How not to be afraid to fly on an airplane

Every minute, at every airport on the planet, an airplane with passengers on board takes off. 70% of people sitting in the cabin experience fear of flying, which is quite natural. But not everyone is able to cope with their phobia. To understand how not to be afraid of flying on an airplane, you need to understand the reasons for this fear.

Fear of flying

Causes of fear

Fear of flying on an airplane is a natural symptom characteristic of any person. Some people know how to drown it out and ignore it, while others, “making a mountain out of a molehill,” turn everything into a phobia. This happens for many reasons, and the roots of the problem lie in the subconscious.

Reflexive fear is transmitted to people with a gene code from ancestors who were frightened by the first “iron birds”. For this reason, a person involuntarily shrinks when an airplane flies nearby;
When an airliner takes off into the sky, the human body intuitively reacts with alertness - it has been torn out of its familiar environment. Those who are psychologically susceptible to phobias begin to get nervous and sometimes seriously panic, not always realizing the cause of their fear;
Some people are afraid to fly on a plane consciously, having watched enough thrillers about plane crashes, although the real news is not full of daily reports about plane crashes. Such alarmists prepare themselves ahead of time for the tragedy of the situation;
Usually people are afraid of flights carried out for the first time - here the fear of the unknown is frightening. There is also a category of people for whom the first flight was unsuccessful due to poor health on board. Mistaking severe motion sickness for danger, the subconscious imposed a taboo on this method of movement, and psychological perception turned it into a phobia.

Stress during flight

Note! Whatever the reason for fear when flying, you need to figure out how much of it is a phobia (or just an uncomfortable feeling of an unusual environment).

What is aerophobia

Anxiety is a natural psychophysiological response that aims to mobilize the hidden capabilities of the human body in an unsafe or unusual situation. Any phobia is caused by a hyperbolic manifestation of anxiety from a specific stimulus. It is expressed in obsessive fear that arises in conditions that provoke it. It is impossible to explain this logically. When the disorder is completely formed, the person is afraid and avoids specific actions or situations.

With the development of air communications and the advent of the possibility of mass passenger transportation, a new kind of inexplicable fear arose. Aerophobia is an exaggerated fear of flying in an airliner, causing many people to suffer. Fear of flying makes you less mobile. You cannot travel serenely or get a job that requires travel. Fear of flying deprives you of the joy of seeing many distant and interesting places. Aerophobia prevents you from living a full life.

Important! Most aerophobes believe that it is impossible to overcome their inexplicable fear of flying. Therefore, they deprive themselves of the opportunity to travel by air.

There are two types of fear of flying:

Excitement on the eve of a flight is a sign of a natural instinct of self-preservation.
Obvious pathological fear of flying.

There are several effective ways to deal with the fear of flying on an airplane, but for this you must make sufficient efforts.

Symptoms

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Aerophobia is not the only type of fear that people suffer from. There are those who are afraid of heights and confined spaces, as well as unfamiliar company. It is these fears that can cause a panic attack. To understand how aerophobic you are, you should try on the following symptoms of the problem described:

You begin to feel fear of flying on an airplane long before the trip, and are unable to control your internal panic;
Before you board the plane, you take a sedative dose of alcohol, sedatives or antidepressants;
When an airliner takes off and lands, you unconsciously squeeze into the passenger seat, your palms sweat, and your fingers frantically dig into the armrests;
During the flight, your entire consciousness is focused on monitoring the sounds of the engines. If the view of the window allows, you do not take your eyes off the running engines;
If the plane gets into a zone of turbulence, the situation puts you in shock, and you mentally say goodbye to life;
Every action of the flight attendant makes you suspicious, and you try to understand what she is hiding behind her smile.

Note! If you have even half of these signs, you are an aerophobe, for whom flying becomes a real punishment.

How to smooth the situation

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When a person submits to his fears, it develops into a serious illness. If traveling by plane is not perceived as a natural event, it can be made more relaxed. To do this, you just need to distract yourself from your phobia by switching to something else.

