Flights – How Can People Cope With Fear Of Flying On Vacation?

November 3, 2009 | Leave a Comment

If you have ever flown on commercial flights, in propeller aircraft, or helicopters and have experienced the fear of flying you are not alone. Millions of people worldwide who travel by airlines on their vacations and holidays have also experienced the same fear to a lesser or greater extent. There are also millions of people around the world that travel by car, bus, train just to avoid commercial air flights. Some vacationers may take cruises if they are close enough to drive to the cruise 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.

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 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 your fear of flying is severe, you should consider enrolling in an intensive treatment program. However, if 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 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 do it, you should leave your seat belt on as much as possible. If air turbulence suddenly occurs, you will not get jarred or bounced 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.

You can occupy your mind 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 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 the fear of flying. A number of years ago a good friend of mine had a severe problem dealing with the fear of flying. His main fear was that he was terrified of dying in a plane crash. A funny thing is that he had absolutely no problem driving all over the country, or taking a Greyhound bus or train when he traveled on his holidays.

Fortunately he started working 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 saw commercial airliners take off and land day in and day out. He heard the loud roar of airline engines every day. Eventually he started to lose his fear of flying.

He finally made a huge decision to vacation on the big island of Hawaii, which he had always longed to do. The only concern was that he had no choice but to fly. He then bought flight insurance in case the plane crashed. He wanted to be sure leave something for his mother and father if he did not come back.

Before boarding the plane he took a sleeping pill hoping would keep him calm. He deliberately booked a window seat because he really wanted to be able to see where he was going and what the earth and ocean looked like from the air.

When the flight attendant asked the passengers to fasten their seat belts, he cinched his seat belt up so tight he said he thought it would break. Through the long flight to Hawaii he only removed his seat belt to go to the washroom. During the flight the only thing that really bothered him was that both his ears got plugged up and hurt a lot due to the changes in the cabin air pressure on takeoff and landing. A friendly fellow passenger suggested that he 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 happen to have a fear of flying you must try and rid yourself of this debilitating, irrational fear. I know that your life will be changed forever when you break free and allow yourself to soar with the eagles and fly anywhere in this big, wide, wonderful world that you want to.

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 grab cheap flights and luxury cruises at really great discounts, whenever you want to enjoy a fabulous, fun vacation, visit Travel Tips Guide for more information.

Comments

You must be logged in to post a comment.

One Hour Auto Loan
Search for:

Categories

Recent Postings

Nov

3

Flights – How Can People Cope With Fear Of Flying On Vacation?

Comments