Fear of flying
Becoming more aware
Keep a diary - It is a good idea to keep a diary of flying-related situations you find difficult or scary. It will help you understand the things that are happening to you. Then you can fight the phobia. You can watch your own progress and notice what you are doing well. Sometimes when we are stressed we only remember the bad days and not the good ones. Make a diary like the one below. The first line has been filled in as an example (1 = not at all frightening, 10 = very frightening). As you progress you will see your anxiety rating for difficult situations go down.
| Date | Doing what? Where? | How did you feel? | Anxiety rating (1-10) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 March | Flight from Glasgow to London | Really bad panic | 9 |
Break down the challenges
The next step is to make a list of difficult height-related things. Each thing will have a different rating (1 = no anxiety, 5 = fairly anxious, 10 = very anxious). Put the most difficult thing at the top, then the next most difficult one, and so on, all the way to the bottom - just like the example below:
| Situation | Rating |
|---|---|
| Flying in windy, turbulent conditions | 10 |
| Long haul flight | 9 |
| Plane taking off and landing | 8 |
| Flying alone (without partner) | 8 |
| Flying (with partner) in window seat | 7 |
| Sitting in a plane that isn't taking off | 6 |
| Watching airplane take off | 5 |
| Visiting airport | 4 |
| Watching footage of airplanes on TV | 3 |
| Watching planes in the sky | 2 |
Create your own challenge sheet like the one above to make your list.
Face the situation
The best way to fight a height phobia is to go back to the difficult situations - slowly.
Go back to your challenge list of situations or places you find scary. Start with the easiest at the bottom of the list. Practise going into this situation until you may feel able to cope with it and you notice your anxiety rating drop. Choose a more difficult thing and practice this. Do not be tempted to try any scary difficult things until you find the easier ones less scary.
It is not easy to put yourself in some of these situations. You can't practise flying without taking off first. It might be useful to imagine yourself coping in each of these situations. Some airports run courses for people who are afraid of flying. They allow you to sit on the plane and will talk you through the noises you can expect and answer your questions. Courses like this can be expensive.
Be prepared
We need to think about how you can prepare for going into the difficult situations on your list. There are 2 things you can do to help with this:
Relaxation
You might start to feel anxious about going into difficult situations. You need to notice when you first start to feel panic. Go to the panic section of the stress wheel and find out how to control your panic.
Positive thinking
When we are anxious and panicky our thinking can go out of control. Scary thoughts like "I am going to die", "I am going to lose control" and "I might faint" feed our anxiety and make it worse. They are not true but it is difficult not to think like this when you are in a scary situation. The most common scary thought is to think that the worst thing is going to happen. You end up in a vicious circle:
- Notice panic feelings and body sensations like feeling hot and sweaty, heart racing
- Think negative thoughts about the worst thing that can happen
- Makes things worse and increases the panic feelings and body sensations
Come up with a 'Big Challenge Thought'
A big challenge thought is one that you can use to fight the negative thoughts. Uses this thought along with breathing exercises whenever you are in a difficult situation.
| Write down your worrying thoughts | How much do I believe it? | |
|---|---|---|
| The plane might crash | 10 |
Challenge the thought :
| Try and find a more balanced thought | Ask yourself what reasons you have for the thought | Ask yourself what reasons you have against the thought |
|---|---|---|
It might help if you think of:
| It's dangerous flying in planes. Plane crashes are always in the news. | There are a lot of safety checks to make flying safer. Many many flights go ok. |
Come up with another way of looking at it :
| Big Challenge Thought | New rating of worry (1 - 10) |
|---|---|
| It is not likely the plane with crash. Hundreds of planes make journeys without crashing. | 3 |
Some tips on fighting you fear
- There'll be times when you feel like you just can't, but don't give up, everyone has bad days and good days. Don't try too much on a bad day.
- Try to think positively if you can.
- Take things at slowly - a step at a time.
- Give yourself credit when you do something you are proud of, give yourself a treat.