Better relax

Knowing about the upcoming flight, you can prepare for it in advance. You shouldn’t study reports about plane crashes that have already occurred; it’s better to look at the statistics of accidents occurring on Earth. Many more people die in DPT than in the air;
To prepare yourself psychologically for the flight, it is advisable to register in advance and ask for a seat away from the windows. While the plane is loading, you calmly settle into your seat. You shouldn’t ask for space in the tail zone either – turbulence is most noticeable there;
Before a flight, it is not recommended to calm yourself down with alcohol or serious drugs - they can provoke an inadequate reaction. Coffee, which has a stimulating effect on the psyche, will not help either. It is better to always have motion sickness pills and fruit lozenges with you;
In order not to succumb to the phobia, you need to distract yourself, so you should take an interesting book or magazine with crossword puzzles on the road, download a movie with an exciting plot to your laptop or tablet, or occupy yourself with an exciting game;
Listen to pleasant, soothing music coming from your headphones, it will help drown out the sounds of the engines. You can download a relaxation music library to your player especially for the flight;
Chat with your seatmates. Talking is a good way to take your mind off your fears. Even if the same aerophobe as you is sitting next to you, mutual communication will help you cope with the problem;
If you don’t want to have small talk or distract yourself from bad thoughts with idle activities, you can just sleep. To do this, just take an inflatable pillow and a blanket (as well as earplugs and a blindfold) into the cabin. If you forgot about this option, some airlines may offer you bedding;
You don’t even have to sleep - you can just lie with your eyes closed and remember the pleasant moments of your life, think about an upcoming meeting, remember loved ones or make plans for the coming year.

Additional Information! Have you taken all the measures, but the state of panic does not go away? Then do some breathing exercises. The exercises are done like this: first, inhale deeply through your mouth, hold it in your lungs for 5 seconds, then exhale for another 4 seconds. don't breathe. Repeat the steps several times: this will help you calm down very quickly.

10 ways to overcome your fear of flying on an airliner

To get rid of aerophobia, you need to understand that any uncontrollable anxiety is caused by the expectation of negative events in the future. It is necessary to find out what exactly the anxiety is connected with and where the fear begins. To do this, you can do the following:

An effective way to overcome the fear of flying is to analyze the real facts about statistics regarding the safety of air travel.
Another method of coping with approaching aerophobia is to study positive aspects about the functioning of air transport. Avoid reading materials about plane crashes, “illiterate” pilots and poor technical condition of aircraft. Moreover, you can often encounter unreliable information that exaggerates the scale of the problem.
What to do to prepare for air travel if you are scared to fly on an airplane? Create the most comfortable conditions for yourself, eliminating additional worries. Choose a convenient flight time, check in online to reserve a comfortable seat (for those who have a fear of flying, the best seats are located in the bow of the aircraft and near the wings), and arrive at the airport in advance. Don't sleep too much before traveling to be more likely to fall asleep in the aircraft cabin.
A good way to overcome your fear of flying on an airplane is to think about the pilots and crew of the airliner. They have made flying their profession, they love it and are confident that they will do everything for your safety and theirs. Often, a good mood and a calm, confident appearance from the crew will significantly reduce the passenger's fears.
You can overcome your fear of flying with the help of distraction. How a passenger struggles with unpleasant emotions - finds an interesting activity: reading a book, watching a video, talking with a fellow traveler.
You need to fly in appropriate clothing: as comfortable as possible and not restricting movement, so as not to experience additional discomfort, which increases the discomfort of the flight. Have warm clothes on hand. Cold increases tension.
To improve your well-being and maintain fluid balance, take water with you on board the aircraft.
A proven way to get rid of aerophobia is using applications for mobile devices. With their help, you will be able to navigate in space: monitor the speed of the aircraft, flight altitude and other technical parameters. You will feel in control and find something fun to do.
Many passengers experience particular fear from turbulence. This is a natural phenomenon and does not pose any obvious threats. Therefore, prepare yourself for possible shaking on board an airplane as normal flight realities.
If simple methods do not help, contact a psychologist. He will tell you how to overcome your fear of flying and stop refusing air travel because of the fear of flying.

