The fear of flying isn’t uncommon, around 20$ of us are affected by acrophobia to some degree. It’s a phobia causing fear and panic, and in extreme cases nausea at the mere mention of aviation travel. In the past this wasn’t a big issue, but with a shrinking world, most will use an airplane to travel.
Luckily for the phobic amongst us, there are ways to treat this phobia. There are certain ways to fly on planes without the use of expensive psychotherapies and medications.
Before you start researching be sure your fear of flying isn’t due to another phobia. Many suffer from the fear of flight due to other phobias such as claustrophobia or vertigo. If this your issue you should work on combating the root cause, rather then the symptom of fear of flying.
The first thing is research. Many sufferers who fear flying have a lack of trust in the planes, or new threats such as terrorism and hi-jacking. So research is one of the main therapies you can use to combat your phobia. Here is a list of research tools to alleviate your concern:
The kind of training pilots must go through.
How many terrorist attacks have there been over the past year, 3 years?
The requirements for any flight attendances: Emergency procedures, taking care of passengers etc…
What safety mechanisms does the plane have built in
The performance record of the plane you are planning on flying on.
Number of air hours pilots must have before pilots are allowed to fly commercial airplanes.
How many crashes have there been versus the number of uneventful flights.
If you do enough research (and remember not to believe everything found on the Internet) then you should find enough information to sooth any worries.
The next thing you can do is during the flight sooth yourself. Wear comfortable clothes, sturdy shoes, a small pillow and try talking to the other passengers on employees. If you are still not at ease, take a portable music play and some headphone with your favorite calming music. Even if you don’t have a music player take some headphones, since many airplanes have activities which require the use of these, which to use you would otherwise need to buy them, which can be expensive.
Bring anything that will help keep your mind off the flight: Music, games books anything to make you forget that you are on a plane and is hand held.
It is also important to bring headphones. If you have a portable music player, then choose your favorite soothing, relaxing songs and let your mind drift away from the fact that you are on a flight. If you do not have a music player, bring the headphones anyway. If your airline offers in-flight movies, TV shows, games, or any other services of that sort, they will often not include headphones and you may have to pay for them.
If none of those ideas would keep you amused enough to overcome your anxiety, then bring a good book. Bring whatever you need in order to distract yourself from the flight.
Another none medicinal method is joining a support group for fear of flight sufferers. Clinics are designed to help relax and clam you down and reassure you that everything will go fine with any flight you may take. This has the added benefit of not being alone while you are working through your fear, since this phobia of fear of flight is not uncommon. Be sure to look up any clinics that might be in your area.
The main thing you should do is ask yourself what scares you about flying, and then take steps to conquer this fer, with either research or a support group. Welcome any methods with open arms since flying is a convenient way to travel all round the world and missing out due to a fear is a shame. Be sure to try and distract yourself while traveling in the air and you should soon be at your holiday destination ready to have a great time!