The frustrating thing about flight turbulence is how suddenly they occur, completely without warning.
Thankfully, there are ways to overcome the anxiety that comes when these sudden flight turbulence hits.
Jumia Travel, the leading online travel agency, shares 5 ways to overcome the anxiety that comes with flight turbulence.
Increase Your Pool of Knowledge
Fear is intensified when the object of your fear remains a mystery. Therefore, it’s important you avoid ‘what if?’ thoughts by reading up on flight turbulence, its causes, potential dangers and the likely risks associated with it. Know all you can about planes and how they are designed to handle turbulence. When you understand the phenomenon, it’ll be much easier to manage and overcome.
Remind Yourself That Fear is Separate From Danger
The fact that you’re afraid doesn’t actually mean you’re in danger, you need to be able to separate the two to successfully overcome anxiety. Remind yourself that feeling anxious doesn’t mean you’re in danger, it just means you’re feeling anxious. You’re safe even if you’re feeling intense anxiety. Besides, why remain negative when you can be positive. Stop fueling your fears and anxieties.
Try To Outsmart Anxiety
Anxiety tricks your mind into thinking you’re in danger when you’re perfectly safe. Following your emotions at that point will only reinforce your anxiety and very likely make you hysterical. As a rule, you should learn to do the opposite of what those anxious feelings are telling you to do (even when you’re still feeling anxious). You’ll be surprised at how effective this will be in helping to overcoming anxiety.
Figure Out What Soothes You When Anxious
Is it talking to someone? Is it reading a book? Is it listening to music? Is it praying? Is it meditating? Figure it out. Once you know what soothes you when you’re anxious, you can do that thing to help calm you in those times.
Be Patient
Over time, you’ll actually get used to flight turbulence and remain unfazed when they occur. Besides, after a while you’ll eventually get tired of jumping in fear at every flight turbulence; you’ll get tired of being fearful.
Be patient with yourself because every flight provides you with an opportunity to make the next one easier (if it helps and you’re the religious type, you can pray as often as you can for a safe flight and commit it to the hands of the One you trust). Your brain will eventually become less sensitized to the triggers that set you off and flight turbulence will cease to become an anxiety trigger for you.