If you have ever been afraid of getting on an airplane, you're not the only one. The fear of flying, known as Aerophobia, is among the most common phobias that people can have. This fear is a crippling, overwhelming feeling. It can even keep you from conducting business; traveling the world, or seeing far-off loved ones. Overcoming such a fear used to take many years of therapy, but now there are hypnosis and NLP techniques to eliminate phobias for quicker, life-improving results.

Do you wonder exactly what defines a phobia? Phobias are categorized as a type of anxiety disorder, and many people who suffer from them can experience anxiety attacks and other unpleasant symptoms such as dizziness, physical illness, or a rapid heart beat. Many people report feeling unwell or losing their self-control, and organize their lives around their phobia in an effort to avoid their fears.

For people with a fear of flying, even the mere thought of getting on an airplane might cause symptoms of an anxiety attack. Other people might feel only a bit uneasy while on the ground, but grow hysterical once the airplane takes off.

Imagine a case in which a woman with Aerophobia is sitting on an airplane before takeoff. She begins to feel nervous and her heart starts to race. She knows it is safe to fly, but she is afraid nonetheless. When the plane is in the air, she is powerless to do anything but cry uncontrollably, and continues to weep throughout the trip until she can finally get off the plane. As extreme as this sounds, this type of reaction is shared by a very high amount of people.

Phobias are characterized by extreme, illogical fear. People with Aerophobia are afraid of air travel even when they realize that flying is really a very safe form of travel. They often feel humiliated when they respond by crying, shivering, or having a panic attack, but feel powerless to restrain themselves. For many, this fear of losing control is as daunting as the fear of flying itself.

In actuality, people with phobias cannot control themselves because their anxieties are based in the unconscious mind, which no amount of conscious effort or willpower can help. This is where hypnosis comes into play. Ericksonian hypnosis therapy and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) techniques operate at the unconscious level of thought to effectively treat phobias.

A good hypnosis therapy program for eliminating a phobia contains several successive steps. Step one is hypnotherapy for relaxation, relieving tension and anxiety. Once a person is stress-free and relaxed, hypnosis therapy directs new thoughts in the unconscious mind to eliminate the fear. NLP itself treats fears by specifically targeting the single thought process that results in a phobia.

Instead of traditional hypnotherapy, which utilizes direct post-hypnotic suggestions, Ericksonian hypnosis therapy uses indirect suggestions in discussion to persuade the unconscious mind to follow a new, more reasonable line of thought. It works better than traditional hypnotherapy because people usually ignore straightforward post-hypnotic suggestions, but find it harder to reject indirect suggestions that are concealed in interesting stories and metaphors.

The specialized wording of post-hypnotic suggestions in traditional hypnosis means that many traditional hypnotherapy programs will only work to treat a particular given phobia. A remarkable feature of the Ericksonian hypnosis and NLP program is that it isn't phobia specific and can extinguish any phobia, in any individual. It works for most people because the system is made up of multiple unique hypnotherapy techniques assembled for maximum effectiveness.

The most useful phobia eliminating NLP technique that I practice is known as the Visual - Kinesthetic Disassociation. The nickname for the V/K is the "one session phobia cure," because of its remarkable effectiveness!

The combined Ericksonian hypnotherapy and NLP program is perfect for the independent thinker who wants to beat an illogical fear permanently. People can go through the step-by-step program at their own personal pace, but are typically surprised at the ease with which they finish the program and fight their phobia. The results people see with hypnotherapy often seem simply miraculous.

Hypnotherapy and NLP are life-changing tools for many people suffering from phobias. Ericksonian hypnosis therapy and NLP have helped countless people beat their phobias. The techniques are perfect for helping those who are afraid of air travel to enjoy flying and all of its perks. For years, hypnosis has been able to improve people's lives across the world, and extinguishing phobias is just one of the ways in which it changes lives.

Alan B. Densky, CH has been eliminating phobias using Hypnotherapy since 1978. He offers panic attacks hypnosis and NLP CDs plus a broad range of NLP CDs for stress & depression related symptoms. Visit his website for free hypnosis downloads.