Fear of flying, that is persistent and is causing difficulty with traveling, visiting loved ones, or flying with feelings of distress. This fear can lead to attacks of anxiety and panic attacks, leading to a cycle of negative experiences with flying or with travel. Sometimes fear of flying coincides with fear of being enclosed, not being able to escape, or of dying in an accident. However, this fear is usually larger than the risk of flying and again, can get in the way of traveling for important events and to see loved one. Suffering with crippling fear and avoidance of situations that have caused fear in the past contributes to the fear growing and possibly gaining traction in other areas.
This fear could have been triggered from a past traumatic experience, seeing plane crashes on news outlets, or it could have come out of the blue. Often having more knowledge would reduce fear such as understanding of the common sounds associated with flying, the feeling of the onset of turbulence, and the common in and outs of taking off and landing the plane. However, having knowledge will be less helpful when the fear or panic has already been associated with flying and that is where using EXRP therapy to rewire the association with the feared event could be helpful. Using exposures will help build a tolerance to the fear and teach the stress response system how to naturally reduce the intensity of the stress response.
