Conquer Fear of Flying

Why do we let “FEAR” run so much of our lives? Is it because we were told as a child that we were not good enough to do something, or we might hurt ourselves if we tried this or that—and we believed it to the point that as adults we harbor those same fears.  Or, have the fears grown even larger in our adulthood?

Let’s look at FEAR (False Evidence Appearing Real). 

My sister is afraid of flying. Why?  My theory (and her truth) is that my uncle took the two of us up in his small plane when she was 11 and I was 13. I loved it and she has been afraid to fly ever since. However, does fear go beyond that episode in her life, or did something happen even before that time to intensify the experience?  Is it possible that FEAR becomes a crutch because of choices we make, rather than a blame we place on someone or something else.

If we really do create our own experiences in our own self-made hologram*, then why would we want to create FEAR of anything—unless it gives us that excuse to not do something, or unless we don’t want to claim our real power that was granted to us at birth  to use in this lifetime.

We all know that babies and children up to around age 5 have no FEAR of anything.  They love to explore and do not like to be limited in any way. So, as adults, why can’t we be FEARless and move into our true calling.  Why do we want to limit ourselves? 

A small percentage of the population does not let FEAR get in their way.  And, they have become very successful in what they do.  How can we teach others to release their FEAR, and reach their full potential?  Stay tuned.  

*Busting Loose from the Money Game, by Robert Scheinfeld

This article discusses some of the techniques that hypnotherapists use to treat phobias. It is not intended to be a substitute for attending a well-recognized hypnotherapy courses.

Therapy sessions, regardless of the techniques chosen, should always begin by helping the client to understand that all phobias can be reduced to a learned and (subsequently) habitual fear response to a set of stimuli – the object of their fear.  The client will recognise that it is often the anticipation or thought of the object or circumstances that trigger the fear.  This is especially true for clients with a fear of flying where the anticipation of the event may last for several weeks.

In treating clients it is important to use the language of ‘correcting habits’ rather than applying a medical label.  In this way a ‘habitually fearful’ client is more likely to see their phobia as a habit that needs to be broken rather than having a more complex illness.

While there are many approaches to phobia therapy, three are outlined below.  Each should begin with an induction and deepening of the trance state.

A regression approach to phobia therapy is based on the premise that uncovering the root cause of the fear (the point from which the learned behaviour stems) allows the client to reflect on and ultimately overcome their habitual response.  This could be used successfully with parts integration between the rational and fearful parts of the client’s mind to acknowledge the reason for the fear and suggest alternative behaviours.

Systematic desensitisation (in the context of hypnotherapy) is an alternative approach to phobia therapy that uses visualisation to gradually expose the client to the fear-inducing stimuli.  When the client experiences catharsis, the process of gradual exposure is repeated until the fear response dissipates or is reduced to manageable levels.  A client with a fear of flying would be asked to visualise themselves (with as much sensory experience as they are able) planning a holiday, then looking at the calendar as the flight-date approaches, driving to the airport, waiting in the lounge as the watch the aircraft land and take-off, being called to the departure gate, boarding the aircraft, anticipating take-off etc.  When there is a strong cathartic response the client will be placed visually back in the holiday planning to repeat the process as many times as becomes necessary.  The session would usually end with future pacing and ego-strengthening to reinforce the client’s success.

The Fast Phobia Model is often favoured by exponents of NLP and lends itself well to hypnotherapy applications.  After explaining the nature of phobia and the client’s ability to learn new responses, the therapist establishes the behavioural scenario or strategy employed by the client during the phobic response.  One way to do this is using the TOTE model.  The client is then asked to replay a scenario in which the fear has manifested itself, but to do this in a dissociated fashion by (for example) visualising themselves watching the events on a movie screen.  To emphasise the dissociation, the client would usually be asked to view the movie in black and white.  After the movie has finished and the image faded to black or white, the client is asked to associate themselves into the scenario and to run the movie in reverse and in colour to the beginning.  For a client with a phobia of flying, the client would now for example associate themselves into a scenario where they are at some point flying backwards, then find themselves disembarking backward down the aircraft steps before walking backwards to the departure area.  The movie is then faded again and the process of association repeated with the movie once again run in reverse and in colour.  With each repetition, the client should see a reduction in their physiological fear response.  The session would usually end with an assessment of the client’s ecology and future pacing to evaluate the success of the treatment, followed by ego-strengthening to reinforce that success.

