How to Overcome the Fear of Flying

In 1972, I took my first airplane trip to Los Angeles, California. As the plane taxied down the runway, I thought to myself ,"man this is really neat." As the jet started to climb, my ears began to hurt and eventually popped. I started to feel like I was stuck in a small vacuum and couldn't breathe must less move around. I started to relax and put on my ear phones to listen to some music. About twenty minutes into the flight, the plane hit some heavy turbulence. All sorts of thoughts started to go through my head. I started thinking about the many air disasters that I had seen on television. I actually started to think about open and closed casket funerals for myself. Nothing else happened and we landed on time.

However, since that one time, I have had a strong love for riding on a bus, train or automobile. I know that it is silly to be scared of flying. Nevertheless, there are many things that bothered me. If they they bother me, then they bother other people,too.

Many people get claustrophobia. They just can't stand the idea of being packed into a small area. They have to have their space to move around in. The fear of heights (acrophobia) bothers many people. They just don't like the idea of being so high. They get scared even in tall buildings.

Flight anxiety and motion sickness are also common for people that don't like to fly.

So what can a person do to fight these various phobias? How can an individual cope and still take advantage of the great time saver of flying?

Many people like to go to sleep. I have seen countless individuals grabbing a pillow and falling asleep before the plane even taxi's down the runway. Some people that don't like the motion will take some Dramamine tablets about 20 minutes before take off. Yet some people will put on their Ipods are CD players and try to relax or slip their concentration away to something else.