Five Ways To Face Your Fear of Flying
First off, you’re not alone. Having a fear of flying is very common.
Aviophobia is the clinical term used to describe what may be affecting you and nearly 20 million people who would rather take a long road trip than board a plane. And it’s completely understood. Sitting in a chair some thousand feet in the air with no way of control can put a person in a position of powerlessness.
Being nervous is natural, but everyone must overcome their fear of flying.
Fear can restrict you from way more than the sky ever could.
There will come a time where friends and family alike will want to invite you to exotic places to celebrate with them and that greyhound ticket will just not cut it. What happens when you need to fly across the country for business?
Or would you prefer to explain your unwillingness to fly due to nerves and anxiety to your potential new boss?
The good news is that you can master this and be well on your way across the globe in no time. Here are our five tips on how to overcome a fear of flying.
1. Prepare your mind
It’s generally thought that at best we use only about 10% of our mind’s power. That leaves the other 90% of space available for programming, or re-programming.
Start with positive scenarios of you walking off the plane after landing. Instead of mentally replaying that gory airplane crash you witnessed on TV, opt to read up on the safety statistics of flying as of recent. You may be delighted to find that flying is still considered one of the safest forms of transportation today.
2. Stop Being A Control Freak
Perhaps the biggest component of aviophobia is that you’re not in control. Some unknown pilot and their sidekick are at the front of the plane adjusting altitude and course during the flight and there is no telling of when turbulence will kick in. More often than not, instances like these are what make a fear of flying a common phobia.
A good tip to remind yourself is this— pilots undergo many months of intense training before being entrusted with the precious lives of passengers along with the precious metal of a million-dollar business. The standard amount of hours required for flight training is a minimum of 1500 hours. If that’s not enough, the consistent assistance from motor control and autopilot serves almost as a third brain in the cockpit to ensure that you have a totally uneventful flight, leaving all of the flair and fun for your destination. In simple words, let the pilots do their job. We all have to trust someone.
3. Don’t Be Afraid To Alert The Attendants
Although it may seem at times that flight attendants are super busy shuffling through the isles to cater to hungry passengers, a large part of their job is to make the flight attendees secure and comfortable. It’s totally fine to alert the attendant in your section and tell them how fearful you are of flying. It may be possible they can make you a priority by keeping someone close to monitor your section and possibly a member who will sit beside you. You aren’t the first, and surely won’t be the last to request additional accommodation so don’t be afraid to inform them of your apprehension. Your attendant may even have some cool facts about flying that will settle your nerves. If not, let's hope they have at least a good joke. If you’re lucky, you may hear the pilot crack a few jokes to break the ice before take-off to diminish your fear of flying.
4. Pack A Playlist
The one thing that you can absolutely control before boarding the plane is your music playlist. This is where you are encouraged to let it all hang out. If it is classical music that relaxes your fear of flying, add that to the playlist. Maybe Cash Money Records is taking over for the 99s and the 2000s! Whatever helps distracts you from the fact you’re 38,000 feet in the sky, add it to your playlist. Go all out and make it a festival with all your favorite hits. Just be sure to calculate the time of the trip to the length of the playlist so you don’t get bored and start overthinking.
Not much of a music aficionado, try noise-canceling headphones.
They work brilliantly to keep the noise of jet engines at bay. The neat thing about these headphones is the way they cover your entire ear, but be sure to pick a pair that is comfortable for your entire journey.
5. Hypnotize Yourself
If the music itself isn’t going to be enough of a spell, look into professional hypnosis.
Hypnosis has been proven to help reduce the fear of flying which is mostly undesirable emotions in your subconscious.
Best-selling self-help author Glenn Harrold recommends finding a remedy in audio self-hypnosis a few weeks before your flight to ensure the cumulative effect the sound waves have on the brain.