For clients that have identified their phobia with a specific event in their life, such as ‘ever since I went on holiday to Spain as a child, I’ve had a fear of flying’, the regression approach could prove effective.  Regression to the particular event may prove beneficial in its own right but will at the very least provide a visual scenario as well as evidence of the strategy employed and will hence be of use if other phobia techniques are to be used.

Whilst parts integration will be useful for analytical clients, this may be less effective for clients that are less able to intellectualise or rationalise their fear.   For these clients the systematic desensitisation or fast phobia cure are more appropriate.

If you are thinking about becoming a hypnotherapist please take time to research the type of accreditation and quality of tuition you will receive. Attending a well-recognised hypnotherapy training course is essential if you want to ensure you are safe and competent to practice.

Claustrophobia. Agoraphobia. Triskaidekaphobia. All of these names have one thing in common: they add mystery and confusion to what is already one of the most poorly understood aspects of human behavior.

Phobias have always been classified according to their obvious triggers; the objects or situations that provoke the fear. These triggers are customarily dressed in exotic Greek and Latin labels, giving each phobia a more scientific air.

Unfortunately, the traditional phobic classification system has shed little light on the real, but hidden mechanisms responsible for creating and shaping phobic behavior. In fact, this Greek and Latin name-calling may have done a great deal of harm.

For instead of encouraging us to search for underlying common denominators capable of unlocking the many secrets of phobic behavior, it has led many to believe that these secrets are already known.

Even worse, this classification system has unintentionally led many of the doctors believe that each and every type of phobia i.e. xenophobia, aerophobia, etc. is a separate and distinct disorder with a unique cause having no relation to other phobias aside from the obvious similarity in symptoms.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

The drawbacks of the traditional classification system are best illustrated with a few examples.

Suppose that a woman is cynophobic and agoraphobic. What do these two labels tell us, apart from the fact that she is afraid of dogs and wide-open spaces?

According to the current classification system, this woman suffers from two separate phobic illnesses, each requiring individual treatment. But what if her fear of dogs stems from a realistic fear of being chased by a dog into a wide-open space, namely, the street (realistic, because it has happened to her). If so, her fear of dogs is clearly part and parcel of her fear of wide-open spaces. The two are not separate disorders.

The connection between this woman’s agoraphobia and her gynophobia is vital if she is to receive proper treatment. But the traditional classification system does not encourage doctors to look for such interrelationships. Let’s look at another example.

Fear of Flying:

Four men suffer from aerophobia, the fear of flying. Although all four men are classified as having the same illness, a closer examination might reveal that each fears flying for a completely different reason.

One man, for example, may be afraid to fly because his neighbor recently died in a plane crash. Another may be afraid because planes fly over water and he can’t swim, hence he does not fear all flying, just flying over water. The third may be afraid of small enclosed spaces, such as the cabin of an airplane. And the fourth man may be afraid of heights.

Each of these possibilities suggests something entirely different about the mechanisms responsible for the fear of flying. More important, these differences clearly demonstrate that each case may require a different treatment approach.

But once we label all four men “aerophobic,” we unwittingly make a tragic mistake. For our label implies that one common mechanism is responsible for the fears of all four men. This makes no more sense than assuming that four men with the same name have the same mother. Yet in essence, this is exactly what we are doing.

This kind of mistake can only encourage physicians and other therapists to search for answers in all the wrong directions. Worse, it encourages them to subject all four men to the same treatment regimen. At best, the results of this kind of treatment approach will be less than satisfactory for at least three of the four.

Two Flaws in the System:

These examples clearly illustrate that two important characteristics of phobic behavior are masked by our traditional classification system:

• Phobias of different names may have one and the same underlying mechanism.• Phobias of the same name may have distinctly different underlying mechanisms.

Superficial phobic triggers provide an important clue to understanding phobic behavior, but they are only one aspect of the highly complex phobic phenomenon.

By focusing only on these triggers, we are ignoring the far more important underlying mechanisms that create and shape phobic behavior. This interferes with our ability to make an accurate diagnosis and prevents us from developing a successful treatment approach.