Professional help

Why do you dream of flying on an airplane?

If fears of flying have been present for a long time, and traveling by plane is a frequent forced reality, you cannot do without the help of a specialist. It is worth paying serious attention to your psycho-emotional state, devoting enough time to it.

Find an experienced psychologist who will help you figure out why you are afraid of flying and teach you how to deal with your phobia correctly. You can’t get rid of this with just a conversation - you’ll have to undergo a course of psychotherapy before you begin to perceive flying more naturally and stop being afraid of flying;
Part of the treatment is the use of flight stimulators, which allow you to become accustomed to flying using virtual simulators. This point is good because in grounded conditions, in a specially equipped room, a feeling of the reality of flight is created;
The doctor will help you choose medications for the upcoming trip. Here you need to take into account that the proposed pills are not a solution to the problem, but only part of the therapy, and they do not relieve the phobia on their own.

Virtual reality simulator

Medicines prescribed by a doctor for a flight can be divided into 2 types: cumulative and rapid-acting. The first group includes those that are accepted in several stages - immediately before departure, and then every half hour or hour. The second group of drugs has a sufficient concentration of sedative so that 1 tablet is enough for several hours of exposure.

Treatment is carried out with sedative and anti-anxiety medications that inhibit nerve impulses and relieve muscle spasms and cramps.

Important! The doctor himself decides which drug to treat an aerophobe, based on the individual characteristics of the patient, his state of mind, the causes of fear, and the severity of the problem.

You should not constantly resort to these means, since most of them can become addictive. This method of treating aerophobia should be short-term and applied to those who do not travel by plane very often.

The person himself can prepare for a future flight in advance. About 3 weeks before your upcoming trip, you can start taking glycine or valerian extract daily in the doses indicated in the instructions. This will help reduce nervous tension and avoid stressful situations.

Laws of physics

Some people are terrified of flying precisely because they are cut off from the Earth. Not everyone understands the principle of aerodynamics, so they don’t fully understand how such a heavy metal colossus with a bunch of passengers on board and a large amount of luggage can stay in the air for several hours.

If you are flying for the first time, to calm your imagination and stop being afraid, it is worth familiarizing yourself with some design features of aircraft:

Airliners are equipped with powerful engines that can not only lift a plane into the air, but also hold it for a long time among the clouds;
There is no need to be afraid that the engines will break down: the plane has at least 2 of them. If 1 motor fails for some reason, the 2nd one will take over its function. Even if both engines fail at once, the plane will be able to land carefully, like a glider;
The wings, which are quite firmly attached to the body, help the airplane stay and glide in the air. The chance that they will fall off in flight is reduced to zero;
All systems equipped with airliners have duplicate programs. As soon as a failure occurs, the backup system immediately comes into operation (and there are at least 4 of them in passenger aircraft);
You don’t have to worry about the risk of getting into a plane crash due to the pilot’s poor health - the planes have a reliable piloting system that allows you to carefully land the car according to the program built into it;
The flight of each aircraft is controlled from the ground by air traffic control services, with which the pilots are in constant contact. Pilots will be immediately notified of all unusual situations and changes in weather conditions;
The turbulence zone, which not every plane encounters, should not be scary. The aerodynamic parameters of the design are calculated taking into account this natural phenomenon, so that the aircraft has a sufficient margin of safety to withstand such shocks;
There are professionals on board who do not consider themselves kamikazes. They calmly carry out their duties, as they are confident in the reliability of the “steel bird”.

Pre-flight technical inspection of the aircraft

Additional Information! For an extraordinary situation to occur, fate will have to try, because each plane is carefully checked by technical services before departure. They use special diagnostic devices, so faulty equipment will not even be allowed onto the runway. Customs inspection at the terminals has been strengthened, which prevents dangerous baggage from getting on board.

