EFT for Fear of Flying

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EFT for Fear of Flying

airplane wing towards clouds 731217smCould this therapist end your fear of flying in just three sessions? Phobia expert uses unusual treatment dubbed 'acupuncture without needles' to help aerophobics

  • Therapist Lauren Rosenberg uses Emotional Freedom Technique
  • Mrs Rosenberg has near 100 percent success rate helping aerophobics
  • Also assists clients with OCD, food allergies and stress-related illnesses

By Simon Cable for MailOnline Daily Mail: 18:08, 2 November 2014 | Updated: 18:10, 2 November 2014

Getting on a plane for many people is an experience to be endured rather than enjoyed.

But if you are among the estimated 10 per cent of the population who suffer from a fear of flying, help could be at hand.

A London-based therapist specialising in anxiety disorders says she has a near 100 per cent success rate in helping clients overcome aerophobia – an extreme fear of flying - using holistic therapies and an unusual method called Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT).

Lauren Rosenberg uses the Emotional Freedom Technique to help clients suffering from anxiety disorders

Fear and phobia expert Lauren Rosenberg describes the technique as ‘acupuncture without needles’.

She says that as well as helping patients suffering from phobias, she has also been able to assist clients struggling with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, food allergies and stress-related illnesses.

The process involves using a technique called ‘tapping’ – a method of freeing the body’s energy flow which Mrs Rosenberg says becomes blocked during moments of anxiety.

The French-born former special needs teacher also uses techniques called Matrix Birth Re-imprinting, EmoTrance and Integral Eye Movement Technique, which she claims are able to help ‘collapse’ negative beliefs and emotions connected to traumatic events such as flying.

She says she has seen around 15 patients for aerophobia, almost all of whom say they can now travel on planes without fear.

Mrs Rosenberg says that as well as helping patients suffering from phobias, she has also been able to assist clients struggling with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, food allergies and stress-related illnesses

‘If you have a fear of flying you have a belief that being on a plane is dangerous,' says Lauren.

‘Maybe the fear comes from not being in control. For one patient, it was related to a film she had seen when she was young.

‘We’ve all had negative experiences in our lives which felt very intense, especially if we were young when they happened and even more so if they were repeated.

'Thinking about these can cause strong emotions and anxiety years after the event.

‘Such bad experiences can cause a disruption in the body’s energy system, a kind of ‘short circuit’, which can be at the root of negative feelings, phobias and health issues.' 

Mrs Rosenberg says she has helped many clients struggling with aerophobia, with almost every one saying they can now travel on planes without fear

There are more than 12 million people in the UK who suffer from aerophobia.

Many of the country's leading airlines now offer courses designed to help people overcome their fears, while aerophobics can also benefit from the increasing number of flight simulators throughout the country which are aimed at helping familiarise passengers with the safety measures and systems that pilots have to keep their passengers safe.

Mrs Rosenberg explains that tapping is a type of ‘first-aid kit’ that she teaches clients to use themselves, and which can help calm them down if they need to during stressful moments such as during take-off and moments of turbulence.

It involves a combination of deep breathing, applying pressure to different points of the body and using the fingertips to stimulate the body’s energy flow to overcome the anxiety. 

There are more than 12 million people in the UK who suffer from aerophobia – a fear of flying. Aerophobics can benefit from using flight simulators aimed at helping passengers understand a plane's safety measure

Mrs Rosenberg previously worked as a special needs teacher, before deciding to work full-time with holistic therapy after seeing how her daughter's allergies had been helped by EFT.

She now runs the Fear Busters clinic in north-west London and treats clients across the world.

'Gradually I had friends asking me to help them,' she said. 'It has taken me about four or five years to perfect everything I have learned and to create a formula that works.

‘I am now a member of the Association for the Advancement of Meridian Energy Techniques (AAMET) and the AMT that is covered by the Holistic Services Insurance.’

‘Everybody is different. People usually have three sessions to cure their fear. Some people need six sessions. 

'For children, I usually see them for a three-week program, and for adults, it is a six-week program.

HOW THREE SESSIONS OF EFT HELPED ME TACKLE MY FEAR OF FLYING 

Julie, in her forties, had tried hypnotism, prescription drugs, and herbal remedies to try and cure her fear of flying, but without success. She says she was finally helped after a course of EFT.

‘To say that I was scared of flying was a huge understatement – I was terrified.

‘The prospect of getting on a plane filled me with fear and dread, even looking at a plane in the sky made me start to shake.

‘I'd tried hypnotism, herbal remedies, prescription drugs, and alcohol, none of which have helped. 

‘With a girls holiday to Marbella approaching, I thought it was a great chance to give this therapy a try.

‘Lauren sent me a questionnaire to complete before my first session, which asked for general information about my fear, plus other aspects of my life.

‘On my first visit, Lauren talked me through how EFT could work for me, alongside other holistic therapies.

‘The EFT involves ‘body-tapping’, which unblocks disruptions in energy flow.

‘Lauren made me realize that my fear is not ‘real’ - it’s an emotion, or energy, that can be cleared.

‘I had managed to train my brain that my fear was real and now we had to un-train it.

‘After a combination of EFT and positive visualization, we finally discovered the route of my fear – not a phobia passed down from my parents as I had always thought, but a scene from a long-forgotten film.

‘In my second session, Lauren used ‘eye-scrambling’ to reduce the intensity of the image I had from the film, and along with more tapping, I was feeling much more confident.

‘In my third and final session, Lauren needed to deal with the worst part of my fear - taking off.

‘She used breathing techniques along with visualization to release the blocked bad energy that was causing the fear. I could physically feel the fear leaving my body!

‘At the end of the session, I was very emotional, relieved that I no longer had my fear, and very excited about my holiday.

‘The real test was two days later when I set off for Luton Airport with my friends.

‘I was still apprehensive, hoping beyond hope that all Lauren’s hard work was going to pay off.

‘We boarded the plane, and I was ok. We found our seats, strapped ourselves in, and listened to the safety briefing, and I was ok.

‘Then as the plane started to move I felt myself relax, I picked up a magazine and chatted to my friends as the plane lifted into the air.

‘No tears, no squeezing my friends’ hands, no shaking, no paranoia about every noise and bump!

‘I am so grateful to Lauren for this transformation. I can now look forward to going on holiday without fearing the journey.’

Recalling a patient she had who sought help for aerophobia, Mrs. Rosenberg said: ‘I had a lady in Australia, who’d had a bad flight when she was little with her parents.

‘We did some ‘tapping’ inside the image and collapsed the belief that she made at the time.

‘Once she collapsed that belief she was able to go on a plane without fear.

‘It is all about the messages that the mind is sending.’

Video

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EFT - How to Tap

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MR Demonstration

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What is the experience?

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When to use?