It seems that at some point almost everyone experiences some anxiety about public speaking. Hypnosis can be a useful tool to help many people overcome this fear of speaking in front of an audience, and become relaxed, confident speakers.
Although there are several ways to treat a fear of public speaking, hypnosis is often one of the most successful. Hypnosis deals with the “programming” in your subconscious mind, and can affect changes on a deeper level than we are counsciously aware of. Why is this important?
Your subconscious is trying to protect you by maintaining everything in your life the way it currently is — both the good and the bad! Your subconscious doesn’t really concern itself with concepts like happiness or unhappiness. It deals with basic survival, and the way it sees it, you have survived up to now the way you are, so you shouldn’t change anything and put yourself at risk.
You can see a therapist that uses hypnosis to overcome your anxiety, or you can use a public speaking hypnosis recording. Self hypnosis, like using a pre-recorded mp3 session, can in some cases be just as useful as seeing a therapist, and you can do it in the privacy of your own home. Public speaking hypnosis mp3s are available to use over and over until you feel that you have completely overcome your fear. They are also usually a cheaper option than seeing a hypnotherapist.
As with most other types of treatment, hypnosis works best when you are able to repeat it over and over. Owning a self hypnosis session allows you to use it every day, until you have successfully “brainwashed” yourself to the point where you have overcome your mental obstacles and re-programmed your mind.
Undergoing hypnosis, whether with a therapist or using a recording, usually begins by getting really relaxed and calm, and entering a pre-hypnotic state. Once hypnotized, you are usually still both awake and alert, but your mind is more receptive to suggestions. The hypnotherapist will guide you by giving you suggestions that will help your subconscious mind to change its habitual responses and replace them with new, more beneficial ones.
You subconscious does not understand negatives, so a suggestion should not be “I am not afraid of speaking in public,” but rather something like “I feel calm and relaxed when I speak in public,” or “I enjoy speaking in public.”
Using hypnosis to treat phobias has been proven effective in many research studies, and this includes treating fear of flying, fear of spiders, social phobias as well as fear of public speaking.
The concept of ypnosis has been around for a long time, but there are many misconceptions about this technique. For one, a lot of people think you are unconscious and not aware of what goes on around you when you are hypnotized. This is not correct; under hypnosis, you might feel like you are in an altered state of mind, but you are still aware of what is going on and nothing can be done to you that you do not allow.
You can not be hypnotized against your will, and you are still in control when you are under hypnosis. If you feel insecure about what the public speaking hypnosis tape will “do to you”, listen through it without focusing on following the suggestions, or read the script before you start your self hypnosis session, just for your own peace of mind.

The list of phobias suffered by humans is as varied as we are as people. Many, like fear of snakes (ophidiophobia) are well grounded and serve us good purpose. Others like chorophobia (fear of dancing) serve less purpose, that is unless the fear serves to prevent you from embarrassing yourself.

It has been written that phobias have existed since the dawn of man. The more esoteric of them, such as consecotaleophobia (fear of chopsticks) are more current. Although many snicker, even the silliest of phobias impact someone making their life more difficult. There are many applicable ones within this category.

For instance, haptephobia (fear of being touched) is a real phobia which afflicts more sufferers than one would imagine. Strong versions of this phobia banish those who have it to lonely existences rarely leaving the confines of their own homes. Those with hodophobia (fear of road travel) can leave their homes, but not go much further.

Lilapsophobia (fear of hurricanes or tornados) is an example of a phobia which can serve a good purpose within reason. Obviously, it is within our interests to have a built in aversion to being in the path of a tornado. However, as with the tendency for many phobias, when taken to an extreme it can lead one to run for shelter at the slightest hint of clouds.

Some phobias can actually help us succeed. Those suffering peniaphobia (fear of poverty) are most likely to turn out to be good workers. Conversely, those suffering from plutophobia are more likely to be the opposite. No, that isn’t fear of a planet or theme park character. Plutophobia is a fear of having wealth, and believe it or not it does exist.

Many common phobias, such as pteromerhanophobia (fear of flying) are able to be confronted and overcome. Others, like children suffering scolionophobia (fear of school), are quickly surmounted with parental help. Similarly, your spouse will quickly help you get over novercaphobia (fear of your mother in law). Phobias can’t get you out of everything.

