6 Tips to Overcome Your Fear Of Flying

For many, the only distress that is felt concerning flying is getting the bags packed and arriving at the airport on time. However, there are others who are more distressed over the actual flight. Several studies have found that up to 40 percent of people have some degree of anxiety about flying. For those individuals who experience fear of flying, here are 6 tips that are designed to help you overcome your fears or at least better manage them.

1. Arrive early: If you are already feeling anxious about flying, it will be easier to calm yourself if you are not experiencing more of the same because you are running late for your departure time. It will help to make your flying experience less stressful if you arrive a couple of hours before the scheduled departure time. This is particularly helpful if you are leaving from a very busy airport. By arriving early, you will have plenty of time to get through the process of getting your tickets and checking your baggage as well as going through security.

2. Relax in the Airport Lounge: If you have access to the VIP lounge take some time to relax in the comfortable environment that is provided for you there. You will be able to get away from all the busyness of the airport that way. Business class flyers already have access, but if you do not it might be worth paying around $50 for this privilege to de-stress and reduce your anxiety before boarding.

3. Select an Aisle Seat: If you are prone to claustrophobia, this will help to alleviate those concerns. You will have more freedom to move around the plane once it has reached altitude. If possible, choose a seat that coincides with the emergency exits on the side of your plane. Typically, there is extra leg room and you may even get a feeling of pride from sitting where you can be of assistance to others if the need should occur.

4. Bring a Distraction: Some studies that have been performed show that just by bringing something along to distract from the actual flight may help to reduce your anxiety. Many people bring along a favorite book or magazine and that qualifies as a distraction, but experts also suggest that something new and different may be more helpful. A new CD with a group of songs that you are not familiar with, some work that needs completing on your computer or an audio book are great ideas.

5. Preparation: Being prepared is one of the most important things you can do when you are afraid of flying. You do not want to have to worry about being uncomfortable, hungry or tired. Wear clothes that are loose-fitting and shoes that are easily removes for going through security. It is simple enough to change clothes in the airport restroom if you are meeting someone important immediately following your flight. Bring along some snacks if you feel you will need them, and a small blanket and travel pillow along with an eye mask are helpful if you are going to be taking a nap while in flight.

6. Above all relax: Yes, it is easy to say that you should do everything you can to relax if you have a fear of flying, but that is the key to getting through the flight. Mind and body relaxing techniques and activities such as yoga, meditation and even hypnotherapy have been known to provide dramatic and effective results. Remember, the chance of anything going wrong during the flight is almost non-existent. The fact is that there is more chance of having a traffic accident on the highway than being involved in one while flying. The pilots are well-trained and that includes training in how to handle emergency situations.

As with most other fearful situations, fear is generally greater than the actual chances of a dangerous situation presenting itself. For this reason, it is recommended that you face your fears rather than letting them control your life. If there is only one tip that could be imparted at this time, this one would be the most important. However, it is also the hardest to address.

The common reaction when we see someone in distress is to offer comfort and to help them move away from the source of their discomfort. This is the wrong approach to take when it concerns most fears even though it is natural. Facing fears head-on is the only way to get past them and move on.

Author:

David Samson is a member of the General Hypnotherapy Register. He holds a Senior Qualification in Hypnotherapy London treatments and is accredited by the National Regulatory Register for Hypnotherapy.

He has acted as an Advisor to ITV Television, London Talk Radio, LBC Radio, BBC Radio London, BBC Radio 2 and Talk Radio Europe. His work has been featured in The Times, The Telegraph, Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday and the Evening Standard.

Visit http://www.davidsamson.co.uk/hypnosis%20for%20fear%20of%20flying.htm if you are interested in using Hypnotherapy to overcome your Fear of Flying, effectively and permanently.

Or call David Now 020 8201 0618. Initial 30 min consultation is Free.

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Stress and the Four Stages of Competence while Learning, Part 1

You don't need me to tell you how stressful life can be! You experience stressful situations while attempting to navigate new relationships and learn new routines at home and work. It helps to understand how to reduce stress in the four stages of becoming competent as you learn anything new. Let's look at the stress you experience as you learn to drive a car.

