Flights - When On Vacation Can You Cope With The Fear Of Flying?
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.
Incredibly, even though air travel is around thirty times safer than traveling by car, you rarely hear about people that have a fear of driving. Maybe the TV, radio, internet and print media contributes to this fear when they graphically cover commercial airline crashes and the subsequent large number of air passengers that are injured or die.
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 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.
First, try and book a seat over the airplane wings, preferably not a window seat, so you can not look down at the ground. When you sit over the wings you will also experience a much 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 avoid eating or drinking any food or beverage that contains sugar, caffeine, or alcohol.
It will help if you try to stay positive and always think only of positive thoughts.
Try to occupy your mind and calm your thoughts 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 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 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 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 would like more information on how vacationers as well as business travelers can lessen their fear of flying. This company offers you a free online self-help course that we highly recommend taking. The course is conducted by a currently flying airline captain.
Incredibly, even though air travel is around thirty times safer than traveling by car, you rarely hear about people that have a fear of driving. Maybe the TV, radio, internet and print media contributes to this fear when they graphically cover commercial airline crashes and the subsequent large number of air passengers that are injured or die.
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 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.
First, try and book a seat over the airplane wings, preferably not a window seat, so you can not look down at the ground. When you sit over the wings you will also experience a much 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 avoid eating or drinking any food or beverage that contains sugar, caffeine, or alcohol.
It will help if you try to stay positive and always think only of positive thoughts.
Try to occupy your mind and calm your thoughts 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 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 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 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 would like more information on how vacationers as well as business travelers can lessen their fear of flying. This company offers you a free online self-help course that we highly recommend taking. The course is conducted by a currently flying airline captain.
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