From what I’ve seen and heard, I think it’s pretty safe to
say that the whole process of flying can provoke quite a lot of anxiety for a
large number of us. It’s not necessarily always put me off, but throughout my teenage
years in particular, I’ve really noticed the impact that it can have on my
mental health.
I went on holiday to Nice in the South of France for a
couple of days at the end of July (as you will know if you have read this post) and leading up to the day of travelling, I
watched a couple of YouTube videos on how to ‘get over’ my fear of flying. I’ve
saved them into a self-help playlist and so I thought it would be a great
opportunity to share some of the tips that I picked up, because after all,
August is the main month of sunny Summer holidays!
Top Tip #1
Break the whole
experience into small, manageable steps. When we are feeling anxious and in
a particularly rushed situation, we can often become overwhelmed and look at it
all as one massive challenge. Instead of doing this, we should take the ‘small
step’ approach, as I now refer to it. First, think about getting yourself to
the airport. Then, once you’re actually in the airport, you should focus on
getting through the check-in stage. After that comes security and then you can
make your way to the waiting lounge before you go and find your gate to board
the plane. During this time, you can treat yourself to a new perfume or some
airplane snacks in duty free if that would make you feel more at-ease. Who even
eats flight food anyway?!
Top Tip #2
Try to distract
yourself in any way that you can whilst on the plane. As soon as you step
onto the aircraft, it would be a good idea to start thinking of things to do or
your mind will begin to wander – and most probably not to a positive place.
Maybe you could read a book or a magazine, talk to whoever you’re sitting next
to, watch a film on your laptop or your iPad. Hey, you could even edit a
YouTube video or write up a blog post to pass the time! Choose whatever it is
that gives you a focus and is able to keep your brain busy for at least a short
while, depending on the duration of your journey.
Top Tip #3
Remind yourself of
the scientific logics. Travelling by plane is without a doubt the safest
option for any human being. The odds of a plane crash are 1 for every 1.2 MILLION flights, whilst the odds of dying are 1 in 11 MILLION. Whereas, your chances
of dying in a car or a traffic related incident is increased significantly to 1 in 5,000 – and I bet that’s not a
comparison we ever make! We travel on the roads daily, but on the annual or
rare occasion that we’re up in the air for a few hours at a time, we think that
we are more likely to experience trauma. This is so not the case and really, it’s quite irrational for us to think
this way given the statistics! The cabin crew and the pilot are most likely on
flights just as often as we walk around the streets or drive through traffic
and they have had more experience than we care to consider. It’s their
responsibility and their priority to put your safety and your comfort first, so
if they aren’t worried or imagining that something bad will happen, then you
must try your absolute hardest to be the same.
Top Tip #4
Without the flight,
you wouldn’t reach the desired destination. Although there is always the
option of interrailing, flights are much quicker, much more direct and much
more common if you want to reach a certain destination. Back in the day,
airplanes didn’t even exist, so think about how grateful we should be that we
get to actually fly through the air to explore the world, one country at a
time! If we want to enjoy some sunshine and see a different way of life, as
well as getting away from the hustle and bustle and getting those snaps for the
gram, we have to go through the journey first. If you’re going to another
location in Europe from the UK, it really won’t be that long of a journey and
then you get anywhere from a few days to a few weeks before you have to do it
again. It will be bliss and once you have landed, you will just be living in
the moment and wondering why you hadn’t booked your flights sooner…
Top Tip #5
Make sure that you
have got your in-flight essentials prepared beforehand. I would personally
suggest buying some wine gums or chewy sweets to help give your taste buds some
flavour, whilst also preventing your ears from popping quite so much, some
earplugs and an eye-mask for if you want to catch some shut-eye and a travel
pillow to make you feel more relaxed and less achy. Maybe you could also bring
a scented lip balm and some soothing hand cream, as that’s likely to ground you
and help you to feel at home if you’re particularly out of your comfort zone.
I hope these tips are of some use to you, as they certainly
have been to me and will continue to be on future flights! The sooner you start
to enjoy flying, the better of an all-round experience you will have when it
comes to discovering new destinations. Once you have mastered how to keep calm and relax on a shorter flight, you may even be able to fly across the world without feeling fearful one day!
Share your travel tips in the comments below if you have any that I haven't mentioned!
Lots of love always,
Links to the 2 videos that gave the inspiration for this post:
Lily Harper – How To Get Over Fear Of Flying & Flight
Anxiety - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7RbupvgGFQ
Emma Angeline – Managing My Fear Of Flying - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QwhaTrDqNE
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