Fear of Flying: Advice and Tips
Many people have a fear of flying despite the fact that it is one of the safest forms of travel. There is a host of reasons why some of us fear getting on that plane, and there is a host of ways to get over this phobia. Here are some tips to start that process.
By Trevor Johnson
Some of us, even though we’ve heard that flying is the safest form of
transport, still fill with dread at the thought of having to fly. Here are some
tips to help calm your fears.
- Learn That Flying Is Safe
If your conscious mind starts to panic at the thought of stepping onto a plane, it’s time to do some research and quell your fears. The media focus on plane accidents because so many people are involved. Yet they ignore car accidents which regularly injure more people than flying. If you’re happy to drive then you should be able to rationalise your thoughts to accept that flying is even safer. - Find Out Your Other Fears
Sometimes the problem that we call flying phobia is actually a different problem in disguise. These could be the loss of control. In a car, you’re probably either driving or close enough to the driver to be able to see what is going on. On a plane, the pilot is only a voice over the speaker system. This lack of control can be the root cause of your issues.
Or it may be that you don’t like being in an enclosed space for hours on end. Fear of heights could even be the root cause of your aerophobia. Whatever the underlying cause is, identify it and then deal with it. There are lots of programs out there to help you with phobias – hypnosis is one tool that works well, for example. - Learn to Relax
Your phobia could be as simple as not being able to relax. Learning a relaxation process such as yoga or meditation could be the key to being able to step on board an aircraft without turning into a nervous wreck. Start with a simple breathing exercise: take a long deep breath in, hold it for a couple seconds and slowly exhale. Doing this four or five times in a row will help you to relax. Maybe not enough to walk up those steps yet, but it’s a start. - Use Your Imagination
If you’re happy taking a rollercoaster ride, use your mind to turn the flight into a theme park ride. Of course, if the thought of rollercoasters fills you with dread as well then you’ll need to decide on some other strategy. Whatever you decide to model your flight on, fill it with a sense of safety and adventure. If you were fine with flying when as a child, go back into your memory and think about the eager anticipation you felt when your parents first broke the news that you were going to fly in the sky! - Use a Hypnosis MP3
Hypnosis works really well for all sorts of things including overcoming your phobias. It’s easy to do and works at such a deep level that you’ll be “fixed” forever with just a few sessions. Get hold of a download or haul out your Yellow Pages for a personal session.
You can find more information about overcoming your fear of flying at www.squidoo.com/flyingfear.
