How You Can Overcome Aerophobia

By Larry Parr

Do you hold your breath and close your eyes every time you step onto a plane?  Perhaps your palms sweat and your heart races.  Or maybe you feel as if you are about to pass out.  If you suffer from any of these symptoms,  you could have aerophobia.

What is aerophobia?  A phobia is an irrational fear of a thing or of a situation.  Aerophobia is a fear of flying, which can be paralyzing.  Most people have aerophobia to some extent, but in approximately 20% of the US population this fear is so acute as to cause virtual paralysis. 

Flying produces anxieties of one form or another in almost everyone.  Most of us are able to keep our fears under control.  But what happens when someone who is deathly afraid to fly is forced by circumstances to set foot aboard an airplane?
For the true aerophobic, such a scenario is the stuff of nightmares.

In order to overcome their fear of flying, it is highly recommended that those suffering from aerophobia consult a professional counselor. In the meantime it may help somewhat to understand just how safe flying actually is.  I am not talking about that old bromide that youre far more likely to be in an accident driving to the airport than you are to be in a plane disaster.  For the true aerophobic, statistics like these are childishly insulting.

So what does work?  Start by asking the airline if they have any special programs for phobic flyers.  Not many airlines still do (because of budget restraints), but some will.  Sign up with one and take a tour of a plane on the ground.  See how the plane is made and listen to the skilled and trained personnel whose job it is to address your fears.  And never be embarrassed by your fears.

Your fears are the same fears of almost everyone who flies.  It is just that in your case your fears have taken control of your reason.  But it doesnt have to be that way. Information is the key to getting your fears under control.  Others have done it, which means that you can do it too.  It is not easy; do not let anyone kid you that it is.  But fears can be controlled.  Perhaps not conquered, but with a dedicated effort, and a caring and trained professional to guide you, it is possible to overcome your fear sufficiently to allow you to take that vacation you have always dreamed of, or to attend that all-important family event halfway across the country, and to get there by air – without passing out or throwing up.