is rendered irrational by conventional science. For a start, you are 29 times more likely to be in a car accident than a plane accident.
To return to our Fears & Phobias page CLICK HERE	Considering most people are in a car on an almost daily basis, there is far more reason to fear cars than planes. Air travel is statistically the safest way to travel, and the UK has one of the best records in the world for air safety. So why are so many people scared of flying?
Passenger anxiety (the lack of control associated with not actually driving the plane yourself) is the most common answer. The difficulty of trusting a pilot and his competency at the controls of a man-made machine for which you do not know the build quality is a frightening thought. Then there is the fact that when you do not understand the noises and turbulence encountered while flying, imagination can lead you to assume the worst. There are also feelings of claustrophobia to overcome as you are confined to a small cabin, and a fear of heights to contend with as you cruise at thirty thousand feet. Recently the fear of terrorism has been added to the list. Clearly, there are a lot of factors at play to make one feel uneasy. Thankfully help is never far away and there are numerous courses available to help people overcome their phobia of flying. Usually these tend to emphasise one or more of the following solutions: Educate yourself – once you know more about the way planes work and the rigorous safety procedures that are adhered to at every stage of the flying experience, you can make more rational conclusions about the level of risk involved and calm yourself down. Get some support – talk to others in a similar position and use your shared experiences to improve. Desensitise yourself  –repeated exposure to planes (or to thoughts about planes) followed by the use of relaxation techniques can help you to deal with the problem head on. Of course, hypnotherapy has proved just as effective in helping people to overcome a phobia of flying as it has with all other phobias. It can help people to feel comfortable with the lack of control associated with flying, and can also help to channel fear away. Most importantly, people can learn self-hypnosis techniques to overcome the phobia as it happens. See our article on self-hypnosis. The Therapy Partnership has extensive experience of helping people overcome their fear of flying.  With this new confidence they are able to go on to fly regularly without further problems. If you want to try out your own new found confidence while flying – or if you want to book a flight before coming to see us for therapy – you may find it helpful to see Flybe's  local services and details of its Southampton flights. These offer excellent first choices as they travel short distances with the added comfort of leaving from a smaller UK airport.
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