My dad is a pilot, I’ve literally flown thousands of times and I still hate it - Amelia Jane
Amelia and I are just two people out of the potential millions that experience Anxiety when flying.
As someone who travels for a living I personally haven’t completely gotten over these feelings but this is how I manage my anxiety:
Offline Calm App
Once I’m buckled in before Aeroplane Mode is asked to be switched on our mobile devices I open up my @Calm App on my phone and download some meditation, music and select a Masterclass on there that I wouldn’t mind listening to for distraction.
Before Take Off
However, you can’t actually use your headphones and phone offline until after take off. While I sit in the chair I thank the Universe for blessing me with the ability to travel somewhere different from my current location, I thank the angels around me for lifting the plane safely into the air and watching over me for the flight duration and lowering me back to the ground once I have arrived. This creates a sense that I am being taken care of and using psychological tools to have my mind know that I am safe.
Read and Write
Have a small notebook and pen on your lap, write down how your morning, day or night was before the flight, think write about what you’re most looking forward to about this trip or what you’re looking forward to about being back home and if you’re still feeling anxious after that exercise, read through the little magazines they have in the chair holders or bring a long your own favourite magazine and book.
Amelia Jane
Amelia Jane shares her story
Flying history:
Despite my dad being a pilot, and having to go on flights from the start of my life I’ve never liked flying.
It’s not the fear of being in the air, I don’t really like heights, but I’m not scared of flying in an aircraft. Probably because I grew up with the knowledge that planes were the safest mode of transport, and on the odd occasion my dad was the pilot. I also worked in aviation myself for 4 years so I have a knowledge on how things work and training on how to deal with crisis situations.
Where my flight anxiety comes from:
I’ve become anxious about flying because I have an inner ear issue and the pressure during flight can throw me off balance and make me feel sick. It became worse as I got older and there was nothing that could be done about it. One of my all time greatest fears is feeling nauseated, ill do absolutely anything to avoid it. Which is why I hated flying and I’d get really stressed about it, as turbulence has previously caused me vertigo and I’ll feel sick for up to a day after a flight.
Due to the possibility of getting vertigo due to turbulence I’ll usually only fly if the weather is good, the idea of flying through a storm gives me super bad anxiety because if I get vertigo I don’t know sick I’ll get and how long I’ll feel sick for and I can’t cope with it.
I almost always book flights last minute so I know the weather is alright.
How I manage it:
Usually if I need to fly somewhere it’s for a good reason, and it’s too far to drive. I’d never let my fears cause me to miss a very special occasion so I’ve forced myself to find ways to over come it.
Even if I am stressed I’ll make myself to deal with it, I was terribly stressed about my first long hall flight to Hawaii, often a one hour flight will leave me feeling sick for the rest of the day, so I was always scared to go on a much longer flight. I ended up taking Valium for the flight there and back to help with stress, I also always have to take motion sickness tablets to avoid feeling less nauseous. I’ve found them to work quite well and it’s helped me a fair bit knowing I won’t feel as sick.
I’m so glad I finally went on a long ball flight, and I’ll be forever grateful I didn’t miss that experience.
Flying aside I actually have terribly bad anxiety which is getting worse, I have no idea why, but I’m effected by it at almost any given time. The feeling of chest pain has become a part of my every day life, sometimes I’m so overwhelmed by it I almost black out, but no one would ever know this because I carry on with my life like absolutely nothing is wrong. I don’t let it control my life at all and I mostly just ignore it as best I can. Ill take a moment to tell myself “you’re fine, you can get over it, you’re more than capable of dealing with this” and I’ll move on. If I didn’t do this, I’d be unable to leave my house.
I do the same thing with flying, I reassure myself a lot if I’m flying through turbulence to try and calm myself down.
I don’t know if that’s helpful to anyone, but that’s just how I personally have dealt with every day anxiety and flight anxiety. If anything flight anxiety is easier to deal with, because I know why I’m stressed and I’m able to call myself down and convince myself I’ll be alright.
If you’re that stressed, I’d recommend seeing a doctor to ask about travel options and medications that can help with things like anxiety and motion sickness, this is what I have done and it has helped. I’d also recommend taking someone with you if you’ve never flown before, it will be less stressful if you’re with someone who has some flying experience.
Take something with you that brings you comfort, will distract you, or that will make you more comfortable. I took my whole pillow to Hawaii because I knew I’d be far more comfortable, and I was right. I also pre downloaded 10h of a tv show I’d been dying to watch,, it was less stressful having something that kept me occupied the whole flight.
Anxiety in general can be difficult to manage, I’d recommend always taking to someone about it, because verbalising it can help you work through it and get to the bottom of what’s really causing you stress. If you don’t have someone you can talk to about it, talk to your doctor and ask them if they can help you with a mental health plan, so you can talk to a professional about your anxiety and work through it.
It’s not worth letting Anxiety take opportunities from you, you don’t have to miss special occasions or miss out on important things because of it. You can do anything you put your mind to, and sometimes you have to do something to prove to yourself it can be done. You got this!
xx