There are several techniques you can try to end your fear of flying.
A fear of flying is considered a situational phobia. Phobias are usually irrational fears of situations or things that should not cause extreme distress. If you have a fear of flying, you may have anxiety or panic attacks when you have to board a plane or be on one. This anxiety may be so bad that you cannot even get on a plane. If you want to break your fear of flying, there are several techniques you can try.
Instructions
Exposure Therapy
1. Find a cognitive behavioral therapist who specializes in exposure therapy. In this kind of therapy, you will be exposed to flying in a safe and controlled situation.
2. Picture yourself in an airplane while you're in a quiet, safe room with your therapist. She may talk you through a visual imagining of going to an airport, checking your luggage, waiting for the call to board, boarding the plane and finally being in a flying plane. She will do it at your pace; as soon as you become frightened, tell her. You will begin again at the start until you can make it through the mental walk-through.
3. Go to an airport with your therapist. She may arrange for you to board a plane by yourself and, depending on the cost, introduce you to everything that you experienced in your mental exercises. Take your time and if you get frightened, start from the beginning until you are not afraid of the last step you were stuck on. If you spend all this time exposing yourself to your fear of flying, you may find that you are not as afraid anymore.
Participant Modeling
4. Board a plane with your therapist or someone you are comfortable with who is not afraid of flying. He will be your model as to physically react to flying.
5. Watch your companion's body language as the plane begins to move and fly. He should be relaxed with his hands open and a calm expression on his face.
6. Mimic your companion's body language. Act exactly as he is acting. This modeling is another type of exposure therapy that may be useful to you.
Challenging Negative Thinking
7. Ask yourself a series of questions aimed at reasoning yourself out of your fear of flying. First, ask yourself, "Is there evidence that flying is extremely dangerous?" You should answer that there is not.
8. Ask yourself if you are making an error in your thinking. Is it logical that the plane will crash? You can tell yourself that it is not logical and that statistics show that air travel is safer than car travel.
9. Ask yourself what you would say to someone you know with a fear of flying. Pretend to hear it from someone else, that plane crashes hardly ever happen. Say it out loud.
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