In the beginning, you know nothing about driving. However, you don't feel any stress because you don't realize you don't know. This first stage is called unconscious incompetence.

When you become aware that you don't know how to drive, and you need to learn, stress begins to increase. Conscious incompetence is the increasingly uncomfortable stage as you realize you need to drive, but can't.

When you get behind the wheel for your first driving lesson, stress can skyrocket. You know you're incompetent, you need to learn how to improve your driving and reduce your stress, but you have little or no control over the car. In fact, some people feel overwhelmed to the point of being paralyzed, they're afraid to take any steps at all.

You don't need to despair, however. You're now moving into conscious competence, the third stage. Since you don't yet know how to drive, you trust the driving instructor as he gives you directions on how to improve your skills. You'll slowly reduce stress as your driving lessons continue, your overall stress levels will begin to drop.

As you continue practicing, you become more and more competent, and driving no longer takes intense concentration. Beware, the conscious competence stage can be dangerous when you realize learning to drive no longer needs your full attention. I remember trying to turn on the radio and very nearly having an accident when I ignored the basic instructions and took my eyes off the road and a hand off the wheel!

Eventually, after much practice, you reach unconscious competence where driving a car is no longer stressful. You can arrive back from work, and realize you don't remember the drive home.

Any learning situation in your life can arouse feelings of stress. Once you understand that stress is a normal part of any new capability, you know to not feel anxious about your lack of control. Changing what you know about reducing stress allows you to more effectively learn new skills and concepts, which is an essential step in learning how to improve your life.

Copyright Cris Baker, all rights reserved.

Cris Baker is well practiced in reducing stress, he's been screwing things up for years!:-) Now you can benefit from real experience, see this diagram illustrating the Stress Curve.
Why repeat my mistakes when you can discover how to minimize your suffering from an expert in self-sabotage? Download the free online seminar and reduce your stress today!

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Deal With It - Proactively! Reduce Your Stress With This Proven Tip, Part 2

Would you prefer an easier life? Me, too! Yet how many of us are willing to put in the effort for life to become easier? You already appreciate the value of investing so you have money for later, but is that the only thing that will give you an easier life?

Let's agree what's plain to see: any area giving you unsatisfactory results will also cause you some stress, right. Then the way to ensure you don't stress in the future is to ensure you don't end up with unsatisfactory results. So you need to look at those areas today.

This seems obvious, and it is. But do you know anyone who buries their heads in the sand and ignores the obvious? Perhaps even intimately?

To avoid the peak in the stress curve, invest some time and energy in the future. Do this before it gets too late. Pick up a pen and write down a list of areas that have potential for becoming stressful. Don't just think about doing this, do it!

Then explore each one. Ask yourself what could cause problems, and how can you reduce the stress that it'll bring. Well before this starts giving you lots of stress, what can you do towards resolving that issue today?

You need to come up with some possible strategies. Estimate which ones could increase - as well as decrease - your stress. You want enough different choices to have this area work for you, rather than against you.

Every cloud has a silver lining is a time-tested proverb. You need to invest time to find the beneficial silver lining in this particular stressful cloud. Any frustration over this area's continuing lack of cooperation simply says you aren't looking powerfully enough. So 'it' is causing you to be frustrated. Then you might be tempted to say: it's not my fault!

Yes indeed, it may not be, but such a stance is still pure self-sabotage, because you are involved. If you have decline responsibility, then you have no power to change things. Taking responsibility gives you the opportunity to reduce the peak of the Stress Curve. Remember that irresponsible is one opposite of responsible!

So regain the power in your life by choosing to be responsible! Put energy into the areas that aren't working so well. Explore the various options that exist, as well as those that don't - yet.

When you do this in advance, before getting stressed, you are creating your life the way you want to have it. To use Stephen Covey's phrase in his seminal book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People - you're being pro-active!

Copyright Cris Baker, all rights reserved.

Cris Baker is well practiced in overcoming adversity, he's been screwing things up for years!:-) Now you can benefit from real experience, his hard-earned know-how at http://www.reducestressnow.net/
Why make your own mistakes when you can discover how to minimize your suffering from an expert in self-sabotage? Download the free online seminar and reduce your stress today!

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