Advice for Fear of Flying

Video Transcript

"In this clip we will talk a little bit about a fear of flying. There are a lot of different factors that can play into this. They can be environmental, they can be physical and they can be social and they can be personal as well. The one thing you need to think about is, what is going on and what triggers your phobia the most. For some people it's environmental, meaning, if there's a rise in, there's a rise in plane crashes recently that phobia is now going to sky rocket and the fear level and anxiety level is actually going to be more intense. If it's social, some people again, you know, if they, if they're very susceptible to other people and if they're around a group of people who are afraid of flying, that can increase the anxiety level of their fear of flying as well. It won't cause a phobia but it can increase it. Other events, you know, that are out of your control can also increase fear of flying. One thing you need to think about is what part of flying is the most scary for you. Is it the lift off, you know, taking off to the air; is it the coming back down and landing; is it everything in general? Or is it just actually being suspended in mid air that is the scariest part to you. Sometimes what happens with the fear of flying is it can also get mixed in with other phobias, such as claustrophobia, and if a person also has a bit of agoraphobia, then you really have a mix, because now you're in a confined space with a lot of people and you are in the air. Something’s you can think about doing, again that might help you are, guided fantasies, you know. Visualize what it's like to take off, but from the safety of your own chair. You know, it's good to do this with a counselor so they can walk you thru it. Visualize being in the air, you know. Visualize landing again. What is it that really scares you about flying. Is it the possibility of a crash? Is it, you know, the idea of just flying in the air, because, you don't fly? But then we're limiting it to planes. It can also be that some people, just the idea of flying, or seeing birds fly, can trigger their phobia. So, it really depends on what's the level of severity of your phobia and how you're going to control it. Remember, try and relax; try and think about, you know the good positive aspects of it and treat it as comfortably as you can but without overdoing it. And again, if it is to the level that you really need to fly for a job and it's interfering with your daily life; you really need to seek the help of a professional to help you work through these issues."