Airplane turrets can cause fear. Here are 7 tips to cope with the fear of flying

Travelers usually welcome the jerk of the excited adrenaline, which sharpens the senses and temporarily takes their breath-the physical evidence of an impressive adventure is. The same reactions, which are far less pleasant in the form of anxiety, are also an inevitable part of the trip, the other side of the biochemical coin of novelty.

For more and more travelers, this fear is about flying. While the flight left to the Safest means of transport, an estimated 25 million adults in the United States had a certain level of aerophobia From 2022. After tragic accidents in the first months of 2025, the online search increased exponentially for “fear of fly” and “fear of flying”.

However, the question of travel remains and more than 5 billion passengers are expected to fly this year. For those who have more fear of flying, there are techniques for the first time that travelers can continue to fly. Challenging intrusive thoughts are helpful, but regulating the body is the key.

“We have the feeling that we have control over our minds and can use it, but we have a lot more control over our chemistry than we see.” “We can switch to a change and become aware of our parasympathetic nervous system, now the root and generate peace and calm.”

Here you can find out how you can reject the need by obtaining control over the nervous system and why best – and practiced for the first time – are built on the floor.

7 ways to calm your nerves when you are afraid of flying

1. Cool the body With chilled food and drinks – a cold drink on the forehead in canned food often makes the trick.

2. Get control of the breath by slowing down the inhalation through the nose and exhaling through the mouth. Many rhythms and strategies work; The key is to slow down the respiratory rate and concentrate on a pattern.

3 .. Use the senses to regulate With the “5-4-3-2-1” technology: Identify five things you can see, four you can touch, three you can hear, two you smell and one that you can taste.

4. Pack sensory aids Like acidic sweets, appealing textures, small, fragrant lotions and download calming audio tracks.

5. Humanization Touch And trustworthy travel companions put on gentle pressure, light jump and scalp massages with a calming rhythm to maximize the grounding advantages. Weighted ceilings also create similar soothing effects.

6. Create a mantra Before flying, this helps to challenge intrusive thoughts.

7. Try it with advice For persistent or severe symptoms and research the roots of fear.

Read below to understand science behind the techniques listed above, to calm your fear and contain your fear of fly.

((Relatives: 7 ways to make traveling less stressful.))

HOW body temperature can move an anxious nervous system

When it comes to calming down the main fight and the flight reaction of the body – the sympathetic nervous system – the encouragement to “split off” is literally. The sympathetic nervous system emits adrenaline that triggers a cascade of reactions: increase in heart rate, increases in blood pressure, respiratory frequencies and cortisol releases. This means that the metabolic activity and heat comes through increased energy. Ramos describes that this physiological reaction prepares us for quick reactions and helps us to keep up with modern productivity requirements, but it is not beneficial to reduce anxiety.

“Most people overdo it on the sympathetic nervous system to do things,” says Ramos. “But with all the 'Go Go', the parasympathetic system atrophies.

The parasympathetic nervous system – the residual and digestive functions – acts as a brake of the hormonal flood. A quick way to switch to this side of the nervous system is to kidnap the temperature of the body. The body reacts to the cold by turning into a less energetic state.

Why breathing exercises can slow down the reactions of stress

Controlled breathing also starts the relaxing mechanisms of the body, since the slower pace helps to regulate the heart rate and temperature. By adding focused patterns for breathing enables what is generally referred to in psychotherapy as an grounding, or the ability to connect to the present moment.

“The breath leaves the mind in the present, in which we are free of the results that we are concerned about,” explains Ramos. “Fear is based on future results. They are not currently happening.”

Clinical psychologist Becki Apeloff describes how this process helps the body to convince the brain of security. “The news of the brain says: 'Wait, I'm sure I'm sure. This alarm is a false alarm.'”

((Relatives: Here is what is afraid of her brain and body.))

How to consider your senses to stay calm

The distraction is a universal technology, and most travelers prefer to pack and download appealing films, books, games and music instead of joining the 2024 “Raw Dogging” trend without entertainment. However, if our body floods with chemical emergency signals, it is more difficult to access the advanced areas of the brain, which also enable the focus on pleasant distractions.

One of the most accessible options to achieve a quieter state is the senses. The interpretation of sensory inputs is a basic line – sensases even in anxious conditions. The cessation of the environment is based on both the brain and the lack of immediate threat.

“As soon as you have a controlled breath, make a cognitive mix,” suggests Apseloff. “Play this” i -espionage “that we do on car trips and look for everything on the plane that begins with the letter C.” The idea is to do simple cognitive work that connects and justifies it with the current environment.

The senses also change the chemistry of the body. Pleasant Tastes and sounds trigger feel -good chemicals Like dopamine. Touch releases the calming oxytocin while reducing the cortisol. The use of one of these will give an already calming nervous system an increase in chemical backup.

((Related: Your flight was delayed – or canceled. Here you can find out how to get through.))

Explore the sources of flying fear safely while you are on site

Air disasters may trigger flying fear, but the roots of a person's fear are often less direct. Passing with a loss of control is one of the most common topics for those with flight deletes. “You really have to give yourself the flight crew to do your work and that the plane holds,” explains Apseloff and notices that we are happy to manipulate the results. “You can't stop. You cannot get out. This task of control is so difficult.”

Different forms of the therapy intake in evidence-based dialectal behavioral therapy messages are about a concept that is called radical acceptance, or reducing suffering by accepting that you do not have control over all things. Apeloff giggles when she explains a supporting mantra that works for her: she remembers that her concerned brain is not a precise statistician for negative results.

These findings require access to the prefrontal cortex of the brain, but in times of need, the security -related amygdala and hypothalamus dominate the brain as part of the survival reactions. The recognition of reasons for fears and the practice of supporting thoughts must take place before an anxious episode, similar to the creation of an almost automatic muscle memory.

The clinical psychologist Dr. Charlotte Russell, founder of the travel psychologist, works with customers for fear of flying and sees the advantages of individual treatment on which the topics are based. “Look at the therapy to understand and deal with the fears of flying if you have tried strategies such as relaxation and way of thinking for a challenge.”

Ultimately, doctors see profits with universal tips and individualized treatment. There can still be discomfort, but the goal is to manage fear, to be able to travel. “People should travel,” says Ramos. “This adventure of life fulfills our heart with a lot of joy.”