Top 10 Fear of Flying Power Statements

Top 10 Fear of Flying Power Statements
Word Count:
507
Summary:
A fearful flyer who is about to board a plane doesn't usually remember a single fact or figure about the safety of air travel. That fearful flyer is more concerned about whether they can get on the plane without having a nervous breakdown and desperately wanting to know they'll make it safely to their destination so they can get back OFF the plane.

Keywords:
fear of flying, afraid to fly, aircraft, airplanes, phobia

Article Body:
A fearful flyer who is about to board a plane doesn't usually remember a single fact or figure about the safety of air travel. That fearful flyer is more concerned about whether they can get on the plane without having a nervous breakdown and desperately wanting to know they'll make it safely to their destination so they can get back OFF the plane.
That's what happens to me when I'm boarding a plane. I'm wild-eyed, desperate, panicky and not listening to any reasonable thing my flying companion is telling me. When I'm boarding a plane I need a cheat sheet; a quick reference guide of simple statements that I know to be true but am unable to think of on my own. Here are some from my personal list:

1. There are millions of people on thousands of flights EVERY DAY that are very routine and never make the news.
2. The plane was designed to be in the air, that's where it performs best.
3. Air is a thick fluid, a lot like jello. The plane is being supported by big columns of "jello air". It has substance even though I can't see it.
4. Turbulence in a plane is like being in a car going over a bump in the road. It doesn't hurt the plane. The wings will not fall off.
5. The plane is designed to handle more stress than any normal flying situation will deliver.
6. The pilots and flight crew do this every day, the sky is their office, they are professionals.
7. The pilots go through extensive repetitive training for every possible situation, even ones I haven't thought of.
8. The plane has many backup systems and is capable of flying safely with several systems not functions perfectly.
9. The sounds I hear are normal and mean the plane is functioning correctly.
10. This flight will not last forever, I will get through it one minute at a time and then I will enjoy my destination.
Sometimes one statement has more meaning than another, it depends on which fear is bothering me the most. It can help to repeat the important points over and over. Focus on them. Make them real. I imagine myself as the pilot just going to his job; a job that he worked hard for, he dearly loves and cares deeply about. He loves to fly, and he's going to deliver me to my destination and then turn around and take more people to their destination. I am just one of millions of people that will fly today.
Repeating these statements over and over helps me to come back to reality and out of my fog of fear. Your top 10 statements may be different. Some of them may be the same. As a fellow fearful flyer I know how hard it is to remember the facts that gave you comfort while in your living room. That's why I'm always sure to take my cheat sheet of power statements with me on every flight.

Conquering My Fear of Flying

Conquering My Fear of Flying
Word Count:
664
Summary:
I admit it, I am afraid to fly. And I’m not alone, as many as 1 in 6 adults has at least some fears about flying. For me it’s definitely not a rational fear. In fact all my analytical and logical skills fly right out the window whenever I think about getting on a commercial plane.

Keywords:
fear of flying, afraid to fly, phobia, aviation, travel

Article Body:
I admit it, I am afraid to fly. And I’m not alone, as many as 1 in 6 adults has at least some fears about flying. For me it’s definitely not a rational fear. In fact all my analytical and logical skills fly right out the window whenever I think about getting on a commercial plane. The most amazing part is that I grew up flying. My father owns a small plane and we would go flying every weekend.
In my preteen years I had an aborted takeoff during a commercial flight and while it didn’t scare me at all during the event, when I later found out that it had made the local news I began to see that this was perhaps a bigger deal (it really wasn’t but I was a preteen after all). I also began to recognize my own mortality and realized that I am a control freak and don’t enjoy the thought of putting my life in the hands of pilots I don’t know.
However, I’m gradually working my way out of my fears and back into a state of mind that is not afraid. It’s taking me a lot of time, but I make progress everyday.
My first technique is to get a large inside picture of a commercial plane (preferably one that I’ll be flying in soon) and make it the background image of my computer desktop. This way, every time I get on my computer I’m looking toward the front of an airplane as if I am a passenger. Initially this worked so well my pulse would race and my breathing rate went up. I’ve now conditioned myself to seeing that image so it no longer bothers me.
I also like to watch internet videos of planes taking off and landing. My favorite videos are those that are taken from inside the plane, looking out the window at the wing; hearing the roar of the engines and seeing the ground fall away beneath the plane as it rises upon takeoff. Sitting in my recliner with headphones on and watching those videos enables me to participate in a takeoff without actually being on the plane. I can condition myself to the sights and sounds I would normally experience.
I’ve found several helpful online courses designed to give information to fearful flyers. I use them a lot as I get closer to departure, and I’ve bought every book I can find about conquering one’s fear of flying. I take them with me, I read them often.
I don’t watch news clips or specials about airplane crashes. The media sensationalizes airplane crashes simply because they happen so rarely. That also means they repeat that horrific story over and over, scaring the wits out of unsuspecting people.
There are dozens of helpful statistics about the safety of air travel; The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says your chances of being in a fatal plane crash are anywhere from 1 in 400,000 to 1 in 10 million depending on the airline you’re flying. To someone who has a genuine fear of flying those numbers don’t mean anything when you’re locked in a steel tube with no way of setting foot on the ground until AFTER you’ve gone through takeoff, landing and turbulence.
I recognize that I need help and am trying to look at air travel from a logical perspective again. Each trip I hope to get a little better. If you are suffering from a similar fear, I encourage you to go through the various online resources available and seek additional professional help if your fears are strong enough and you are unable to get through them on your own. It’s ok. We can get through this and learn to enjoy (or at least tolerate) this means of travel in order to take that awesome vacation, see family or fulfill the requirements of a great job.