Haunted by Flight Fright?

Maybe it’s not Halloween ghosts and goblins that scare the heck out of you but the simple thought of getting on an airplane.

Fortunately the emphasis on witches and ghouls is over with, but your fear of flying may still be around. And it will likely be around next Halloween unless you do something to change that.

According to a recent article about fear on Forbes.com, “While fear is a natural (and practical) response to danger, phobias are exaggerated responses to situations that, in the cold light of day, aren't really all that dangerous. And yet they remain terribly difficult to overcome A big reason has to do with the way most people respond to fear — by avoiding it. Whether it's closed spaces or packed audiences, the more you duck those tough spots, the more you'll fear them.

"Catastrophic thoughts lead to fear, which leads to avoidance, which leads to more catastrophic thoughts," says Dr. Dennis Greenberger, UC at Irvine psychologist and professor of clinical psychology. "It's a vicious cycle that exacerbates the fear over time."

In case you zoned off a minute or aren’t quite sure what “exacerbate” means, let me ask you this comprehension question. Is Dr. Greenberger saying that avoiding your fear is only going to make it worse? Yep, and maybe you’ve become quite good at avoiding your fear of flying by avoiding flying. Bet you never realized that avoiding the thing you fear most is actually making it WORSE.

So what’s a fearful flyer to do to avoid that vicious avoidance cycle? According to the Forbes article, the last thing you want to consider is pills. While medication may help you cope with the fear on a short-term basis, it will only mask the fear—and we’re not talking about the scary kind of mask you put away after Halloween. Taking medication can lead to dependency rather than leading to a long-term solution for your fear of flying.

So if not pills, then what?

The article suggests the same approach we at fearlessflight.com recommend—face your fear! Educate yourself about why flying is so safe by enrolling in one of our new webinars at http://www.fearlessflight.com/fear-of-flying-online-seminar-signup. This will help connect with other fearful flyers while at the same time learning new information that will make flying seem less scary to you. Learn breathing strategies as a coping strategy. In addition to breathing through your fear, we advocate listening to audio stimulation or flying with our very popular Flight Harmonizer CD found in our Fearless FlightKit, available at: http://www.fearlessflight.com/fearful-flyer-chicken-soup-more. Audio stimulation can help distract you from fearful thoughts.

And finally, do all of your fear reduction gradually. In steps. It will ultimately seem less scary that way. After you’re armed with knowledge from a fearless flight webinar and have ordered your own Fearless FlightKit, you can practice watching a flying video on YouTube until you can watch with less anxiety. Maybe you could poke around on websites like Travelocity or US Airways so you can imagine where you can go when you’re no longer afraid to fly. Hang out at the airport. Watch airplanes take off. Expose yourself gradually to flying, with each step becoming a little more comfortable and a little less afraid.

Up, Up, and Away

Then when you’re ready, you’ll want to book a short practice flight of around an hour or so to practice your new skills. And to face your fear head on. We can guarantee that you will be afraid and will have to experience the discomfort that goes along with meeting your fear head on. But remember, you have to get over a fear of flying BY FLYING , and flying, and flying so more. We promise you that it will get a little easier each time. But if you keep avoiding that fear of flying skeleton in your closet, there is one scary guarantee we’ll make—Fear of Flying will forever haunt you!
To see the full text of the Forbes article, click here: http://www.forbes.com/entrepreneurs/2007/10/24/bristol-myers-roche-ent-hr-cx_mf_1024overcomingfear.html

Halloween Candy Bar or Fear of Flying Webinar?

What would you most like to find in your Halloween goody bag? I prefer dark chocolate myself, and those are the candy bars I always steal from my kids as they unload their loot. We make piles of the candy, discarding pieces that look like they’ve been even a tiny bit unwrapped.

Unlike suspicious pieces of candy, you have to unwrap our new webinars to appreciate them. They’re supposed to help flying be less scary. So on this candy bar holiday, let’s unwrap our new Fear of Flying Webinars.

