Overcoming Fear of Flying: The Meraki Way (9 Air Travel Tips Series)
How to overcome fear of flying or aero-phobia easily?
Flying, or rather the fear of flying, is one of the most common phobias people have. It’s not uncommon for some to experience emotional and physical symptoms before and during a flight. When you fly in an airplane, you feel like you are up at 30,000 feet with nothing but air around you. You can also be stuck in turbulence or be so close to disaster when a plane crashes that it’s enough to make anyone anxious.
Here are some ways to overcome your fears and take control of your fears now.
You can also check my poter posts in my FlyMeraki.com blog.
What is Flying Anxiety?
Flying anxiety is the fear of flying, or more specifically the fear of being in an airplane. It causes emotional and physical symptoms including feeling panicked, shortness of breath, nausea and strong feelings of dread. It’s a common phobia with many people experiencing it before they fly and while they are flying. There are some new strategies that help you take control of your fears now.
Know Your Fears and How to Face Them
You can start by doing your research. You might think you know what causes your fear of flying, but it’s possible you have never tried to identify the root cause. In order to overcome your fear and face it head on, you need to be aware of all the things that scare you about flying.
Next, create a plan of attack. You don’t have to do this alone. for example, I have coaching programs that help you for all the phobias related to fear of flying.
Lastly, try some new techniques for coping with your fears when they come up again. Try baby steps instead of jumping into something too quickly.
Gradual exposure is a process of confronting your fear. Repetition is the mother of skill.
For example, if you are afraid of flying, then you can confront that fear by finding excuses to go often to the airport and rehearse the whole experience in your mind and in your body and physically test your fear by repeating the process one step at the time.
Repeating the process of going to the airport, or by entering airport terminals and watching planes take off and land, will help you “unlearn”fear. You will finally create new neurological synapses by re- earning to do something new keeping the same conditions as before.
Prepare for the Worst-Case Scenario: The Meraki Scramble Process
Let’s say you’re afraid of flying, and turbulence is one of the things that scare you. You can prepare for this fear by going to the airport, watching the planes take off, and reading up on how turbulence works. Then, when it happens, instead of thinking “Oh no! Something’s wrong with the plane!” think to yourself “Wow these are some strong winds today! I bet it’s a bumpy flight. Better buckle up.”
This technique works because when you know what to expect, it isn’t as scary.
If a scary movie has a twist ending, then you won’t be as scared if you saw that twist coming. When you have an idea of what will happen ahead of time, it’s easier to control your fear because you know what to expect, and therefore know-how to act in that situation.
This is a good way to “unlearn” or to scramble your fear because it helps your mind realize that the worst-case scenario isn’t as bad as it seems.
What if these images you are creating in your mind were the opposite of what usually happens?.
The 1st step of the Meraki process teaches you how to clear you fear by using an NLP tool I call scramble-the fears-: from fear to freedom.
Create a Positive Mindset Towards Flying
In order to overcome your fear of flying, it’s important to adopt a positive mindset towards flying. Even though you may not be one of the lucky people who are completely free of fear, you can still have a more positive attitude. If you have a negative mindset towards the idea of flying, it will only make your fears worse.
The first step is to change your thoughts and practice resisting the temptation to resist when something scares you.
Fear can be paralyzing and make it feel like you don’t have any control over what’s happening in your life. But this isn’t true. You do have control over how you respond and react to things that scare you. And for some reason we think that just because something is scary or uncomfortable that we shouldn’t do it anyway.
This is the wrong mentality! Instead, take action and take control of what scares you because if anything – this will help diminish your fears.
“Do what you most fear doing”. W.R.Emerson
Here’s What You Can Do at Home
- Practice deep breathing and mindfulness ( I have 2 meditations tools to help you do this 1 week before flying)
2. Visualize your safe landing and the beautiful moments you will spend when you get at your destination.
3.Write down the facts about plane travel one day before traveling.
4.Avoid negative thoughts or any kind of triggers if possible.
5.Read the success stories of normal people that overcame their fears ( I have many examples) and be inspired by them.
6.Exercise before you fly.( Physiology controls our emotions and results)
7.Investigate your fears and disempower them ( step number 2 of the Meraki process)
8.Talk to a professional coach and healer (like myself)that will help you create a personalised plan that only for you.
9.Eat a healthy diet
Conclusion
Fear of flying is a debilitating condition that impacts many people. In fact, it is one of the top five phobias in the world. But if you know your fears, how to face them and prepare for the worst-case scenario, scramble your fear , use your sense of humour to lighten up, take action by hiring a professional coach, you will be able to overcome your fear and fly.
The process is easier when you are easy with it.