How to deal with your fear of flying

If fear of flying keeps you from traveling to overseas destinations and you don’t have enough time to take a ship, you’re not alone.

There are plenty of people who live year after year without taking any flights because they haven’t found a way to manage their fear. They’d rather just limit their travel to nearby vacation spots. But maybe that isn’t good enough for you. Maybe your desire to see far-flung destinations motivates you to conquer your fear. In that case, it’s time to act.

Prep Your Mind
First, remind yourself that a lot of people eventually conquered their fear of flying and subsequently flew all over the world. It wasn’t easy, but they did it – and YOU can, too.

Overcoming your fear of flying can be a frustratingly up and down process.
A good way to start is to approach it in the same way you would when you begin a new sport. When learning a sport, you don’t have continuous improvement in your ability. Instead, you have periodic setbacks. Keep that in mind, and the setbacks you have in conquering your fear of flying won’t cripple you.

Conscious Relaxation
One of the best things you can do for yourself, not just to conquer your fear of flying, but to improve your overall emotional health as well, is to train yourself to relax ‘on command.’ That sounds difficult, but just think how much easier it would be for you to handle stressful situations if you could relax on command. Consider the following :

* You and a friend have an angry fight. You’re devastated, but you command yourself to relax, and your anger softens.
* You’re driving on the freeway and someone unexpectedly cuts you off. In the past, you’d grumble and have a few choice words.

But this time, you command yourself to relax. How much more pleasant the rest of the drive is when you’re not seething inside. You can think of all kinds of situations where the ability to command yourself to relax would benefit you. And wouldn’t life just be easier if you had this skill?

There are various methods to learn how to do it. One way that works very well is called progressive muscle relaxation. You lie quietly. You tense a muscle and then relax it. Do this in all areas of your body, one by one.

Do an online search to find in-depth instructions for this technique. Or buy an mp3 that verbally takes you through the process with soft music playing behind the voice. Just follow the directions. Practice the technique for a short time each day. If you do it when you first get up in the morning, you might find that you face the day in a better mood.

And if you do it when you go to bed, you might find that you sleep better.

Another option is to take a few sessions with a hypnotherapist. The combination of working with a hypnotherapist and then doing muscle relaxation on your own is powerful.

Take a Flight
Once you’re feeling stronger, you can test yourself with a short flight. Just be sure to relax on command during the flight.

Relaxing on command is a great skill to develop, but it’s not the only way to overcome your fear of flying. Be sure to investigate other methods that might work better for you. If you dream of traveling, learn to deal with your fear of flying so that you can fulfill that dream and enjoy life more.