For the past three years, Capt Ron has been holding his very popular Cleared for Takeoff teleseminars. Many people are flying because of these classes! The concept of teleseminars was familiar to most people—you dial into a conference call line at the same time a bunch of other fearful flyers do and you listen to Capt Ron as he goes through his class. You ask questions. You gain a lot of knowledge that makes flying seem less scary. You receive a link to an audio of the class when it’s over. You get over your fear of flying and you fly.

Like a Teleseminar Only Better

But recently we’ve taken advantage of software that the business world has used for quite some time. Using GoToMeeting technology and software, Capt. Ron conducts a monthly webinar. These fear of flying classes are just like our teleseminars, only a lot better.

Prior to the start of the webinar, we’ll send you an email link to the GoToMeeting. When the webinar is scheduled to begin, you’ll dial in to the long distance conference call line. You’ll click on the link from your email. Then voila! In real time you will see Capt Ron’s Powerpoint on your computer screen. You’ll see him point to his pictures. You’ll see his doodles. You’ll watch him illustrate a cool thing on one of his diagrams. You’ll hear his answers to questions you or the other fearful flyers ask. And when it’s over, you’ll get a link to a downloadable audio and video recording of the class.

Sorry, during the webinar you won’t be able to see Capt. Ron—we aren’t that technical yet! But the good news is that you don’t have to leave home to take advantage of this amazing opportunity to get over your fear of flying.

You don’t have even have to drive to the airport. Just sit by your computer screen and grab your telephone. You can be at work or at home or in your dorm room.

And, you can be sure you’ll be participating in one of the best ways to overcome your fear of flying with the pilot who’s helped thousands overcome their fear.

See, a webinar isn’t scary at all! And it’s not expensive either, for $77, you can have two whole hours of Capt. Ron explaining to you why flying is the safest way to travel on the planet. The same $77 also lets you preserve those two hours with Capt. Ron downloaded into your computer to listen to whenever you need a little reassurance about flying.

Sign up for the next webinar on November 15 at http://www.fearlessflight.com/fear-of-flying-online-seminar-signup and maybe you’ll be sending us an email like this one we received from a recent webinar graduate:

“The flight over was turbulent and most of the trip the fasten seatbelts sign was on. During this time I read over my notes, practiced my breathing, and remained really calm. On landing I was able to identify all the strange landing noises and when some of the other passengers got nervous I read my notes aloud to them.

:-) Am pleased to report that I had the best experience ever! I was even able to enjoy my holiday and not be filled with dread at the thought of having to get on a plane to return home. YAY!

Am home now and have itchy feet all ready. Am planning a trip to Melbourne, one to Margaret River, and another overseas trip in two years time. Woo hoo! Thanks so much for your help. Words can't express the gratitude I feel (I have tears in my eyes as I write this). It's so empowering to know I can travel wherever I want to now!”

--Rochelle 10/15/07

I Was So Scared to Fly I...

People tell us their fear of flying horror stories all the time. Many times a fearful flyer will email us for help, thinking that they have the worst fear of flying case out there. They haven’t flown in 20 years. They bolted from a plane to their honeymoon just before the door closed. They drove right past the airport and their flight, continuing to drive to all the way to their destination. Like maybe their horror story is unlike any we’ve heard before.

Halloween is a natural time to talk about what scares people. Of the almost 100,000 who participated in a MSNBC Halloween poll, somewhat over 4,000 people voted for flying as their greatest fear. Small spaces, spiders, and heights got more scary votes with fear of public speaking taking top scary honor.

According to the survey, a lot more people are afraid of spiders than airplanes. So what? You don’t have to ride a spider to go on vacation, attend the next business conference, or visit Aunt Edith, do you? Fear of flying really impacts people and their lives. It can make them do strange things to avoid flying. You can always squish a spider in your path but that tactic won’t work with an airplane!

Flying scares the heck out of a lot of people, and not just on Halloween. So go ahead and tell us your fear of flying horror stories. We’re listening. If you send them to service@fearlessflight.com, we’ll print some of them on our website or in a future newsletter. Include your first and last name, but we’ll use only your first name if we print your story.