Some tricks to combat flight anxiety

October 16, 2017

1. Avoid alcohol.
If you think drinking alcohol before or during flight will tackle your flight anxiety, think again. It is no fun trying to navigate the airport system or communicating with airport personnel while plastered. You are also most likely to be robbed when drunk.

2. Distract yourself
If you know you are going to be anxious on a flight, prepare. Distract yourself with a book, or fill your mp3 player with your favourite songs. Take charge of your comfort without relying solely on the airline to do so for you.

3. Trust the airline
It could be that your anxiety about flying are is misplaced fear. It is expected that being cramped in a tiny seat of the economy class next to strangers is an uncomfortable one. However, trust that the flight industry is more than equipped to handle the flight smoothly.

4. Equip yourself with knowledge
Do some research on flying, airplanes and flight patterns. This will help contribute to the normalization of air travel. People perceive threats due to an active imagination. But for example, learning about modern airplanes and how they’re built and that, say, the wing won’t break off, may help ease those fears over a period of time. If people have imaginative fears, it helps to have actual knowledge.

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