Airplane fear

I never took an airplane, if I think about it, a little fear comes but I prefer avoiding thinking too much.

Many people are afraid of flying and a lot of the fear tends to come from the feeling of being trapped, or lack of control and those things may be made to feel worse by the smells, sights and sounds of the airport itself. The best way to counter a fear is to face up to it, at your own pace, but living with the fear is worse than confronting it. You could start by visiting the airport to watch the planes land and takeoff. You will be exposed to the sounds, and some of the smells like the keroseane. You will also see just how safe planes are. Another thing you could do is to actually visit the airport terminal yourself. Even if you are not flying, just try to familarise yourself with the hussle and bussle of the people, again the sounds are important, the announcements etc. The next thing you could try is to start off taking a short flight, something like 45mins to 1hour in duration, this could still be on a jet plane, but by flying on a short hop you'll know it;s not long until you get off the plane and also that if you really really couldn't go through with it, then you wouldn't lose much money. If I am anxious I always take a bottle of water with me, some chewing gum or herbal tablets like kalms to settle my stomach. If you expose yourself to these things over time you will start to become de-sensitised to the fear, i.e it will get better. Also try and travel with family or friends that understand your fear and will help you every step of the way and not push you into doing things you find uncomfortable. If you can't face flying after trying these things yourself, you could try hypnonsis or joining one of the many fear of flying sessions that are held. I don't say facing a fear is easy, but in small steps you'll be helping yourself and facing it and might not even realise it.

When I first took a trip on an airplane, I was extremely excited. I found it amazing what can be seen from way up there. Do you know that clouds really do look like cotton when you fly over them? You can even see the roundness of the Earth - it's so cool! Now, though, as an adult, I find myself very hesitant about flying because I know what COULD happen. I will still fly if I have to, but that "cool" feeling is gone and I aways am aware of the posibility of disaster.