Flying Anxiety

Flying anxiety …I’m deftly afraid of heights. So, if I’m not close to the ground, I panic. I have only flown a couple of times, so I’m not an expert in flying. Therefore, I just know that I don’t want to be in a seat next to a window so I don’t have to see the plane leave the ground when taking off or landing for that matter.

Also, I think I fear that something might happen (mechanically) with the plane. If there is a slight bump from the plane, I think we’re going down. I’m sure other’s feel the same way when I say I do not like turbulence.

Another problem I have is with my social anxiety. You’re practically sitting on top of other people. I like my space. So, it makes me feel awkward when someone keeps adjusting their position in the seat. Or the person in front of you decides to lean back without thinking about the person behind them.

“Sometimes you have to lose all you have to find out who you truly are.”
― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

First Time Flying Anxiety

My first time flying, I was scared shitless. Luckily, we sat in the middle aisle so I didn’t have to worry if I looked out the window. I just basically stayed in my seat the whole trip. Regardless, I never even got up to go to the bathroom. I wasn’t old enough to drink, otherwise I would have had a few.

For frequent travelers, flying is like taking a bus or a train. But for newbies, it can be terrifying, mainly due to the fear of the unknown. The fear of flying can be due to a number of reasons including claustrophobia, fear of heights, panic attacks, fear of being out of control or even from watching to many TV shows like air crash investigation!

Therefore, here are 4 tips to alleviate your flying anxiety so that you feel relaxed during your trip:

Familiarize yourself with sounds of the plane
Not having the knowledge about the noises produced during take-off, landing, and in-flight can make a first-time flyer very anxious. Hence, to combat your fear before you are in the air, familiarize yourself with the sounds coming out of your plane. Also, learn about turbulence, and other movements of an airplane. Even better, talk to your family members or friends who have taken flights before. This will help to eliminate flight anxiety and will also keep you calm until you reach your destination.
Learn about plane statistics
As per an article published in Elite Daily, the chances of dying in a plane crash are miniscule in fact about 1 in 11 million.

Before boarding flight,

firstly, look for the facts to keep your irrational mind calm
study how airplanes are built to fly in turbulence
gain more knowledge about the mechanics and physics of flight
lastly, learn about the many safety measures taken for each and every flight

Understanding the plane’s structure and its safety features can make any nervous flyer less afraid.

Understand your triggers
Before getting on a plane, it is important to understand what actually triggers your fear. For instance, if you are claustrophobic, your trigger might be when the door closes. The list of triggers could include turbulence, sudden noises or sudden movements, take-off, landing, etc. By addressing your triggers, you can start to understand and combat your phobia.
Choose your seat carefully
While booking your flight, choose your seat carefully. For instance, if you have a phobia of heights avoid booking a window seat as the sky-high views could potentially trigger your flying anxiety. Therefore, it’s better to choose a seat roughly in the middle of the plane to experience a smoother ride. Even if you have to pay a little extra, it’s well worth it.

“Never lose hope. Storms make people stronger and never last forever.”
― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

Turbulence Anxiety

Like I mentioned earlier (and I think everybody agrees) I don’t like turbulence. Consequently, I don’t know if you’ve had anxiety where you thought you were going to die, but my anxiety feels like that when I’m on a plane. I absolutely think that I’m never going to see my family or friends again.

All in all, if the thought of turbulence induces anxiety in you, here are some steps you can take before and during your flight to allay your concerns.

Choose your seat wisely.
Altogether, avoid sitting in the back of the plane. “Turbulence will be much more extreme in the back — including bumps and side-to-side, or yaw,” says David Rimmer, CEO at AB Aviation Group, an airplane safety advocate, and a survivor of a 2006 midair plane collision.

Listen to your pilots.
Additionally, most pilots will give passengers a weather rundown before takeoff, so listen up to any announcements being made over the PA while boarding. Once you’re in flight, always heed the warnings of the flight crew when it comes to turbulence — remain seated and buckled when advised.

Practice grounding techniques.
As a matter of fact, “grounding techniques are some of the most beneficial tactics for easing anxiety as they allow you to focus on your body and less on the thoughts in your head,” Mark Debus, a clinical manager of behavioral health services and licensed clinical social worker,. “For this, you’ll want to engage as many senses as possible: sight, touch, smell, and hearing.” Basically, he advises focusing on an object in front of you, such as a curtain or an exit sign, then lightly touching something solid, such as an armrest. While doing so, see if you can smell anything around you, from snacks to a passenger’s perfume. Then listen to any conversation around you, taking note of tone more than words.

