The season of holidays begins, and therefore travels. But pleasant thoughts of relaxation are often accompanied by a sense of fear of flying. WDay.ru found out what aerophobia is and found eight ways to cope with it.
Statistics show that every fourth passenger on an airplane is afraid. But not all of them really suffer from aerophobia.
Who are aerophobes?
On planet Earth, there are only 13% of people who are truly terrified of flying. They won’t even come close to the airport. They can easily refuse a lucrative contract, inheritance, marriage and other joys if they need to get on a plane for this.
What triggers a phobia?
As a rule, severe stress during the flight can lead to aerophobia. For example, a prolonged landing due to bad weather conditions, shaking in a turbulence zone, or another situation. But most often the person himself becomes the cause for panic.
Prolonged depression, emotional breakdown can easily provoke fear during the flight. If after a while the fear has not disappeared, it is quite possible that a latent neurosis is progressing. In this case, you need to analyze everything. If it’s all about naughty nerves, the phobia can be defeated.
Aerophobia symptoms
Often the fear of flying arises in those who are afraid of heights and confined spaces. From fear palms sweat, heart rate increases, it becomes difficult to breathe, and if you do not calm down in time, panic begins.
How to get rid of aerophobia
If fear arises, you can seek help from a flight attendant.
1. Direct the cool air from the fan towards you to help you breathe.
2. Start breathing deeply and slowly. Concentrate all your attention on inhaling and exhaling. Breathing should be even. Make sure nothing gets in your way (unbutton your shirt, remove your watch and rings).
3. Take a break from your thoughts: do a crossword puzzle, if possible, watch a movie or just chat with fellow travelers.
4. Eat. Eating increases blood sugar levels, which can reduce anxiety and stress. Therefore, be sure to eat during the flight. In addition, the process itself will distract you from bad thoughts.
5. Drink tomato juice. Salt retains moisture; in conditions of dehydration, the body instinctively requires salt. By the way, according to statistics, every third passenger orders exactly tomato juice.
6. Skip coffee. This drink stimulates the nervous system and only increases the number and strength of fears and nervousness during the flight.
7. Take a course. Experts will help to solve, if not all, then many problems.
8. Take your fear to the extreme. Namely: think about the worst consequences you can imagine. According to Western psychologists, this method allows you to defeat a phobia. The bottom line is that at a certain moment, the body simply gets tired of being afraid and, finally, relaxes. And that’s what you need!