How To Overcome Anxiety About Flying
In this day and age, there are very few people who go their whole life without having to fly in an airplane. All things considered, we should consider privileged to be able to fly as often as most people do, as it enables us to do business on a larger scale, see family more often, and visit parts of the world some people only ever get to read about. But for some people, while the ability to fly is a privilege, the act of flying is a task, and a stressful task at that.
Many people deal with a fear of flying, and whether it is mild or very severe, any fear of flying is unpleasant. For those coping with anxiety while flying, here are a few tips to help ease the tension and allow you to relax enough to possibly even enjoy your flight.
Take Gravol: First things first. If you tend to suffer from motion sickness, there is nothing that will make anxiety worse than a little nausea thrown in there too. To avoid this, take some gravol, which will help ease the effects of motion sickness. In addition, it might make you a little drowsy, which could help you sleep through part, or all, of the flight.
Keep your mind occupied. Nothing's worse for stress than a wandering mind. To keep your brain actively engaged, bring several forms of entertainment. This could be anything from your favorite book, to some work you need to finish up (that gets rid of two forms of stress at once!), or even a Sudoku or crossword puzzles. Also, with modern technology, it's even possible to watch an entire movie during a flight thanks to portable DVD players and laptops. Our suggestion is to bring a funny movie. After all, laughter really is the best medicine. Just pop in a movie, have some laughs, and you might even find yourself wishing the flight was longer so you could finish your movie.
Soak in some tunes. There's a reason music therapy works. Music has properties which are capable of transporting you to another time and place. When you have flight anxiety, just about any other time and place will do. If you think you could fall asleep, put on some relaxing music and it might ease you into a slumber. If you know you can't sleep, you could still listen to relaxing music, or you might want to put on some old favorites that remind you of old times and bring a sort of "comfort factor."
Stay comfortable. This includes dressing in clothes that will allow you to relax, avoiding sitting next to the most high-strung member of your travel party, and taking care of any other needs you may have. If you tend to get headaches on airplanes, plan ahead and bring some Advil. If you get cold, bring a blanket that will keep you warm and cozy so you can relax. Overall, take care of yourself so you can be as comfortable as possible and before you know it, the captain will be asking you to turn off your electronics, stow your tray table, and prepare for landing.