Another key point, you can also use repetitive breathwork to ground yourself. “Alongside serving as a reminder to breathe, rhythmic breathing can have a calming effect on the body, where the person will usually start feeling calmer within 30 seconds of starting the exercise,” says Debus. At length, he advocates the 3-3-3 method: “First, you breathe in through the nose slowly for three seconds, hold your breath for a count of three, breathe out of your mouth for a count of three, wait for a count of three, then repeat.”

“Don’t be afraid of your fears. They’re not there to scare you. They’re there to let you know that something is worth it.”― C. Joy Bell C.

Treatments for Fear of Flying

 Hypnotherapy for Flying Anxiety

At the present time, a popular treatment method for fear of flying is hypnotherapy, which connects with the unconscious. Emphatically, it aims to change our thoughts and behaviors associated with flying, making it a more positive experience. Re-evaluating the reaction our unconscious mind creates can often help us to regain control over a fear and feel more at ease when anxious feelings arise.

Conversely, hypnotherapy for fear of flying aims to change our thoughts and behaviors associated with flying, making it a more positive experience. Therefore, through the power of suggestion and relaxation techniques, hypnotherapy can help you become a more relaxed, calm thinker, helping you to feel safe and in control of your fears. The hypnotherapist will tailor the suggestions to you, to help you recognize what triggers your fear and why, as well as changing your reaction.

 Fear of Flying Exposure Therapy

However, one technique used by psychologists to help people overcome their fear of flying is controlled exposure. Exposure-based therapies work by gradually exposing the person to the object or situation that frightens them.

In general, people with a fear of flying tend to avoid it. This means that they do not have the opportunity to learn that, very often, their fears or anxieties do not come true; or, if they do come true, that they can tolerate them because they are not as terrible as they imagine.

Even more, the most successful way to overcome phobias is exposure to feared triggers. It’s important to remember that avoidance keeps your phobia alive and intense. With a fear of flying, one of the biggest factors is anticipatory anxiety; the fear experienced in anticipation of taking a flight. Even so, any successful treatment will help fearful fliers manage anticipatory anxiety before, as well as during, a flight.

 Pharmacological Treatment

Medication is sometimes prescribed on a temporary basis to treat the symptoms of a flying phobia, such as anxiety and nausea. Therefore, these drugs are usually taken shortly before a flight. They include:

Anti-anxiety medication, such as diazepam (Valium) or alprazolam (Xanax).
Motion sickness medication, such as dimenhydrinate (Dramamine).

 Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

However, CBT helps people to change how they think about things they are afraid of. In CBT, people learn to question negative thoughts and emotions to see if they are realistic and helpful. Furthermore, if they are not, then these thoughts must be corrected so that they don’t develop into negative behavior patterns.

This study shows that the skills acquired in CBT treatment were associated with reduced flying anxiety. Also, the participants continued to use the skills after treatment was completed, which suggests that CBT has positive long-term effects. There are a number of CBT courses available online; the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies website is a good place to start.

“Believe in yourself. You are braver than you think, more talented than you know, and capable of more than you imagine.”― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

Overcoming Flight Anxiety: Self Assessment

Firstly, 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.
Step onto the airplane with knowledge.
Even more, 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.
Anticipate your anxiety.
Anticipatory anxiety is what we experience in anticipation of a fear. Henceforth, 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.
Separate fear from danger.
It is often difficult to separate anxiety from danger because your body reacts in exactly the same way to both. Therefore, 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. For this reason, you are safe even when feeling intense anxiety.
Recognize that common sense makes no sense.
Part A: Anxiety tricks common sense.
In any event, anxiety will trick you into thinking you are in danger when you are perfectly safe. Given that, 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.

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. Given these points, focus on managing your anxiety, rather than when the turbulence will end or how severe it might get. Remind yourself that you are safe.
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. Particularly, your task is to be clear about your triggers and ask specifically for what you find most useful.
Value each flight.
Exposure is the active ingredient in overcoming your phobia. In a word, 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.

“Accept yourself, love yourself, and keep moving forward. If you want to fly, you have to give up what weighs you down.”― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

Conclusion

Dealing with the fear of flying head on is your best bet. If you hit the train (anxiety) head on, it will derail. And then it’s hard to put it back on track. Consequently, I don’t fly that often to deal with my flying anxiety. If I did, I think I would want to try the hypnosis first. If that doesn’t work, I would try exposure therapy. Subsequently, that has worked for me in the past with the other anxiety issues I have (specifically driving).

Well, that’s going to do it for me today. Please, feel free to leave me any comments you might have, I do read them. I do write these posts on the subject of different types of anxiety. Usually, I include symptoms, causes and treatments on a specific anxiety. If I haven’t covered a specific anxiety that you are dealing with, let me know. Until next time…