Many try to use them as a crutch such as the husband who forgot his anniversary blaming it on his anthophobia (fear of flowers). Others are quite logical and reside within all of us, such as atomosophobia (fear of atomic explosions). Ballistophobia (fear of bullets) also fits into this category.

The list of phobias ranges from the common to the rare. It also goes from the serious to the comical. Anything on earth appears to be capable of triggering one. Growing everyday as we invent new things to scare us, this list will never end.

SOME SAY HOW WE DEAL WITH FEAR IS A CHOICE! But for thousands a spider, a thunderstorm, a short hop on a plane or standing up to talk at a business meeting can send them into a panic so severe that it apears to them to be beyond their control

Sometimes such as a fairground roller coaster ride or driving a fast car we choose to face fear head on and we are exhilarated by it and love the experience. 

 But sometimes it floods our whole being with anxiety causing mental anguish and even physical illness

Many would argue that you have the choice to be brave or cowardly, So why not always choose to be excited and exhilarated by it and face it head on and with head held high?

Can it really be that easy to overcome fear? In the first world war many good men with shell shock were shot for cowardice when we now know they were in the grips of post traumatic stress disorder.  They had the maximun incentive to ‘just pull themselves together’ and shake off their fear but they simply could not and they died as they lived in fear and trembling. 

It is undoubtedly true that often, when we firmly decide to do something, (even if it is scary) that strong dominant thought will enable us to override fear and get on with it. We can never prevent that scary thought from popping up but, usually in daily life we can, and we do exercise the choice of how to deal with it.

Unfortunately in some situations no matter how our logical brain rationalises these fears, our subconscious takes over.  We can usually be thankful for that.  If you drive you may have had the experience of pulling off on a green light only to have some idiot jump a red light and drive right across your path.  I will bet that without a thought you stamped on the brake and clutch and skidded to a stop, heart pounding, beads of sweat on your brow and a curse on your lips. You didn’t think about doing all that - your subconscious thought you were in danger and just took over.

It is natural to be fearful, we are programmed that way and it is a good thing that we are. That is why we have survived as a species.  When our conscious and subconscious don’t agree it’s usually the subconscious that wins because it believes that it is acting in your best interests. 

Unfortunately our subconscious doesn’t have the logic or reasoning capabilities of our intellectual brain, just an automated patterned response to danger and it often gets things wrong.  When that happens, just saying ‘Get on with it’ can be as effective as King Canute trying to hold back the tide.

Thats what we do at the Life Design Studio, Using a powerful mix of therpeutic techniques including CBT (Cognative Brief Therapy) NLP (Neuro Linguistic Patterning) life coaching and clinical hypnotherapy we help people to stem the flood of their anxiety and reverse the tidal overwhelm of their stress reaction.  Fortunately it is often relatively easy for a skilled therapist to ‘reprogramme’ these responses, to assist a client to inform their subconscious that a different response is required now and it’s ok now to let go of old patterns of behaviour.

Many of our clients want to be able to perform better at public speaking, job interviews or to improve sports performance. Some wish to overcome fear of flying, spiders or snakes.  It doesn’t make sense to ‘bluff it out’ and ‘soldier on’ getting more and more stressed when there are many excellent therapists who can help.

Our clients are often amazed that a problem which they have regarded as a long established part of their makeup can be can be resolved in a few short sessions and debilitating fears removed forever. 

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There are many interesting articles about the workings of the human mind at www.thelifedesignstudio.comMy partner Bee Milbourn and I are always happy to advise on the right therapeutic approach.

Please feel free to write to Bee or I at info@thelifedesignstudio.com

Anthony Bennett DHP, MNCH(Lic),

What is the Greatest Challenge You Face in Life & Business? How would you answer that question? Before jumping to an answer you might consider that the greatest challenge you face in life and business is in making daily choices.

The moment we awaken we begin the stressful tack of choice and decision making and before the days end we have attempted to restore some internal peace of mind over choices made.

Why do we agonize over so many choices? More importantly, how do we find inner peace of mind once we choose? Everyday we struggle with opposing viewpoints that battle it out in our minds.