“How scary it is to fly now”: How to cope with aerophobia

41 dead. Only 37 passengers survived. Again, a year after the tragedy in the Kemerovo “Winter Cherry”, a merciless fire buried dozens of lives. Some were flying for work, some to go fishing, some to visit relatives - each of us could have been in their place. Awareness of this fact is frightening and gives rise to a panicky fear of flying.

Some people are now scared to fly on a Superjet, some on Aeroflot, others are simply afraid to take to the air on any aircraft of any airline. Airplane tragedies are also frightening because of the large number of their victims - often everyone dies. And although almost half of the passengers managed to escape yesterday, even 41 people were huge losses.

And yet…

Is an airplane the safest form of transport?

This is usually the first phrase that is given to aerophobes as a counterargument. Yes, as a result of a plane crash, several dozen people can die at one time. But the plane is still the safest transport. Is this true and why does this happen?

The safety of various modes of transport is usually calculated based on the number of deaths per distance traveled. Or they calculate what percentage of the total passenger traffic is fatal. As a result, indeed, the plane turns out to be one of the safest modes of transport.

Here, for example, are statistics for the USA. The Washington Post, citing research by economist Ian Savage, provided the following data in 2021. Based on the number of passenger deaths per 1 billion miles traveled, the most dangerous vehicle is the motorcycle (212.57 deaths). Then come the car (7.28), ferry (3.17), train (0.43), metro (0.24), bus (0.11) and only then the plane (0.07). That is, the plane turns out to be the safest. On the other hand, its speed is much higher, and the distance that an airliner will fly in an hour, vehicles can travel the whole day. And the chances of getting into an accident in a whole day's journey are, accordingly, much greater than in an hour.

You can try to compare different types of transport in terms of safety in another way: count the number of accidents, deaths and injuries in them over one time period, for example a year. And take not the distant United States of America, but our native Russia. And here the picture is not so happy for aviation.

Thus, according to Rosstat, in 2021 there were accidents: on inland water transport - 5, on railways - 14, on air transport - 39, on sea transport - 49, on roads - 169,400. Death toll: inland water transport - 2 , railway – 3, sea transport – 6, aviation – 50, motor transport – 19,100. Number of wounded: inland water transport – none, sea transport – 2, railway – 24, aviation – 29, motor transport – 215,400.

Photo: diy13/shutterstock.com

Here airplanes are in second place in terms of danger, but even here there is a huge difference with motor transport: the human casualties from the latter are hundreds of times higher.

But for some reason we are afraid of aviation; aerophobia is much more common than autophobia. And when we pass a massive traffic accident, we do not get off the bus and go to work on foot. But after plane crashes, many are afraid to fly and switch to trains.

How to overcome aerophobia - advice from a psychologist

What is the reason for such persistence of aerophobia and is it possible to cope with the panicky fear of flying, fueled by news of another disaster?

As clinical psychologist Mikhail Khors notes, it’s not about airplanes.

– Horse said in an interview with Tsargrad.

The psychologist advises us to accept the position that not everything is under our control - in other words, to come to terms with it. Christianity also teaches humility, and it is greatly lacking in modern man. It is not aerophobia that should be a reaction to the tragedy at Sheremetyevo, but rather resignation to any possible fate.

Of course, it is necessary to investigate the causes of the disaster and take steps to prevent further accidents. But this is a matter for the relevant services. And an ordinary person should not create panic on social networks, not insult all the characters from firefighters to passengers with too much hand luggage who prevented others from being saved, but remember about their imminent death - not on the plane, but somewhere else. As they say, we will all be there.

And to those who died yesterday as a result of the fire of the “Superjet” - the Kingdom of Heaven.

Advice from the “experienced”

Don’t be shy to admit to others: “I’m afraid to fly on an airplane.” Among your friends there will be people who have already flown several times. They know what to do to overcome their fear. Take their advice to heart.

