Flying Fear - article about Flying Fear

Flying Fear

It has always seemed to me a crazy notion that these large, passenger planes can fly in the first place. Science and engineering are not my backgrounds. Any form of flight is a miracle to me, especially the double decker planes we get today. Actually, the bigger the plane, the safer I feel, because you start to forget you're on a plane. I could never be persuaded to get into a tiny Cessna or something. That's just a bit of balsa wood between me and the sky! Taking off is the worst bit of flying fear for me. I hate that feeling in my stomach as so many tons of machinery is dragging me upwards.

My anxiety was worsening, so I had to do something. Distraction is the key to overcome flying fear. I love to read and books are a great escape, but it has to be a certain type of book. Dark, serious topics won't do and I'd die of boredom reading a typical airport paperback. I discovered that taking my favorite story, The Wind in the Willows, worked a treat. I call it comfort reading. It doesn't matter how many times I re-read it. How can I possibly plummet to my doom when I'm following the adventures of Ratty and Toad? The other passengers may think there's something peculiar about me, I am a grown woman after all, but I don't care.

I must admit that a large gin and tonic halfway thru the journey also contributes to my dealing with flying fear. Of course, you could knock yourself out with alcohol and drugs but I wouldn't recommend it. The other policy I follow is to mix my strategies up a bit. Flying fear doesn't always require one solution. I also watch the movies, especially the comedies, and listen to music. Once again, it can't be just any music. It has to be comfort music! For me, that's the Beatles or the Beach Boys. How can anything go wrong when you have Pet Sounds in your ears. I try not to remember that Brian Wilson used to have panic attacks on plane journeys.

Some people have more severe anxiety to deal with, I know, and may need professional help. Hypnotherapy has helped some with their flying fear, and major airlines run courses for the phobia. There is usually a short, thirty minute flight after the course, to combat the flying fear in a manageable way. These courses have proved very successful and enabled a lot of phobics to fly at last.

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