What's the best way to overcome a fear of flying?

I choose to travel by ship whenever possible.

(I know how to swim)

Do you drive a car? Flying is much muchhhhhh safer than driving. Just try and think about that.

My method is also to no longer fly. The cost, discomfort on plane (steerage and long legs and no food, blood clots, and recycled air), inconvenience on ground and in line and waiting for lost luggage. No thanks.

What percentage of flights have been on-time, uneventful and marginally bearable in the past year?

as someone who travels quite a bit on business, the thing that’s helped me most is repeated flying. The one thing that helped me deal with the fear is to embrace the fact that the situation is completely beyond my control. Odds are you won’t crash, but if you do, there’s nothing you can do about it. Letting go of my need to control the situation really helped me let go of the fear of flying. I don’t know if that will work for you, but it worked for me.

I think the same way as uber. Cars are much more dangerous than planes.

I would recommend a couple of books to read that deal with this issue: Ask the Pilot

And Don’t Panic (Deals with panic attacks and I believe there is a chapter on flying).

Fear of flying is irrational and has lot to do with wanting to controlling your environment. When you fly you give up that control, to the pilot.

My wife has this fear and deals with this by not drinking any juice, caffeine, and alcohol 24 hours before and the day of travel. This will prevent your being on edge or induce a panic attack. The other thing she does is take 1 5mg Valium an hour before leaving for the airport and another one before take off.

Good luck!
R

I agree with @Eyeofnyc. I also believe if you are not afraid of heights, then you are not afraid to fly. Your fear is of crashing. You are putting your life in the hands of someone unknown to you. Hence, you fear not being in control of your own destiny…

Actually, I have a friend who helps me with my fear of flying. His name is Jack…
Jack Daniels! I just invite Jack onto the plane with me and lo and behold, my fear of flying just magically disapperars!!!

Thanks guys – some great answers! And you are right – it’s definitely the feeling of being out of control that’s the problem for me. And all the noises… Especially when landing.

This is what the airport bar was invented for. Have a couple quick ones before you hit the jetway, and chances are you’ll be fine.

Take some flying lessons. Maybe understanding a bit more about what’s going on up in the cockpit will alleviate some stress.

exposure therapy.

Alcohol, an old pilots remedy.