Fear of flying

I know some people who miss a lot of fun in traveling because of their debilitating fear of flying. I, myself, used to panic in terror upon the thought of air travel. Words like air pockets, turbulence, terrorists, hijackings and plane crashes always came to my mind when talking about plane rides. Thank goodness my love for traveling and adventures helped me get through with this fear. I realized that I should never allow fear to dictate how I live. There is an entire world to explore. If you want to travel and see places, you for the most part, have to fly.

Now, air travel is one of my most favorite modes of transportation! To those who experience panic attacks at the mere thought of flying, here are a few tips that will help you conquer and rid the fear for good.

Start off small. If you are planning to fly, don't start with a 5 hour trip. Make arrangements to see places that are less than 2 hours away by air.

Realize the source of your fear. Is it being up in the air, loss of control or your wild imagination? If you never flew as a child, well, it's understandable why you would be reluctant to fly. What you fear most is unknown. So, if you have never flown before, once you try it, the worst is over.

Travel when you know you can sleep. Get on a flight that leaves at 12 midnight or at 5 am. This way, you'll be tired so you can sleep until you reach your destination. Once you get there you can enjoy, relax and be proud of yourself.

Relax your mind and stop conjuring up what can go wrong. Flying is generally considered to be one of the safest forms of public transportation currently available. Statistics show that airline travel is 29 times safer than driving an automobile.