Tips for fear of flying?
I'm flying to Scotland on May 9th...and to make things worse, me and my friend have to make two connecting flights to get there (charlotte to chicago, chicago to london, and then finally london to glasgow ~_~;; ) I have a definite phobia of flying...and I've never been on a transatlantic flight before, so I'm especially nervous. I know statistically speaking flying is alot safer than being in a car...but that seems less convincing when there's only a few inches of metal between you and eternity ^^; Any tips would be appreciated.
Air Travel - 10 Answers
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1 :
You just have to be calm and all and probably take some medication when you are on the plane or something so it would make you tired.
2 :
compose urself friend, be with urself and try to feel that u r d best and flying is just a part of ur bravery...all d best mate. Turbulence can be uncomfortable, but is a normal part of flying People are often frightened by turbulence, because they don't understand what is happening. Nervous flyers are scared, as it seems that the plane is falling out of the sky. They focus on the downward bumps as these are the most apparent, but in fact each downward bump is followed by an upward bump. These bumps are actually caused by slight tipples in the air, which is normally perfectly smooth. Think of it in terms of bumps in the road. It doesn't take huge craters or bumps to make for a jerky ride in a car. It's the same with turbulence - small disturbances in the air can make a plane ride feel uncomfortable, but there's no real danger. The plane is designed, built and tested to rigorous safety levels Modern airplanes have to be designed and built to comply with rigorous safety standards which are set out by independent aviation authorities. Airplanes and their equipment are manufactured by systems also monitored by aviation authorities. Once built, they are then tested in flight before being given a final seal of approval. They are built to withstand many more stresses and strains than they will ever encounter in flight - the safety margins are enormous. Aircraft are intended to be in the air - it's what they were made for. Flying is routine Everyday, just under three million people fly safely all around the world. If you watch planes taking off and landing at your local airport, or look at the arrival and departure boards in the airport, you'll understand just how many flights operate safely each and everyday. Flying really is just routine. It happens all the time with no problems. The importance of thinking positively Think positively all the time. If you catch yourself dwelling on negative thoughts, stop and bring yourself back to the positive. Focus on what is happening in the present moment and not what could happen in the future. It can be easy to start imagining a disaster film scenario - make the effort to redirect your wild imagination somewhere more positive. Distract and occupy yourself by reading, doing a puzzle, listening to music or watching a film, or having a conversation. Tips to cope with feeling nervous When you are frightened, you breathe more quickly and your heart starts to beat faster. Try this exercise to calm yourself. Push your stomach outward and slowly taking a deep, long breath in through your nose, fill your lungs with air. Hold this breath for a moment, then let it out gradually. Do this once or twice when you are feeling nervous and you will start to feel better. This is a simple but effective technique for calming yourself down. Practice it whenever you feel tense and soon it will become easy and natural. Fear or panic itself cannot hurt you The sensation of fear is your body's way of telling you that it perceives a threat to your safety. It is a protection mechanism, preparing us for the "fight or flight" response, and will not do you any harm in itself. Once you understand that the threat poses you no danger, the feeling of fear will vanish. A panic attack will not lead to heart attack or a loss of consciousness.
3 :
I've never really had a true phobia of flying so I don't know exactly what it's like...but I'd say just get an aisle seat, bring gum to chew for the pressure and just watch movies the whole time to help you forget you're on a flight. I've been to the Chicago and London airports and the signs are usually marked well and all you have to do is ask someone for help and they're usually always more than willing to help. I've been to Scotland and it's beautiful...it's worth it...so just remember that and try to enjoy the flight. They'll serve you meals, have TV's on your seat and lots of radio stations so you shouldn't get bored. or you could just sleep...when I flew Chicago to London it was only like 7 hours...so it's not so bad. Good luck!
4 :
Hypnosis has proven to be an effective method. The hypnostist taps into your sub-concious which is where your phobia lies. The good thing about this technieque is while your are "under" the hypnosis is able to "test" whether or not you have overcome you fear of flying or not by simulating a flight. My only suggestion is you have a family member or friend in the room with you so he/she doesn't take advantage of you in this vulnerable state. And you seek a professional hypnostist that specializes in phobia's.
5 :
Just try not to think about it so much. Focus on what you will be doing once you reach your destination. And as the other person said try to sleep. Good luck, you'll be fine
6 :
Try closing your eyes and listening to your MP3, or just get yourself busy with something, try not to concentrate on what the plane is doing..
7 :
Its very simply when you get on the plan just know that there are about a hundred other people with you on the plane and look at there faces many of them have flown before and are very confident think about them how they feel and you will notice that you will slowly begin to loss your fear of flying.
8 :
Pre-occupy yourself with a lot of things like reading a magazine, book or watching movies on the plane or videos on your ipod.
9 :
try to get in the right mindset, keep thinking how safe it really is. Are you going on a safe airline? Everyday Millions and Millions of people travel on aircraft, and there's approximately one accident for every 13 BILLION Flights, compared to about 1 fatal accident for every 1000 different car trips.
10 :
Hey well yeah alot of people tell you to stay calm and be yourself but thats the only thing you can do. Once you've taken off there's no getting out thats what you need to get into you head. 2 weeks ago i came back from thailand 12 hour flight to heathrow everything went as it should safely. I live next to heathrow and i can see every plane that take's off and ive been living here for around 14 years and never saw any kind of accident, it just shows flying is the most safest way of travelling. You cant think everything is going to be alright..you know everythings going to be alright. Well i hope you get through ur flight without any problems. Thanks
