Flight Anxiety: Feeling Grounded in the Sky
Flight Anxiety: Feeling Grounded in the Sky
by Gabrielle Morse, LMHC and Arielle Siniapkin, PMHNP-BC
Feeling anxious about flying? You're not alone. Many people experience discomfort, fear, or even panic when boarding a plane. But the good news is, with the right strategies, you can significantly reduce flight anxiety and enjoy your travels. In this post, we'll explore how to harness your internal resources with evidence-based techniques to self-regulate during your travels.
Understanding Flight Anxiety
Before we dive into solutions, it's helpful to understand what is fueling your fear. Anxious fliers are accustomed to managing their anxiety by controlling their environment and having the option to leave stressful situations. Flying requires them to relinquish control, which is a significant challenge. They must learn to cope with anxiety using new internal strategies rather than grasping for control.
The Power of Acceptance
Part of relinquishing control is learning to sit with discomfort. When we sit with discomfort, we build self-trust. Here’s where acceptance comes in. You don’t need to be anxiety-free in order to fly. It’s important to accept the presence of anxiety, or in other words, drop the tug-of-war rope with your anxiety. When we try to resist, it can persist. However when we practice acceptance, it is unpleasant but it’s tolerable.
How it Manifests & Tips to Regulate It
Flight anxiety can show up cognitively. You may notice an overestimation of danger and catastrophic thinking such as, what if the plane goes down. You may notice hypervigilance, scanning the environment for every bump and every noise. You may notice anxiety about feeling anxious, embarrassed, or a loss of self-control. It’s important to label this as anxiety. When we are mindfully aware of our anxiety, it allows us respond rather than react. Ground yourself in the facts, for example, what is safe and benign about this situation that I’m overlooking? Education and demystification of aircraft safety, turbulence, security procedures, and statistics can help as well.
Send worries to a locked vault in your mind using this EMDR technique
Try this exercise to bring yourself out of your head and into your body
Cultivate a sense of calm through sensory inputs. This can include music, coloring, and film. Various forms of art can produce certain hormones and neurochemicals which can create catharsis.
Flight anxiety can show up emotionally. You may feel fear, panic, worry, or irritability. It’s okay to feel fear. However, remember to separate fear from danger. Challenge the belief that you should be able to control fear – this is like telling your stomach not to digest food. Emotions aren’t the problem, it’s getting stuck in the emotions that causes distress.
Learn about how the Opposite Action Skill can help your fear become less intense over time.
Flight anxiety can show up physiologically. You may experience a rapid heart rate, sweating, shallow breathing, light headed sensations, dry mouth, shaking, or nausea. This is your fight-or-flight response, providing the body with a burst of energy that is intended to respond to threat. While these sensations are unpleasant, they aren’t dangerous. When we worry about them, they tend to become more noticeable. Instead of worrying about these sensations, shift your focus to communicating to the body that “we are safe.”
Come up with a coping statement to use during times of heightened stress such as: I am okay, This feels really scary, I know I may feel like I am dying but I am not in any imminent danger, This will end, this is not going to last forever, I will get through this, I can feel unpleasant and be safe at the same time.
Try to regulate the nervous system with these breathing exercises.
Flight anxiety can show up behaviorally. You may notice yourself avoiding travel, engaging in safety behaviors, and reassurance seeking. While these behaviors can provide short-term relief, they perpetuate the cycle of anxiety in the long-term.
Seeing a therapist for Exposure Therapy or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can lead to successful outcomes for anxiety and phobias.
Flight anxiety can show up beforehand. To deal with anticipatory anxiety, use the Coping Ahead skill. Set yourself up for success by planning on which coping skills you’d like to use if and when certain feelings pop up. Imagine the situation vividly. Rehearse how you will cope with it. After rehearsing, practice relaxation. Practice relaxation techniques regularly to enhance their effectiveness during flights. Don’t wait until anxiety is at its peak to use them.
Medication
Medication may also be helpful in managing flight anxiety in conjunction with non pharmacologic measures. We encourage you to seek additional information from your healthcare provider who can discuss the risks, benefits, and indications to make sure you are receiving all the support you need.
When thinking about pharmacologic interventions to assist in managing flight anxiety, several options exist to make the experience of flying more comfortable. For consistent support, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors may be indicated to assist in managing flight anxiety. Antihistamines, such as Hydroxyzine (Vistaril) might be useful for some individuals, promoting relaxation through a mild sedative effect.Benzodiazepines are commonly prescribed for flight anxiety. These medications, which include Diazepam (Valium), Clonazepam (Klonopin) and Alprazolam (Xanax) have fast acting and calming effects.
While Benzodiazepines can be a helpful tool for managing anxiety and providing short-term relief, it is important to be aware of their potential risks. These medications can lead to drowsiness, dizziness, as well as coordination impairments that may impact overall safety and daily activities. They also carry a risk of developing tolerance or needing higher doses to achieve the same effect, dependence, or even addiction if used over a long period of time or improperly. Abrupt discontinuation can cause withdrawal symptoms; therefore, it is important to follow your healthcare provider’s guidance on dosage and duration. Balancing the benefits with these potential risks is key to using these medications safely and effectively. Staying in touch with your provider is important for ensuring the best approach given your needs and medical history.
Navigating flight anxiety takes time, self-compassion, and repetition. By understanding its roots, harnessing internal resources, and practicing evidence-based techniques, you can build confidence in your ability to tolerate this fear. Remember, you don’t have to do it alone. With the right support, you can transform your relationship with travel and embark on adventures with confidence.
Learn more about Arielle Siniapkin, PMHNP-BC and her work here >
Arielle is an ANCC Board Certified Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner with a distinguished education from New York University. She has training through the William Alanson White Institute, the Rational Emotive Behavioral Institute, and Stanford University in cultivating compassion for the self and others. With a comprehensive background in both therapy and medication management, Arielle offers a holistic approach to mental health care in her private practice. Her expertise spans a range of psychiatric conditions, integrating evidence-based therapeutic techniques with personalized medication strategies to support each client’s unique journey towards emotional wellness.
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