Overcoming Fears

Posted on November 30th, 2009 by panel

How do YOU overcome your fears?

Let’s talk about a fear many of us have: a fear of FLYING. I faced my fear head on yesterday as I flew back from Florida to Chicago. I’m a nervous wreck before I get on flights. So much so that I purposely barely leave enough time to get to the gate before final boarding! I also feel the need to tell my seat mates that I’m a nervous flier so that they understand when I look around like a spaz and always keep my eyes on the flight attendants for some sort of sign that things are going good or bad.

When I tell people I’m a nervous flier, they usually ask if it’s my first flight. They then look confused when I say, “No…I usually fly at least twice a month.” They kind of laugh, and then I (nervously) laugh, too.

See, I have always been anxious flier, but things have gotten worse since a pretty turbulent filled/redirected-due-to-bad-weather flight I was on a few months ago.

I feel like I know what I need to do to overcome this fear, and most of those things I’m already doing: saying HI into the cockpit when I first board the plane so that I can see the pilots (and honestly, so that the pilots can see me, and in my twisted mind I think that if they make a connection with a passenger, they will take better care of the plane. LOL oy.) I ask the flight attendants if they think there will be turbulence, and I insist that my dad check the flight path and let me know if there’s bad weather on my plane’s path. I’m collecting all of the information that should logically CHILL ME OUT! But, nonetheless, I still tense up at every tiny bump during the flight.

I’m considering looking into a “Fear of Flying” class (thanks, Dad), but I’m interested in hearing about how YOU handle your fear of flying, or any fear for that matter?!?!

How do you STEP IT UP when it comes to your fears??!