24/08/2025
Please see an overview of a client that came to see me for fear of flying. As a result of hypnotherapy they were able to fly to Australia to see her sister that she had not seen for 5 years.
Taking Flight: How Fear of Flying was Overcome with Hypnotherapy
Sarah, a 48-year-old Marketing Executive, had carried a fear of flying with her for more than two decades. It began in her mid-20s, after a turbulent flight from New York to London left her shaken. Since that day, she avoided air travel whenever possible, missing out on career opportunities and spending time with her sister in Australia. In the weeks leading up to a potential flight, anxiety would take hold. She would experience insomnia, a racing heartbeat, nausea, and panic attacks. Medication offered temporary relief, but the lasting change she longed for remained out of reach. When Sarah decided to try hypnotherapy, she wanted to cultivate a calmer, more positive relationship with flying, and to visit her sister in Australia after five long years apart.
During the first session, Sarah described her fear as “irrational but overwhelming”, confessing that the very thought of boarding a plane felt insurmountable. Together we explored how hypnotherapy could help her fear of flying by tapping into the subconscious mind to reframe past experiences and build new empowering responses. Motivated and open, Sarah committed to the process with a clear goal of being able to fly to Australia within three months.
In the first two sessions the focus was on trust, relaxation, and creating a calm safe space. Through guided hypnosis, Sarah discovered her calming beach - a serene inner space she could return to whenever anxiety arose. Subtle suggestions of safety and ease around flying were woven into these sessions, laying the groundwork for change. A safe space was also discussed that Sarah could focus on during the flight if needed.
By the third session, Sarah was ready to take the next step. She learned to anchor calmness through a simple physical gesture and practiced visualising the entire flight experience including boarding, take off, the flight itself and landing while feeling calm, grounded, and safe. Flying was gradually reframed as a gateway to excitement and to focus on the end goal rather than fear.
The fourth session reinforced these skills, introducing self-hypnosis with targeted grounding and breathing techniques to use before and during flights. Remaining anxieties were addressed through confidence building exercises, ensuring Sarah had practical tools to use before and during the flights.
Over eight weeks and four sessions Sarah’s transformation unfolded. When the day came to fly to Sydney she boarded the plane without medication, managing mild nervousness using her relaxation and visualisation techniques. She described the experience as “liberating.” Four weeks later, her return flight to the UK was equally smooth and calm and stress free. With each journey, Sarah’s perception of flying shifted. It was no longer something to avoid, but something she could do with ease and confidence. She has since travelled to Australia multiple times to visit her sister, embracing air travel as a positive and achievable part of her life.
Sarah’s story illustrates the power of hypnotherapy for fear of flying to gently reframe fears and cultivate lasting change. By transforming past experiences and nurturing positive associations, she turned a lifelong phobia into a newfound freedom proving that even deep-rooted fears can be overcome with the right support and approach.
