Flights – How Can People Reduce Their Fear Of Flying On Holiday?
November 8th, 2009 by Dorothy Yamich, under Vacations. No Comments
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.
Amazingly, even though air travel is approximately thirty times safer than traveling by car, you hardly hear about people that have a fear of driving. Maybe television, radio, internet and print media contribute to this fear when they graphically cover commercial airline crashes and the large number of air passengers that are injured or perish.
The fear of flying can be brought on by a number of concerns such as the fear of heights, the fear of takeoff and landing, the fear of falling, the fear of flying over water, the fear of crashing, the fear of flying at night, the feeling of loss of control causing panic attacks, air turbulence, stormy weather, terrorists or hijackers, motion sickness, claustrophobia such as the fear of confinement in the small space of an airplane cabin or being packed in like sardines with other passengers, as well as other phobias.
Some more symptoms of the fear of flying are mild nervousness to extreme anxiety, panic attacks, shortness of breath, tightness in your chest, chest pain, clammy hands, a headache, including nausea and vomiting.
If you feel your fear of flying is severe, you may want to consider enrolling in an intensive treatment program. However, if think your fear of flying is not severe, there are some things you can do that may help remedy this problem.
Firstly, sit in a seat over the airplane wings, preferably not a window seat, so you cant look down at the ground. When you are sitting over the wings you will also experience a smoother flight.
If possible, leave your seat belt on as much as possible, so if any air turbulence suddenly occurs, you wont get jarred or bounced about as much.
Eat light and try to avoid eating or drinking any food or beverage that contains caffeine, sugar, or alcohol.
It will help if you try to stay positive and always think only of positive thoughts.
You can occupy your mind by listening to soft, soothing music on your I-Pod.
Sometimes it may help to wear eye shades and sleep if you can.
You may feel less stressed if you can book a flight that leaves at an off-peak time as there are usually fewer airline passengers to contend with.
If you are thinking of taking any prescription or over-the-counter drugs to calm yourself down on your flight, be sure that you 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, even the over-the-counter ones, may interact adversely with them.
I have a true story that may help you with this problem. A number of years ago a good friend of mine had a real problem with the fear of flying. He was really concerned about dying in a plane crash. A funny thing is that he had no problem driving all over the country, or taking a bus or train when he traveled on his holidays.
Fortunately he got a job 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 huge commercial airliners taking off and landing every few minutes. He got used to hearing the deafening roar of airline engines day in and day out. Slowly, he eventually started to lose 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 the passengers to fasten their seat belts, he cinched his belt up so tight he said he thought he would break it. All through the flight he removed his seat belt only to go to the washroom. During the flight to Hawaii the only thing that really bothered him was that his ears got plugged up and hurt because of the changes in cabin pressure on the takeoff and landing. A fellow passenger suggested that he should chew some gum and that seemed to do the trick.
When he eventually landed in Hawaii he was so proud of himself! After all those wasted years of being hung up on that debilitating phobia, he finally had broken free. All it took was working near a large airport and watching as well as hearing the constant takeoffs and landings of these huge commercial airliners 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 would like more information on how vacationers as well as business travelers can lessen their fear of flying. This helpful company offers a free online self-help course that we highly recommend you take. Its conducted by a currently flying airline captain.
To quickly latch on to cheap flights and luxury cruises at really great discounts, whenever you want to enjoy a romantic holiday, visit Travel Tips Guide for more info.
