This blog post was updated on November 2, 2018.
The first time I ever flew in a plane was around the age of 11 or 12, and it was an event that excited and scared me at every thought prior to take-off. Once I was in the air, though, it was smooth sailing.
In fact, I didn’t even feel like I was in the air anymore; it much more seemed like I was on a bus or in a car if I never peeked out the window. It was at that moment that I realized that flying was never going to hold me back from seeing different parts of the world.
When I went to Italy as part of a high school trip, I was a little nervous in the beginning with the thought of being “up in the air” for so many hours, but it didn’t take long to be put right back in place.
For many, the prospect of scoring cheap flights instills nothing but giddiness and the excitement of our next adventure.
Some of us have even learned to love flying. There are many people in my life, however, that are actually still on the fence when it comes to flying, and it keeps them from pursuing their travel dreams.
It’s a common fear that some millions of people around the world share, and while I can’t solve problems of this nature, I can offer some advice to consider and hopefully push you along into flying freely in the future.
Take a trip to the airport. People who are afraid of flying will start feeling anxious as soon as they enter the airport. The closer you can get to the action and make it feel normal, the better chance you have of making it to the plane. Plus, it gives you the opportunity to take a look around at all of the other people who are happily preparing to fly to London or Rome. If you’re hoping to take a trip of a lifetime sometime in the future, start occasionally taking a trip to the airport for a coffee and let it become a casual experience.
Look for outside help. As stated before, millions of people have some sort of fear or anxiety with flying. There are support groups and websites full of information and helpful tips for overcoming the fear, such as Flying without Fear. If that doesn’t do the trick, consulting a medical doctor can be a viable option. He or she can recommend therapy sessions or even prescribe a slight sedative to help alleviate the fears that come from the idea of flying.
Know the facts. Plane crashes, in relation to car crashes, don’t happen all that often. The problem here is that when they do happen, they are a very big deal, inciting media attention and causing frenzy among air travelers. There’s an interesting article over on Fearless Flight that talks about plane crash statistics and why they should probably not be driving your fear of flying.
The fear of flying strikes each person differently and for many different reasons. One person might be frightened by the idea of accidents while another might fear being enclosed in a small space for hours on end. The one piece of advice I like to give to anyone that has an apprehension to flying is to just think of the hundreds of thousands of other people like you and me that make it through countless flights without a hitch.
What can you recommend to those with a fear of flying?
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