Flights – How Can People Lessen The Fear Of Flying On Vacation?
If you have flown on commercial flights, in small propeller aircraft, or on helicopters and have experienced the fear of flying you are not alone. Millions of people worldwide who travel by airlines on their holidays and vacations have experienced the same fear to a lesser or greater extent. There are also millions of people around the world that travel by automobile, bus, train just to avoid commercial air flights. Some vacationers will 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 other symptoms of the fear of flying could be mild nervousness to extreme anxiety, panic attacks, shortness of breath, a tightness in your chest and chest pains, clammy hands, headaches, and nausea and vomiting.
If you think that your fear of flying is very severe, you can enroll in an intensive treatment program, However, if you’re sure your fear of flying is not severe, there are some things you can do that may help to 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, you should leave your seat belt on as much as possible, so if air turbulence suddenly occurs, you wont get bounced or jarred about as much.
Eat light and try to not to eat or drink any food or beverage that contains sugar, caffeine, or alcohol.
It will help a lot if you try to stay positive and constantly think only positive thoughts.
Try to occupy your mind and calm your thoughts by listening to soft, soothing music on your I-Pod.
It may help to wear eye shades and try and sleep if you can.
You may feel less stressed if you can book flights at off-peak times as there are usually fewer airline passengers to contend with.
If you are contemplating taking prescriptions or over-the-counter drugs to calm yourself down on your flight, always 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 may interact adversely with them. Even over-the-counter drugs can be dangerous.
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 aircraft he took one sleeping pill and hoped it would keep him calm. He intentionally booked a window seat so he was able to see where he was going and what the earth and ocean looked like from the air.
When the flight attendant told all the passengers to fasten their seat belts, he cinched his belt up so tightly he thought that it would break. On the long flight to Hawaii he only removed his seat belt to go to the washroom. During the flight the only thing that really annoyed him was that his ears got plugged and hurt because of the changes in cabin pressure on the takeoff and landing. A helpful fellow passenger suggested that he should chew some gum and that seemed to solve the problem.
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 want more info on how you as a vacationer, or a business traveler can learn to lessen, or totally eliminate your fear of flying. This neat company offers a free online self-help course that we highly recommend you take. It is conducted by a currently flying airline captain.
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