Subtle and simple little choices - like buying a pair of shoes. Or making a sale and marketing decision to advertise your business through a new and unproved channel can create chaos, conflicts, contradictions and tensions in our mind.

Regardless if our choices are emotional or intellectual we seem to go through a process of tricking ourselves into thinking we made the right decision in order to establish some peace of mind. As consumers we wrestle with ill feelings of fear in our stomach many times because of our decisions - which is commonly referred to as buyer’s remorse.

Fear of making wrong decisions and choices becomes a major challenge in life and business everyday.

My clients struggle with different and difficult fears everyday in making choices that require changing habits, attitudes and behaviors. In the words of JC who has been a smoker for more than 10 years and a client our company said: Every time I light up a cigarette I read the warning sign on the package. I stop for a moment and ask myself why am I smoking? Then I reason with my mind that I don’t smoke that much and I get plenty of exercise and my grandfather smoked well into his 90’s giving me some peace of mind until the next time I light up a cigarette. But regardless, of the mind game I play, the fear of cancer lurks deep within me.

People I work with daily who struggle with their fear of making choices have become very creative at attempting to reduce mental tension for their choices and decisions. But, in doing so, they have brought on deepening negative behaviors of procrastination, uncertainty, guilt and greater stress into their lives.

Fear and not willing to make good choices has stopped people dead in their tracks from accomplishing great things in their life. In addition to the fear people are confronted with. There are two other issues that come into play while making daily choices that bring in more mental tension. That is the issue of money and time.

Every endeavor in life and business that produces accomplishment requires some degree of investment in time, money and resources. The one major reason people procrastinate over choice and don’t take immediate and consistent action and the biggest inhibitor in creating wealth, happiness and living life exactly the way want it — is fear.

As you listen or read this article your may be saying to yourself right now — I don’t fear making more money and having more success. I’m not afraid of making better choices for having greater happiness in life. I don’t fear having a wonderful committed relationship and living exactly the way I want to. But, if you want to make more money and create wealth, and you haven’t, then fear in getting your way. If you are always struggling on the path to happiness and living your life well and you haven’t done it — then the choices you make are being influence by your fears.

As for time: There are some people being so busy living a life of pain, procrastination, quilt, fear, disbelief, and anger that their time is consumed with lack and limitation instead of abundance.

As for the money: most people work for money their whole life and will use lack of money, regardless of their net worth, as an excuse for their choices. They trick themselves into some peace of mind to stifle the guilt or embarrassment for their decisions. If they do it long enough it become habitual and their self deception becomes almost guiltless and unnoticed within. Needles to say in the process of tricking ourselves to justify daily choices in order to establish some peace of mind is not the solution. What needs to happen for you is to begin acting in accordance with not only your true conviction but with your true desires and honest reasons.

While questioning JC about her smoking I discovered that her greatest fear was not cancer. Her two greatest fears where gaining weight after she quit smoking and her fear of spending money with no guarantee she would quit. JC’s desire to quit smoking was strong but her fears were much stronger causing her to play self sabotaging mind games.

While we my believe that our greatest challenges, lie in wait outside of our control, the truth is the solutions to our greatest challenges are within each and every one of us. The solution is to confront the real problems not the symptoms.

Fast food restaurants may contribute to obesity in this country but not the problem. The problem is in the eating behaviors of people. A highly profitable and proven MLM business system may have hundreds of people who quit the business for lack of success. The failure is not in the business but the fear of rejection, call reluctance, passion, desire and lack of commitment in the people.

People can change quickly once they confront their fears and resolve the money and time issue. To achieve long-term behavioral change we must first reinforce our desires and goals with new attitudes of behavior and the quickest ways to change is through hypnosis which speeds up the learning process 2 to 5 time faster than will power.

When you confront your fears and have a burning desire, backed by belief your fears begin to diminish. Your mind becomes dominated with positive emotion, which gives shape, form and action to your projects or ideas with imagination. You then become unstoppable in your attainment of successfully accomplishing your goals.

