The great sporting legend Muhammad Ali never got into a plane without a parachute, and all of our lives we wanted to be like him. Even after this, we still do, but definitely not be scared of flying. For many people air is not a great place to be occupied by humans, and really they do make some sense. Few of us are scared of flying due to fear of heights, or being enclosed in a cringy cabin, or fear of plane being hit by lightning or another plane, or a terrorist hijack, or engines failing up in air, and what not. But we don’t want to ruin your trip due to this fear. Here is how to cope with.
Distracting yourself can help a great deal in overcoming this fear. But you can’t just rely on the in-flight entertainment. You got to gear yourself with some extras. Bring in an illustrative book (Images are more distractive), load your phone with loud music, stuff your laptop with pacing movies, etc.
Figure out what bothers you more. It just can’t be sitting on that plane, try to think more about why you fear flights, heights or crashing. Once you will figure this out, you will be able to take more corrective measures to tackle it. It might sound silly, but usually fear shadows the causes.
Panic attacks can hit you anytime during the flight. Another way to tackle when it does is, breathing. Slowly breathe all air outside, and then breathe in. Don’t let air stay for much longer in your body. Repeat the process. This is a highly engaging process, and proven to deliver calm to one that tries.
Avoid any stress or anxiety before boarding the flight. This could be like last minute show up at the airport with constant anxiety of missing the flight. Be early, be calm least the day you are about to leave. The check in process at airports can also be stressful with all those big queues, so avoid em.
If you think you will be more comfortable sitting in aisle, or sitting on window seat looking out, do reserve the position of seats while booking. It is one step closer to kill the fear. If you couldn’t do it, ask the flight attendants to make some adjustments, also mention that you are little nervous.
Long Flights can be very scary to people with fear. One great way is to doze off or sleep well. Latter is more possible when everyone is doing so. But for the former you need to be geared. So carry earplugs and eye masks. They’ll create perfect backdrop to sleep well in doze off situations.
Fear of flying can also be caused because of lack of control. You don’t know the pilots, in contrast to driving a car all by yourself. A good way to beat this odd is to ask the flight attendant to take you with them to the cockpit. Now say a Hi! to those cheerful pilots, and see them in little action.
A plane is masterpiece of engineering as we all know, but its safety is still a mystery to us. All fearful flyers must uncover this by getting more to know about the planes. Get to know what is engineering behind them, and what are safety standards guaranteed. Look at all the odds it is made to defy, etc.
Let good beat the evil. You might be scared of flying, but beat it with the excitement of what all you will be doing in your trip. Like seeing a destination, learning new culture, culinary classes, etc. Read about it, see pictures, read stories of other travellers around it, etc. It is proven psychic activity.
Totally avoid consuming Coffee or Alcohol. It will only exaggerate your anxiety, or it will cause dehydration, sickness, or feeling of drunkenness. If you think you need something to calm you down, the best is to go to a doctor and take prescribed medicine, probably will calm you better than those.
Stimulate the oxytocin supply. This is a hormone secreted while breastfeeding, or when feeling of love. When your body is secreting this ‘Love Hormone’, the hormones of stress are subdued. Great so when in flight imagine breastfeeding your baby, or holding a cute puppy, or kissing your spouse!
You are not the only one. Beating the fear starts from looking around, your co passengers that too have risked to be on that plane with you. Not convinced. Browse through Flight Radar and you feel safe by seeing that much number of planes up in air in that moment. Feels Whole world is flying!
We don’t suggest to make an announcement, but you can always pass the word that you are little nervous of flying to cabin crew and your fellow passengers. Then you can expect a more warm treatment by crew that’ll ensure you’re comfortable, and fellows will sooth you every now n then.
If you are scared of flying, I think you must do this. Take a short lesson of flying. When you will get hands on real plane, fly it yourself, trust me you will kill it completely. You will feel in more control of it, and probably you will start to trust planes more. This will go a long way in beating your fear.
Enrolling into a fearless flying course can also help a great deal. These courses or sessions are spearheaded by pilots, psychologists, and air industry professionals. The professionals will answer all your questions and all your doubts. These are the best people to address your problems.
Touch the sky, and never look down!
