10 Steps That Helped Me Defeat The Fear Of Flying

How I Overcame The Fear Of Flying With These 10 Steps

if you’re prone to anxiety or panic attacks for fear of flying, in my experience, avoidance may be the worst course of action to take. As a person who overcame the fear of flying I had spent the last 40 years avoiding even the notion of getting on a plane. But then I came across a bible verse that challenged all reasoning behind my avoidance behaviour. I soon realised that my fear was not based on faith nor had I been trusting God enough to allow Him into this area of my life.

“For God did not give us a spirit of fear or timidity, but one of power and love and a sound mind.”  2 Timothy 1:7

Ripping this verse apart made me realise that I was embracing the exact opposite of what God’s word says about the Spirit He put in me. The plan for my life was being hindered by fear.  Awakened to the fact that I was not operating in love, I was not exercising self-control, nor was I living in faith with a sound mind.  My fear had suddenly become unjustified. It wasn’t difficult to challenge myself after identifying a major obstacle to my faith. So I made a split second decision to stop the crippling mistrust. After all God has my future in His hands. What should I fear? Not paying attention to my negative thoughts, I instantly took action by booking return flights to Queensland for myself and the family, while choosing to accept whatever comes my way. How else was I going to grow past this point other than trusting God the creator of the universe?

We all have to ‘take heart’ as described in the bible, which means taking courage. Courage isn’t a feeling. It’s a choice! Make the choice to be courageous despite the circumstances and trust God.

10 Steps That Helped Me Defeat The Fear Of Flying With Faith And Courage

1. Choose God – Choosing to trust God in this area of my life allowed me move forward by allowing God’s perfect love in. Knowing that He has my back and that my life and future are in his hands made all the difference.  1 John  4:18
2. Pick Flight & Plane – Schedule your flight at a time that you will be most comfortable with. I even looked up the plane model on Google. Once you made your decision stick to it. This is one thing we have control over.
3. Do it afraid – I had butterflies the whole time, from getting on the plane, the moment it took off.  But once the plane had levelled off I was fine.Tea and coffee was served while I played with my IPad and the nervousness disappeared, until the landing. I had butterflies again. But the landing went smoothly.  I let out a sigh of relief but immediately thought we have to go through that again on the return flight and told myself I would be fine, just like I am now.  I was visibly shaking as I walked off the tarmac.
4. Live In The Present – Each flight experience is unique and because of that, we need to live in the present when we are flying. There’s no point in going into a panic for something that hasn’t happened.  I chose to deal with it as it comes as I have no control over anything that hasn’t happened yet.
5. Silence The Mind – Racing fearful thoughts were trying to get a hold of me but I refused to give in and let them take hold. Although I was very afraid. Stopping those thoughts was the only real control I had. I can control how I react and how I deal with the situation.
6. Spiritual Preparation – I prayed about flying and spoke to God before boarding the flight helping to calm my nerves a bit knowing that God has this.
7. Entertainment – It helped to have my IPad with me to help keep me amused and focused on anything but the flight.
8. Travel with Family – not going alone helped a lot. I had people to share the good times with but also to support and cheer me on.
9. Controlled Breathing – I found that focussing on my breathing and controlling it was helping me to become more relaxed.
10. Have a plan B – If all of the above doesn’t work have a plan b in place.  This might mean talking to a counsellor or taking classes on overcoming the fear of flying prior to booking a flight. Classes are offered by the major airlines. See Qantas Fearless Flyers. 

Plan B:

1. Talk to the airlines about attending classes to overcome the fear of flying.
2. See a counsellor.

Although I dived right in, plan B might come in handy for someone who needs professional support in overcoming their fear of flying.

Since overcoming flying we have flown to Melbourne and are looking forward to a holiday overseas in the near future together as a family.

Sandra Ciminelli
Cred. Dip. Couns. (Christian)