How EMDR Can Help With Flight Anxiety, Test Anxiety, and Public Speaking
Do you feel like your body reacts before your mind can catch up—your heart racing before boarding a plane, sitting for an exam, or stepping up to speak? You may try to stay calm or power through, but the anxiety always finds a way back in.
These aren't random fears. They often stem from deeper experiences held in the nervous system. That’s where EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) can make a real difference.
What Is EMDR?
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a trauma-focused therapy that helps your brain process and resolve distressing memories, beliefs, or sensations that may be “stuck” in your nervous system. It’s especially effective for anxiety, phobias, and performance-related fears like flying, test-taking, and public speaking.
Rather than endlessly talking about your fears, EMDR helps you reprocess the original experiences that triggered them—so your brain and body no longer react as if you're in danger.
EMDR is grounded in the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model, which holds that your brain is naturally wired to heal. When past experiences are fully processed, your nervous system can adapt and integrate new, empowering beliefs.
For example, a belief like “I can’t do this” can shift into a felt sense of “I can do hard things”—not just logically, but emotionally and physically as well.
Why These Anxieties Run Deeper Than You Think
Let’s break down three common forms of anxiety that EMDR can help with:
✈️ Flight Anxiety
You may know that flying is statistically safe—but your body might not feel that way. Fear of flying often isn't just about turbulence or plane crashes. It can be rooted in:
Past traumatic travel experiences
A sense of helplessness or loss of control
Early life trauma triggered by enclosed or unfamiliar environments
Claustrophobia or fear of not being able to breathe in tight spaces
Discomfort in crowded airports or planes
When your nervous system associates flying with danger—whether consciously or not—your body responds with panic, tension, or avoidance.
How EMDR Can Help
EMDR works by addressing both the past and present components of your fear. First, we focus on building inner resources and a sense of agency—helping you feel more grounded and in control. Then, we gently process any related traumatic memories or emotional triggers. Finally, EMDR helps your brain form new, adaptive associations with flying—ones rooted in safety, confidence, and choice.
With support, many clients find they can board a plane with greater ease, breathe more freely, and even look forward to travel again.
📝 Test Anxiety
You may study hard, prepare well, and still find yourself blanking out or spiraling before exams. EMDR can target:
Childhood academic pressure or fear of failure
Experiences of shame, punishment, or criticism in school
Beliefs like “I’m not good enough” or “I’ll mess this up”
By reprocessing these early memories and beliefs, EMDR helps you show up to tests feeling more grounded, focused, and confident.
🎤 Public Speaking Anxiety
Even if you're well-prepared, public speaking may trigger panic, freezing, or avoidance. EMDR can work with:
Memories of being laughed at, silenced, or judged in school or family settings
Social anxiety rooted in rejection or emotional neglect
Internalized pressure to perform perfectly to be accepted
Once these emotional wounds are processed, many people report feeling more free to speak up, make mistakes, and be seen without fear.
Why EMDR Works for These Kinds of Anxiety
EMDR works directly with your brain’s fear circuitry—the limbic system—which is responsible for triggering fight, flight, or freeze responses. That’s why even if the rational part of your brain (the frontal lobe) knows you’re safe, your body may still respond with panic or shutdown.
You might understand that:
Flying is statistically safe
One test doesn’t define your worth
Most people aren’t judging you when you speak
But your nervous system may still sound the alarm as if you’re in danger.
EMDR helps by:
Desensitizing the fear response, so those situations no longer feel threatening
Installing new, empowering beliefs, like “I can handle this” or “I’m safe now”
Reconnecting you to a sense of calm and choice, even in high-pressure moments
Building a future template, so you can mentally and emotionally rehearse approaching tests, flights, or presentations with confidence and clarity
This kind of work doesn’t just help you cope—it helps you retrain your brain and body to respond differently, so you can show up fully and thrive.
You Don’t Have to Just Cope—You Can Heal
Maybe you’ve already tried deep breathing, positive affirmations, or just pushing through. These strategies can offer short-term relief—but EMDR offers something deeper: a chance to heal the root cause of your anxiety. A chance for your body to finally register that you are safe and no longer in danger.
If anxiety has been stealing your joy, limiting your opportunities, or holding you back from being fully present—therapy can help.
✨ Take that test you’ve prepared for and pass it with confidence.
✨ Board that flight and enjoy the vacation you’ve been dreaming about.
✨ Stand in front of the room and share your knowledge with clarity and ease.
You’re capable. You’re ready. And with the right support, these goals are absolutely achievable.
👉 Learn more about my Anxiety Therapy for Flying, Tests, & Public Speaking
📍 I offer online therapy throughout Washington State, and I am based in Lynnwood WA.
💬 Reach out for a free 15-minute consultation to see if EMDR is a good fit for you.