Flights - When On Holidays How Can You Cope With Fear Of Flying?

Written by Dorothy Yamich

Thursday, 05 November 2009 17:38

by DorothyYamich

If you have ever flown on commercial air flights, in smaller propeller aircraft, or in helicopters and have experienced the fear of flying you are not alone. Millions of people around the world who travel by airlines on their vacation or holidays have experienced the same fear to a lesser or greater extent. There are also millions of people worldwide that travel by auto, bus, train just to avoid commercial air flights. Some vacationers may take cruises if they are close enough to drive to the cruise line departure ports.

Ironically, even though air travel is about thirty times safer than traveling by car, you very rarely hear about people that have a fear of driving. Maybe the television, radio, internet and print media contributes to this fear when they graphically cover commercial airline crashes and the subsequent large number of air travelers that are injured or perish.

Fear of flying on commercial flights can be triggered by a number of concerns such as the fear of heights, the fear of falling, the fear of the takeoff and the landing, the fear of crashing, the fear of flying over water, the fear of flying at night, the feeling of losing control causing panic attacks, air turbulence, stormy weather, the fear of hijackers or terrorists, motion sickness, and claustrophobia such as the fear of being trapped in the confined space of an airline cabin as well as being packed in like sardines with your fellow passengers, and also other phobias.

Some of the other symptoms of the fear of flying can be mild nervousness to extreme anxiety and panic attacks, a shortness of breath and tightness in your chest, chest pains, clammy hands, headaches, as well as nausea and vomiting.

If your fear of flying is severe, you should consider enrolling in an intensive treatment program. However, if your fear of flying is not severe, there are some things you can do that may help remedy this problem.

Firstly, sit in a seat that is over the airplane wings, preferably not a window seat, so you cant look down at the ground. When you sit over the wings you will also experience a smoother flight.

If you can do it, you should leave your seat belt on as much as possible. If air turbulence suddenly occurs, you will not get jarred or bounced about as much.

Eat light and try to avoid eating or drinking any food or beverage that contains sugar, caffeine, or alcohol.

It will really help a lot if you try to stay positive and always think only positive thoughts.

Try to occupy your mind and calm your thoughts by listening to soft, soothing music on your I-Pod.

It usually helps to wear eye shades and try to sleep on the flight if you can.

You may feel less stressed if you can book a flight that leaves at an off-peak time as there are usually fewer airline passengers to contend with.

If you are thinking of taking any prescription or over-the-counter drugs to calm yourself down on your flight, be sure that you consult first with your family doctor or pharmacist. Keep in mind that if you are already taking prescriptions for pre-existing conditions, any new medication, even the over-the-counter ones, may interact adversely with them.

I have a true story that could help you with this problem. A number of years ago a good friend of mine had a severe case of the fear of flying. His main fear was that he was afraid of dying in a plane crash. A funny thing is he had no problem driving all over the country, or taking a train or Greyhound bus when he traveled on his holidays.

Fortunately he started employment selling ads for a local community newspaper near a busy international airport. As he drove around to sell advertising to the stores in the area, he constantly observed large commercial aircraft take off and land every couple minutes. He heard the deafening roar of airline engines day in and day out. Eventually he started losing his fear of flying.

He finally made a big decision to go on a vacation in Hawaii, which he had always dreamed of doing. The only problem was that he had no choice but to fly. Before he left he took out flight insurance just in case the plane crashed. He wanted to be sure he would leave something for his mom and dad if he didnt come back.

Before boarding the plane he took a sleeping pill hoping would keep him calm. He deliberately booked a window seat because he really wanted to be able to see where he was going and what the earth and ocean looked like from the air.

When the flight attendant told the passengers to fasten their seat belts, he cinched his belt up so tight he said he thought he would break it. All through the flight he removed his seat belt only to go to the washroom. During the flight to Hawaii the only thing that really bothered him was that his ears got plugged up and hurt because of the changes in cabin pressure on the takeoff and landing. A fellow passenger suggested that he should chew some gum and that seemed to do the trick.

When he landed in Hawaii he was very proud of himself! After all those wasted years being hung up on that terrible phobia he finally broke free. All it took was working near an international airport and watching the constant flow of airliners takeoff and land to reprogram his mind.

If you do have a fear of flying you must try and rid yourself of this debilitating, irrational fear. Your life will be changed forever when you allow yourself to soar with the eagles and fly anywhere in this wonderful world that your heart desires.

Visit FlyingWithoutFear.com if you would like more information on how vacationers as well as business travelers can lessen their fear of flying. This company offers you a free online self-help course that we highly recommend taking. The course is conducted by a currently flying airline captain.

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