Say Bye-Bye to Fear of Flying

July 18, 2008 — -- Even without the higher luggage fees and airlines' services cut, getting on a plane is just a dreaded experience for some people. If your fear of flying is keeping you grounded, these helpful tips from knowledgeable experts can have you soaring through the air calmly.

Tip 1: "Make Your Fear Public, Literally!"

One of the first steps to get over the fear of flying is simple and straightforward: You must recognize flying makes you highly anxious or even terrified.

"To accept that you're anxious is one of the best ways to reduce your anxiety," says Dr. Reid Wilson, a specialist in the treatment of anxiety disorders in Chapel Hill, N.C.

If you struggle against your feelings of anxiety or fear of flying, this would only increase the symptoms you are trying to overcome, Wilson said.

Fearful passengers should understand it is OK to feel anxious and that it would take practice before they no longer feel nervous on an airplane, explains Wilson in Achieving Comfortable Flight, a self-help kit available online.

People afraid of flying should not perceive it as though it is something "crazy," said Ronald Nielsen, a veteran pilot who has been helping people afraid of flying for 20 years and author of The Fearless FlightKit.

"We have a tendency to think that we're the only ones with our problems, and fear of flying has an aspect of that because people look around [an airplane] and they perceive that everyone else is just fine about flying. The truth of the matter is that there are a lot of people that are at least anxious about it," Nielsen said.

When you know and accept your feelings, you can be proactive in finding ways to control your fears. "If you feel panicky, you can control that by thinking and visualizing it's going to go away," advises Stacey Chance, creator of an online course for people afraid of flying.

Tip 2: You Think You Know, but You Have No Idea

Most people afraid of flying express the most concern about take-off, landing and, of course, turbulence. Having little knowledge about the process of flying an aircraft makes the experience even more frightening.

"You must learn the plain truth about aviation," Nielsen said. Learning a little of how an airplane works and the process of flying helps you understand common sensations and sounds that are often experienced in a flight, thus making it less scary for you.