You will also be impressed by the reviews of third-party people who have learned to subdue their fears:

Dmitry: “I used to be afraid of flying on an airplane, although I could not understand the reasons for this. On one of my business trips I fell in love with a beautiful girl. Now I fly to her on a date every Friday. During the flight, I only think about the upcoming meeting, making plans for how we will spend our time. Now, while I’m on board, I’ve never had a feeling of anxiety or panic”;
Olga: “I am constantly overcome by some kind of fear. I am not comfortable in enclosed spaces, I am terrified of getting into a plane crash. Because of this, I lost a very profitable job - in our business, even minutes matter. Airplanes, the best option for mobility, allow you to quickly solve problems. I used the car exclusively, losing time and clients. As a result, I had to see a psychotherapist and undergo special training. Even now, I am periodically driven by unconscious emotions, but I try to control them. Realizing that phobias are a game of my subconscious, I took the risk of using the airline’s services and have already managed to make 2 flights.”

Flight behavior

Calming down on takeoff is half the battle. All that remains is to calmly spend the rest of the flight and land the plane. This is very important - a panic attack in the cabin of an airplane will be unpleasant for everyone. You may frighten other passengers and you will feel uncomfortable with your behavior.

The following tips will tell you how to overcome aerophobia:

Aerophobes should choose a seat away from the window. You can come to registration early and ask for a comfortable seat. The view from the airplane window will be an unnecessary irritant. If your main fear is turbulence, do not take a seat in the tail section, the sway is stronger there;
Honestly admitting to others “I’m afraid to fly”, this often helps to calm down, and even get advice from experienced aviation phobes;
Do not use alcohol as a sedative. This can achieve the opposite effect. Alcoholic drinks often do not calm, but on the contrary, intensify emotions to the extreme;
Give up coffee. It stimulates the nervous system, so it is better to opt for herbal tea;
Practice deep breathing techniques in advance. If you feel like you're losing control, start exercising. Inhale deeply through your nose to fill your chest and stomach, hold your breath for 4 seconds, exhale completely through your mouth, hold for 5 seconds. Repeat the cycle until you calm down;
You need to think not about the flight, but about the purpose of the trip. Imagine going for a walk or rehearsing your speech at a conference. Think about what gifts you will bring to your loved ones.

Remember, it is normal to feel fear, especially if this is your first flight . It is important to learn to control your fear of flying and not give free rein to negative emotions and feelings.

Study the design of the aircraft

You can often hear “I’m afraid of flying, how can such a colossus stay in the air?” It is the lack of understanding of how an airplane works that often causes fear: it seems that it is too heavy to fly, therefore, even if it takes off, it will certainly fall. We need to figure out why and how planes fly. Oddly enough, children are interested in such questions, but adults are afraid to ask themselves.

If the phobia is not treated

When it is impossible to avoid flying, and you are terrified of it, problems not only of a psychological nature begin. If you do not learn to cope with fears, the phobia completely absorbs the person, turning him into a gloomy neurasthenic.

Before an upcoming flight, a person begins to be overcome by panicky thoughts, as a result he is tormented by nightmares, or he cannot sleep at all;
Becoming irritable and sleep-deprived, the aerophobe lashes out at people close to him, causing family relationships to deteriorate;
Those who hide their fears find it even more difficult to endure flying. A phobia driven deep into oneself leads to the development of heart disease, hypertension, and heart attacks;
If the need to fly is related to professional activities, every attempt to delay the flight or replace it with another type of movement affects career growth. Psychological shocks on this occasion make the aerophobe a patient in the neurological department;
The fear of using the services of airlines impoverishes your vacation - not every resort can be quickly and easily reached by rail (let alone by car).

Important! Any type of phobia will progress quickly if you subordinate your psyche to it and refuse the help of professionals.

Hoping that he can cope on his own, a person resorts to using powerful psychotropic drugs or alcohol. The more often the need to fly arises, the faster the bad habit develops. Such doping does not make the situation easier, but makes it even worse.

Alcohol in conditions of low pressure and dry air in the aircraft cabin can cause lightheadedness (sometimes with vomiting). The body is in a suspended state, and even a small amount of alcohol at an altitude of several thousand meters from the Earth can cause severe intoxication, which results in loss of strength. This immediately worsens a drunk person’s mood, and panic sets in with even greater force.