9 Steps to Overcome Fear of Flying

I have recently had a lady who came to me on Monday asking me to do something as Friday she is supposed to fly to London and she is very scared. In fact, she feels she is getting ready to die and nobody else understands.

A lot of us suffer from various phobias and to us, our fears are real and no matter how much other people tell us that we should just chill out as ‘it’s very unlikely for the plane to crash’, we just feel we are not being gotten and that upsets us even more. What upsets us is also that feeling of being ‘powerless’ and out of control.

I believe the fear of flying comes from deep rooted fear we felt already as children we may not even remember, therefore when I work with my clients, I go deep and I take them on board for the program which not only clears up their fear of flying, but also gives them a freedom from a lot of other, daily fears in life they didn’t even know they are experiencing with an impact of it being really huge.

If you know about anyone suffering of fear or anxiety, please let them know I am here to speak to them and make their life easier and pass this e-mail on or feel free to book your session HERE.

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For now, as a start, here are few tips that should help you get through the flight:

1. Latch on to triggers that set you off

Figure out what frightens you and examine how your anxiety reaction is triggered. Your goal is to identify your particular triggers, so you can manage your fear when anxiety levels are low. Learning what sets you off makes it easier to turn it off.

2. Step onto the airplane with knowledge

Anxiety thrives on ignorance, and feeds off “what if?” catastrophic thoughts. But once you become knowledgeable, your “what if?” thoughts are limited by the facts. Become familiar with the facts. They will not eliminate your anxiety, but they will help you manage it.

3. Anticipate your anxiety

Anticipatory anxiety is what we experience in anticipation of a fear. It is often the most intense anxiety you will experience during your flight, but it is not an accurate predictor of how you will feel on the flight. It is frequently far greater than what you actually experience.

4. Separate fear from danger

It is often difficult to separate anxiety from danger because your body reacts in exactly the same way to both. Be sure to label your fear as anxiety. Tell yourself that anxiety makes your frightening thoughts feel more likely to occur, and remind yourself that feeling anxious doesn’t mean you are in danger. You are safe even when feeling intense anxiety.

5. Recognize that common sense makes no sense

Part A: Anxiety tricks common sense.
Anxiety will trick you into thinking you are in danger when you are perfectly safe. Your gut feelings in these instances will always tell you to avoid, but if you follow these feelings, you will always be reinforcing your anxiety.

Part B: You can outsmart anxiety.
As a rule, do the opposite of what anxious feelings are telling you to do. Fight what the anxiety is telling you to do, but embrace the discomfort that anxiety brings.

6. Smooth over things that go bump in the flight

To manage anxiety when turbulence hits, learn about airplanes and how they are designed to handle turbulence. Focus on managing your anxiety, rather than when the turbulence will end or how severe it might get. Remind yourself that you are safe.

7. Educate fellow fliers how to help you

Other fliers need to know what frightens you, along with what helps you most to cope with anxiety during a flight. Your task is to be clear about your triggers and ask specifically for what you find most useful.

8. Value each flight

Exposure is the active ingredient in overcoming your phobia. Every flight provides you with the opportunity to make the next one easier. Your goal is to retrain your brain to become less sensitized to the triggers that set you off.

9. Focus on what is waiting for you on the other side

Write down and share with people around you about what you look forward to experience, to see, on people you are going to meet and amazing photos you will take being on your holidays. Focus on the moment when you get out of the plane feeling proud of yourself!