I'm writing this as the wheels of the airplane are leaving the ground. This is not a metaphor for anything, this is quite literally a huge fear of mine. I have to face this fear often. I have to travel for work and I really don't have a choice to avoid flying. It actually got a lot better for me as I kept doing it's, but its still a lot to handle. What are some things you do to lessen a fear? or do you avoid it at all costs?
I have a fear of flying, and I had to take Ativan for several years to fly. I no longer have to take medication since I’ve come up with a plan that works for me. I would think this plan can be adapted to other fears besides flying. There are three parts to it:
1) Mindfulness
The part of flying that I really dislike is the turbulence (any turbulence, even if mild). When I experience turbulence, I use my clothing or some other object that is at hand and rub it between my fingers. I think of its texture, its purpose, and other things that are related to the object.
Here is an example that I just used on a flight yesterday. I felt the cord of my earbuds. I felt the plastic and another narrow thread going around the outside. I thought about how that thread was probably nylon or something to strengthen the cord. I thought about how the cord allowed me to hear my favorite music.
The purpose of the mindfulness is to get your mind in the present. While I was thinking about the earbud cord, I was not thinking about how I dislike turbulence, or how I am unreasonably afraid that the turbulence is dangerous.
2) Mantra
I found a good mantra for my fear of turbulence, which I repeat to myself on a regular basis when I fly: “Turbulence is a matter of comfort, not of safety”.
A mantra kind of serves the same purpose as the mindfulness exercise: occupying your mind with something so that it does not go down paths of fear, like thinking the plane is going to crash, or thinking you can’t handle the turbulence. It serves as a focal point for your thoughts.
3) Visualization
I have come up with some silly visualizations about flying, but they work for me. I visualize very long poles that go down to the ground from the plane with wheels on the bottom. I also visualize the plane “swimming” through an ocean of air, and just like when you swim near the edge of a pool and the waves can bounce back and buffet you a bit, I visualize the air “bouncing back” and doing sort of the same thing to the plane, causing mild turbulence.
I hope you have found this helpful.
tdp