For Those Afraid To Fly – Real Advice From Someone Who Knows
Planning a trip but afraid to fly? Well, don’t listen to anyone else. Listen to me because I have real tips. Advice from the heart of someone also afraid to fly. Deathly afraid.
Advise That Doesn’t Work For Those Afraid To Fly
Up to 40% of Americans are afraid to fly, according to the hill.com. As one of those people, I always hear stupid advice from people who aren’t actually afraid to fly and sure, sometimes their advice seems accurate, logically. But fear of flying isn’t always logical.
For instance, sure it’s easy to tell someone “don’t fear turbulence,” like I’ve heard so often. Um, yeah. Sure. I won’t fear it, until it hits. Then I’m freaking out. I feel like the airplane is going to drop out of the sky and crash land into a grass field full of sheep in Ireland. That’s an actual event that happened to me. Well, the fear is. We didn’t actually crash, but we were flying over Ireland at the time of the horrible turbulence. All I could picture was landing on top of poor defenseless sheep… and dying.
So, to just tell someone not to fear it because it won’t hurt them is useless advice. Instead of listening to that, I thought I’d share my own tips with you. Because in the past I’ve actually canceled trips due to fear. Not anymore. And this is how I get through it.
Advise That Does Work For Those Afraid To Fly (Like Me)
I didn’t start out with a fear of flying. Just like I didn’t start out in life jaded and cynical. But here we are. And quite frankly, I have no idea when the fear began or why. It just appeared one day. Maybe it was the flight after that one that almost killed the Irish sheep. Whenever it was, there I was, panicked, anxiety-filled and feeling like I was in the middle of a cattle call boarding Flight 666 headed directly for hell.
Related: Brightline West Vegas To SoCal Train May Cost $400 Roundtrip
Through the years, I’ve come up with a system, a mindset and, yes, the right pills (legal ones… this isn’t THAT kind of advice). All three are vital, important, and can even make the flight fun. Here’s what I do.
1. Be on time.
I’m always early to the airport. Why? So I have zero panic and stress making it to the gate on time. Starting the trip panicked and late is no way to begin. A stress free start is SO key, especially for those who are afraid to fly.
2. Sing happy songs.
I sing Bob Marley’s “No woman No Cry.” No, not the whole song. But the chorus, “everything is going to be alright”, repeatedly. Yes, its cheesy, but who cares? I’m trying to get my butt to Maui. Go judge someone else.
3. Fly super early or late at night (red eye).
I love flying at 6 a.m. (or a red eye) because I’m too tired and out of it to be filled with anxiety. Plus there’s a good chance I’ll even nod off on the flight.
4. Pick the right seat.
This is one of the most important pieces to the equation. I prefer window seats, mid to front of plane. On wing or just in front of the wing. Also, as far away from any crying baby. Or overly-talkative person who can’t tell that I’m just trying to keep my s— together and I don’t care what their grandchild has accomplished in their gymnastics class.
5. Understand the takeoff.
One of the most difficult things for me to deal with was the takeoff. There’s a moment as soon as the plane lifts off the ground where it feels like it’s falling. It was always a panic moment for me, until I talked to an airline pilot. He told me to think of it as a car shifting into third gear. So now I just picture someone shifting, pushing in the clutch and then hitting the gas. Man that helped a ton.
6. Cocktails, baby.
Yes, cocktails. Because, truth be told, all of the above is just prep. Cocktails, and not necessarily the beverage kind, help with showtime. They are my BFFs when it comes to flying.
I’ve always taken something for motion sickness, because I’m one of the lucky ones who experiences that. Yay for me. But I only just learned of the magical wonders of taking something for anxiety. And, I tell you what, it literally changed my world. Because now I’m willing to go SEE the world. The anxiety, fear and panic are so minimal now. I take both pills about an hour before takeoff. And it hits just as the plane starts to back up.
These tips work for me almost every time. I’m still afraid to fly. But with this system, from takeoff to landing, I’m relatively calm. And, in some cases of turbulence, even logical. Because now when the plane is shaking hard enough to knock a toupee off someone’s head, I calmly turn to my flying partner and say, “Dude, are we going to go down? Oh, well if we do. I just hope the sheep will be ok.”