Let me give you a challenge. Identify some behavior that you battle with in your mind. It could be smoking, procrastination, call reluctance, social anxiety, fear of flying, lack of motivation or what ever challenges you. Now carefully and truthfully examine the reason for ending that behavior and write them down. Next list all the benefits for change and write down your new behavior next to the benefits. Now make a commitment with clear intention to act out your new behavior. Avoid all the tempting situations that would have you act out your old behavior and see what happens.

For some of you the chance of making a positive change with a great deal of willpower will come forth in time. For others you’ll continue repeating old behaviors until you change your behavior and for that to happen you’ll need to change habits of thought. However, hypnosis will speed up and guarantee that change of behavior will come forth easier, quicker and effortlessly in less time.

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What Your Phobia Spells: 

A phobia is an aggrandizement of a particular fear. Many psychoanalysts believe that there are very few people that actually do not have some form of phobia. Common phobias such as fear of bridges can be caused by anxieties of loss or death. Fear of cats and dogs can be brought on by offending someone-fear of retribution by domesticated animals are imagined-in place of those actually offended. Fear of snakes can be effected by a woman who has been raped or is fearful of, or by a man being terror stricken that he is a homosexual. Fear of storms are identified with lack of protection, domestic insecurity. The following list of phobias, though perhaps not as common, are definitely encountered.

Acrophobia: (Fear Of High Places)

Repressed feelings of taking your own life have resulted in this particular form of phobia.

Aerophobia: (Fear Of Flying)

What happens if the pilot does not know what to do in an emergency? What happens if the emergency door doesn’t open? Strangely, it is not the fear of being in the air that affects you, it is actually your fear of not being in command which leaves you feeling powerless.

Agoraphobia:(Fear Of Going Outdoors)

Because all of your life you have been taught to be successful, somehow you feel the reverse. The precautionary measure that you take by not mingling outside, assures you of not losing, for the time being anyway.

Arachnophobia: (Fear Of Spiders)

Overwhelmingly affecting women, psychoanalysts interpret the long legs as mother, as a castrating and preying demon. Others say the spider is seen as possessing bisexual genitalia, therefore casting doubt concerning one’s sexual identity.

Claustrophobia: (Fear Of Enclosed Places)

Therapists believe that at a young age, the claustrophobic was forced to stay either in his room or indoors, rendering him helpless, for which he still has not recovered.

Coitophobia: (Fear Of Sexual Intercourse)

Recent studies have concluded that many children, male and female alike, have manifested a fear of the opposite sex, being caused by having been sexually abused as a child, and more often than not from a close family member. A feeling of helplessness became associated in the child’s character, which he unfortunately associates with sexual relations.

Gasmophobia: (Fear Of Marriage)

The two basic causes underlying this fear is that while growing up your own parents were constantly battling with each other, whether physically or emotionally and the fact that you are tied down to one partner for the rest of your life. Although an immature approach, many analysts suggest that fear itself has its roots in immaturity.

Graphophobia: (Fear Of Writing)

You fear that by signing on the dotted line you may be held accountable. This being caused as a young child (in school) by someone mocking what you had written, and that turned into the phobia.

Harpaxophobia: (Fear Of Robbers)

It is understandable that in this day and age, when the crime rate has soared, that one is concerned. Nevertheless, when this turns into a phobia, this is more than just mere concern. This is brought about by a general fear of being assaulted, because your personality does not allow any infringement on your being whatsoever.

Homophobia: (Fear Of Homosexuals)

Men who have anxieties concerning latent homosexual tendencies, suffer from this phobia, sometimes even acting violently against them, to suppress admitting the truth.  

Hydrophobia: (Fear Of Water)

Because at some point in your life you were in some body of water, when you felt helpless, perhaps near death, which resulted in this fear.

Necrophobia: (Fear Of Death)

This has been brought about by someone who was very dear to you and when that person died, you actually felt abandoned by that person, and to this day you suffer because of this.

Oneirophobia: (Fear Of Dreams)

In order to dream you lose a certain degree of consciousness, which is something that you are not prepared to do. Therefore you are awake when you should be sleeping, and because you are so fatigued, you are fit to be tied. Then out of sheer exhaustion, you fall into a deep sleep, albeit short and see horror movies, which makes your phobia even worse, because you know that by falling asleep, you’ll have these horrible dreams.

