How Can Airline Passengers Lessen Or Even Eliminate The Fear Of Flying When They Travel?

By Author: Constance Martinez
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The fear of flying is called Aviophobia, and millions of air travelers and potential flyers worldwide suffer from it, to a greater or lesser extent. Even though air travel is about thirty times safer than traveling by car, you 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 numbers of air passengers that are injured or perish.

Fear of flying can be triggered by a number of concerns such as the fear of heights, the fear of falling, the fear of takeoff and landing, the fear of crashing, the fear of flying over water, the fear of flying at night, the feeling of loss of control causing panic attacks, air turbulence, stormy weather, hijackers or terrorists, motion sickness, claustrophobia such as the fear of the confined space of an airplane cabin or being packed into the small confines of the aircraft with your fellow passengers, as well as other phobias.

Some of the symptoms of the fear of flying are mild nervousness to extreme anxiety, panic attacks, ...
... shortness of breath, tightness in your chest, chest pains, clammy hands, headache, nausea and vomiting.

If your fear of flying is severe, you should enroll 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 over the airplane wings, preferably not a window seat so you can't 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 seatbelt on as much as possible, so if air turbulence suddenly occurs, you won't get jarred or bounced 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 a lot if you try to stay positive and always think only positive thoughts.

Occupy your mind by listening to soft, soothing music on your I-Pod.

It may help to wear eye shades and to try and sleep if you can.

You may feel less stressed if you can fly at off-peak times as there are usually fewer airplane passengers to contend with.

If you are thinking of taking prescription or over-the-counter drugs to calm yourself down when you fly, be sure that you first consult 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 may help you with this problem. A number of years ago a good friend of mine had a severe fear of flying. His main fear was that he was terrified of dying in a plane crash. He had no problem driving all over the country, or taking a Greyhound 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 aircraft take off and land every few minutes. He heard the deafening roar of the engines day in and day out. Eventually he started to lose the fear of flying.
He finally made a big decision to vacation in Hawaii, which he had always wanted to do. The only problem was that he had no choice but to fly. He took out flight insurance in case the plane crashed. He wanted to be sure he would leave something for his mom and dad if he didn't come back.

Before boarding he took a sleeping pill hoping that he hoped would keep him calm. He sat in a window seat because he said he wanted to be able to see where he were 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 it would break. Through the long flight he only removed his seatbelt to go to the washroom. During the flight 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 solve the problem.

When he landed in Hawaii he was proud of himself! After all those wasted years hung up on that phobia he finally broke free. All it took was working near an airport and watching the constant takeoffs and landings of these big jet 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 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 company offers you a free online self-help course that we highly recommend taking. It's conducted by a currently flying airline captain. Dorothy Yamich has a passion for travel. She has lived and traveled extensively throughout Europe as well as traveled in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. She is a travel consultant and specializes in luxury cruises as well as vacation packages. To quickly find and book cheap airfares, at the best price possible, every time you feel like traveling, visit Travel Tips Guide, for more information. More on How Can Airline Passengers Lessen Or Even Eliminate The Fear Of Flying When They Travel?