Do you know the feeling of anxiety when boarding an airplane? Fear of flight (aerophobia) can ruin a person not only a long-awaited vacation, but also bring a lot of inconvenience in the future.
Psychologists admit that, to varying degrees, the fear of flight appears in almost 25% of all passengers. A person with aerophobia can experience discomfort on board an aircraft, a panic attack and, in the worst case, forget about air transport forever. Despite this, experts are confident that everyone can overcome such fear.
Even when people hear about flight statistics, it’s hard for them to admit that an airplane is 100 times safer than a car. In this case, a protective instinct is triggered in a person, reminding him of his origin. We are terrestrial animals by nature and on a primitive emotional level we feel the fear of flying as something unknown to us.
Aviation has zero tolerance for anything that can interfere with normal flight. That is why a person will be immediately dropped out of the plane at the slightest suspicion, and the flight attendants are so closely monitoring the observance of the rules on board, forcing them to raise the seat backs, turn off the phones, buckle up and open the window upon landing.
Aerophobia reasons
Initially, aerophobia is reinforced by the instinct of self-preservation, which is triggered in a person automatically with any threat to life and is necessary to protect future generations and the overall survival of the species. The next reason for the fear of flying can be experienced experience of turbulence, as well as frequent news reports about the next plane crash. At the same time, many passengers can attribute dozens of other phobias to the fear of flying. This is where claustrophobia, acrophobia (fear of heights), agoraphobia (fear of the unknown) and even social phobia (fear of being in the company of strangers) appear.
How to overcome your fear of flying
A person must understand that any phobia has nothing to do with real fear and significantly distorts the real level of threat. Therefore, it is worth approaching your anxieties from the optimistic side, trying to get rid of any negative thoughts from your head. You should not hide your condition from the crew, but it is better to warn the flight attendant in advance about your concern. The airline staff has a variety of psychological techniques that can improve your condition while on board.
Wear comfortable clothing, drink only water, and cut out anything that may contain caffeine and alcohol. Be sure to take a book or tablet with your favorite music, games and movies with you to distract yourself from bad thoughts, or rather try to fall asleep.
If you have been attacked by an anxiety attack, you need to take responsibility for your condition on yourself, recognizing that this is all happening only in your head and does not belong to a real danger. Then visualize your fear as a balloon and mentally burst it. Before flying, put on a rubber bracelet on your wrist and as soon as negative thoughts appear in your head, pull it on and release it sharply, hitting your hand. Feeling real pain will drive out negative emotions and build self-confidence. During an attack, try to breathe deeply, exhaling air slowly. This gives our body a signal to relax.
NLP techniques are effective in restoring peace of mind. At the same time, do not forget to alternate punishment, encouragement, fixing a positive attitude in your mind. To do this, you can remember the happiest moment of your life, mentally transfer yourself to a secret room, where there is no place for anxiety, or reward yourself with your favorite delicacy. Over time, you will be able to get the best of your emotions and easily control your thoughts.