Osphresiophobia: (Fear Of Body Odors)

This sufferer, having been religiously convinced that the body is full of vice, hence, is dirty, associates sin with smell and fears he himself as the sinner.

Pyrophobia: (Fear Of Fire)

Either you or someone in your memory was engulfed in flames and the emotional scars remain.

There are those of us who love to fly… and there are those of us who simply refuse to fly. The gap between these two frames of mind is huge. The fear of flying, in particular, is fueled by the media. An airplane crash is instant national news. The media loves to exploit the aviation industry whether it be for financial gain, viewer ratings, or a combination of the two. One could only wonder what the evening news would be like if they showed successful takeoffs and landings every night. General aviation is treated much the same as the commercial airlines in regards to media coverage. General aviation includes all flying other than scheduled commercial flights and the flying of military aircraft. General aviation includes the local pilots flying out of that non-towered airport at the edge of town; the part-time aviators who fly for a hobby, as well as commercially rated professional pilots and instructors who love to share the flying phenomenon with others. Those who love to fly low and slow and enjoy the beauty of the landscape and the feeling of flight can share this wonderful experience with those on the ground thanks to modern technology specifically the the hand-held video camera.Flying is an incredible experience that many people may never have the privilege of experiencing for themselves.Those who choose not the fly in propeller driven airplanes might never see the amazing view available through the windshield. Websites featuring videos uploaded by their individual users such as Youtube and Eye of the Pilot are changing that. Videos shot from the cockpit of a small airplane are enlightening to say the very least. If you are a private pilot with access to a small plane and a handheld video cam, you may want to take some time and record a flight or two. The process is simple and the rewards are plenty. Sharing cockpit videos among family and friends can spark interest in general aviation and maybe even lessen the fears of those who refuse or resist flying.Producing a flying video is actually quite simple. The camera however, will need an external microphone jack if you wish to record your voice and radio chatter. A handy cam without the microphone jack will do nothing more than record video plus your motor noise which is not typically desirable. With some basic software and a bit of computer savvy, music or narration can be dubbed over your video in this case. Cameras with an external microphone jack can be interfaced with the intercom of the airplane through the use of a patch cord. It simply plugs into your headset in series with your connection to the jack on the airplane’s instrument panel. These patch cords are available at your friendly neighborhood pilot supply shop. There are also schematics available on some aviation websites for those interested in making their own patch cord.Digital video cameras work best if you’re planning to share the video online. Older analog cameras using the 8mm tapes or even the VHS style cameras are fine if you are planning on viewing these flying adventures from home on a television set. These tapes can be converted to a digital file through the use of some commercially available computer hardware and software, although this method can be cumbersome and time consuming and is not generally recommended for those interested in posting the videos online. Flying an airplane is a privilege. Becoming a private pilot takes education, dedication, training, and plenty of practice. To many pilots, flying is literally sacred. That’s why sharing this experience with those not fortunate enough to find themselves in a cockpit can be done best through the magic of video.

The big question is “Can hypnosis cure phobias?”.
When the hypnotist you are asking answers with a resounding “yes”, the next thought is usually along the lines of “yeah, right”.
But you’d be amazed at the high success rate that hypnosis has with phobias.
Top athletes regularly use hypnosis in all areas of their career. One of these areas that they may not be quite as public about is a fear of flying. After all, how can something as common place as flying be something to be afraid of? Surely almost every plane that takes off lands again safely?
Yet fear of flying is a biggie.
Hypnosis to the rescue!
By getting to the core of the fear, hypnosis can turn round the fear of flying and let you face an airport without turning into a quivering wreck.
The same goes for any other fear or phobia you’ve got.
For instance, if you’ve been afraid of heights since childhood, you can listen to a hypnosis MP3 and watch the fear melt away. This won’t mean that you will lose the natural fear that kicks in when you are about to do something stupid from a height. But it will mean that you can climb a tower or tall building and admire the view, without your knuckles turning white while they are gripping the nearest safe object.
Public speaking is another very common fear. Truth be known, most of the audience probably don’t care what you are saying in your presentation. They’re just glad that it’s you who drew the short straw rather than them. You can use hypnosis to boost your confidence in public speaking so that you don’t break out into a cold sweat the next time you are asked to speak in public.