Received this message from a new subscriber:
Flying scares me because I am always worried that something will go wrong. Turbulence makes me very nervous and I freeze up. I can’t do anything during turbulence except look out the window and wait until it stops. Landing doesn’t scare me because I know the flight will be over soon. I am also relaxed when the flight is cruising at altitude and there is no turbulence. The beginning of the flight and the turbulence is what scares me the most. I am really hoping to educate myself to overcome my fear of flying.
Education is Key
Education is the right idea — you’ve got to educate yourself. “Flying scares me because I am always worried that something will go wrong.” And why wouldn’t a person be scared when flying is such an uncommon experience for most people? With the limited knowledge that most flyers have, in this case, about what CAN go wrong, our brains when triggered do what they do naturally–THEY MAKE UP A STORY. It doesn’t have to be true — OR EVEN BASED ON FACTS! Not knowing what’s happening is compounded further by not knowing whether what your brain is thinking has anything to do with reality.
Without a way to check your story with the facts, the only choice APPEARS to be react with fear. The fact that flying is the safest way to travel on the planet because of technology and years of experience learning WHAT the risks are and REDUCING them so effectively that you are at more risk just being a pedestrian! Each year, over 7,000 people are killed while walking!
“Turbulence makes me very nervous and I freeze up. I can’t do anything during turbulence except look out the window and wait until it stops.” Me, too! Join the club! I’m not trying to be a smart alec. Believe it or not, even pilots like myself get “startled” when turbulence rears its ugly head, seemingly out of nowhere.
The difference between you and me is mostly that of experience (education). Both of us feel our anxiety “spike” at the first onset of turbulence. That is called “startle response.” But mine returns to where it was before more quickly because I’ve experienced this many times. Unfortunately, yours gets “stuck” at a higher level.
… But Education Not Enough
“The beginning of the flight and the turbulence is what scares me the most.” This is where it begins for most people. And the reasons are for those aspects discussed above. Learning about turbulence and how airplanes are designed to withstand all that Mother Nature can deliver and more can help. But because the way brains are designed, education is necessary but NOT usually sufficient. You have to do something to refocus your attention, particularly in the early stages of your recovery from fear of flying. I would suggest that it’s not so much “you can’t do anything…” but rather, you don’t know what other choices you have.
Making an Action Plan
Fear of flying, seems pretty “airy-fairy” at first glance. It’s hard to wrap one’s brain around it. Where do you begin?
- Keep up with recent blog posts: http://fearlessflight.com/category/blog/.
- Purchasing the FearlessFlight Harmonizer helps “refocus” your thinking when catastrophic thoughts keep you from being able to think about anything else.
- Register for CFT (Cleared for Takeoff) Classes They are both personal and custom like one-to-one coaching but more affordable.
You don’t have to be “STUCK” at “FLYING SCARES ME.” Overcome your fear of flying by taking action today.
