Tips to Stay Calm While Flying

There are various occasions when people travel by plane, like a vacation trip, business programs or for any other personal reason. It is believed that air traveling is safer than any other medium. The number of road and rail accidents is way bigger than the number of plane crashes.

When you are in a taxi on your way to the airport, you are not afraid (though the chances of road accident are greater), but the minute you enter the airport premises, your heartbeats increase. Why does this happen? What's the reason for this fear? I suppose, it specifically has to do with two things; the take off and the landing of the plane.

Majority of us have a phobia of heights and this could be one of the strongest reasons for flying anxiety as take off and landing are closely associated with height. Mostly anxiety occurs when you are boarding a plane for the first time. Another thing that makes you anxious is the experience of people around you.

Some or the other time a friend of yours for instance, had an experience of traveling by plane and he/she must have shared it with you. Obviously, if it's a fearful experience, it is stored in your mind forever and you automatically remember it when you encounter a similar situation.

You can even get affected by hearing news around you, about flights and their dangers. All these reasons are more than enough to make you nervous while flying. The following segment will help you manage your anxiousness and fear, and tell you how to stay calm while flying.

Just like take off and landing, turbulence is another factor responsible for developing flying anxiety in a person. Turbulence is caused because of disturbance in the normal flow of air. Almost always, the pilot is aware of the turbulence in advance and knows how to avoid it.

What you can do is, go and ask the pilot about the occurrence of the turbulence. It is always better to know the danger in advance rather than experiencing it suddenly. You also feel relaxed because the pilot knows it in advance and is prepared to tackle it.

Given are easy ways to make you feel relaxed and be calm while flying.

• Reach the airport before the actual time of departure. If you are late, you will become more anxious about losing the flight and it would become difficult to restore peace.

• Your seat in the plane is a crucial part to be considered if you are afraid of flying. You should try to ask for a seat in front of the cabin because the turbulence has greater effects at the back of the plane.

• Let the flight attendants and the passengers around you know about your fear. There is no need to feel embarrassed because it is common to all. The attendants will be prompted to keep a constant check on you and help you in an emergency.

• Pull down the window shade at the time of take off and landing. Seeing the plane actually leaving the ground and reaching a height, and again coming back to earth can increase the fear and allow panic to set in. Once the plane becomes stable, you can release the shade and take a look at the view outside. It will refresh you.

• Engage yourself in a conversation with the person sitting next to you. You can talk about your favorite places, food, latest happenings in the world, politics, etc. These are the most interesting and never-ending topics. This will divert your attention from the take off.

• If you are traveling with your family, hold the hand of one of your family members. It will keep you calm, but if you are traveling alone hold your own hands tightly. Do not bother about looking funny because you are the one who is scared and want to let it pass away.

• Human beings tend to hear non-existing voices out of fear and even the normal noises in the plane sometimes scare you because you don't know what causes those noises. Listen to your favorite music while closing your eyes and block the unwanted noises out of your ears.

This will make you concentrate on music, and by the time the song gets over, you would have taken off!

• Avoid drinks like coffee or tea as they can increase your anxiety. You can have other liquids like juices because dehydration also can contribute to fear. It is recommended that one should drink wine to calm the nerves, but avoid over drinking

• Take deep breaths as often as you can and concentrate on counting them. This will give you a specific point of concentration and divert your mind from take off.
• Avoid looking at graphic details at the time of turbulence and focus on the news and other media items.

• Think of your destination and what you are going to do there. Do not think over how you're going to make it to your travel destination, instead, just think only about the actual place.
• Recollect your sweet and happy memories; think about your loved ones. It will divert your mind from take off.

Do not get affected by experiences of other people and incidences anymore. Rather, you convince them that there is no need to be a fearful flier. Try and imbibe the above simple tips to stay calm and relaxed in a flight. Happy journey!