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I Can not Look Down

That panic that surrounds you when you look down the airplane window, that queasy feeling of not wanting to climb up the stairs of an airplane, that feeling of discomfort when the airplane takes off, that uneasy feeling of anxiety when the airplane is up in the air and that  view of clouds that instantly instils fear.

What is this fear that engulfs the one in an airplane and prevents them to look down from the window and be glued to their seat?

This can be called the fear of flying or the fear of being in a plane or even the fear of heights. It compels you to avoid taking a flight and if you do take a flight, it keeps you from being too flexible in the fear that you might stretch forward and look down the window to see the view outside and  probably end up looking down and that will make you anxious to no length.

A vast number of people have this fear of looking down from a flying plane and due to this fear, they stay uncomfortable for a long, long time almost till the airplane lands at their desired location. It is a kind of phobia and even though it doesn’t interfere with regular functioning but still, it can make people avoid an airplane journey only because of this fear.  Apart from their packing and journey, they also stress out about how they will make it through that journey and how they will manage their anxiety levels in case of a long flight. An airplane journey can be infact extremely stressful if a person is not comfortable in- flight. Hence it is important for people who fear heights to learn to deal with their phobia before it takes over them and prevents them from boarding a flight under the most extreme of circumstances.

The technical term for this fear is Pteromerhanophobia. It’s a term that encompasses all such fears like the fear of heights (acrophobia) or a phobia of a panic attack in a place from where there’s no escape simply because once in-flight, one cannot make the airplane land and get out of it. Not everyone who fears heights are likely to get a panic attack in an airplane but most people who are fearful of travelling by air are likely to be afraid of heights as well. This is so, because for innumerable people, the peak of their anxiety is when they are subjected to the view outside the plane as well as down below.

The intensity of how much fear a person has of looking down from an airplane, of sitting with comfort in-flight, and of travelling adequately by air differs for different people. Some people don’t usually feel anxious due to heights but when it comes to travelling in an airplane, they get uneasy and are not able to handle it all by themselves.

But what is the solution for such people to overcome this uncomfortable feeling? What can be done to help them reach their destination without having to worry about  the stress they are under?

When it comes to fear of looking down from a plane or being in-flight, one must understand that this is something which is completely normal and each person experiences some phobia of this sort. For some it is the fear of hills and for some it is the fear of heights. To overcome their phobia of sitting in-flight, the person needs to accept their anxiety and find a way to be comfortable with it. When a person expects anxiety in a particular situation, they don’t panic about it as much. When the person anticipates tense feelings, their stress they experience when the plane takes off will not make them panic.  Another way to reduce this fear is to identify and understand the triggers that activate this phobia for them. A person must know what makes them feel this fear of heights or fear of flying.  When a person is able to identify whether tall buildings, clouds, the sky or birds is what triggers the anxiety in them which further characterises their fear of flying, it helps them to reduce their anxiety or fear levels.

An American study  showed that most of the people who are afraid of heights also avoid travelling by air. Since looking down a window is almost inevitable in-flight especially when one is seated at the window seat. The study also showed that the panic created if a person afraid of heights looks down, can also lead to nausea and increase the levels of anxiety for that person.

So, it is a pre-requisite for a person who fears flying or heights to know their fear, identify their trigger and understand their anxious behaviours. To stop travelling in a flight, or to stop travelling by air is impossible because each person atleast at some point has to travel out of their native city and there isn’t a train or bus route for certain destinations. There are some places which can only be reached by boarding a flight. While this is not an option, it is also not advisable to develop a fear of being in-flight altogether. This is no way to cope with phobias and it’s not the right approach either.

Tips to make it through an in-flight journey:

• Don’t think about the take off. That moment when the plane is launched into the air can be very stressful, stop thinking about it.
• If you have a recurring fear of planes, fly more often. In situations where you have the choice of taking a train or going by air, board a flight. The more you travel by air, the more your fear  of flying will reduce.
• Be realistic, expect bumps and loud noises. Often people who fear heights are also easily startled by sudden alert noises. Prepare yourself for such noises in-flight.
• Keep yourself distracted. Carry your laptop with movies, have a playlist ready in your phone and your earphones ready, keep a book that’s relaxing and carry a stack of light reading comics or magazines. The more you’ll be occupied with something, the less the anxiety will get to you.
• Try getting a seat away from the window. If you end up getting a window seat, talk to the passenger seated next to you to exchange with you. I f you’re away from the window, you’ll be away from looking down repeatedly and thus less panick or fear. 

Tips to overcome fear of flying:

• Look at photos of planes and imagine being in a plane.
• Watch a video of a plane in flight and desensitize yourself to the idea of travelling by  air.
• Watch real planes take off.
• Get on the plane.
• Take the flight and see how it feels.

People who get sea sick don’t stop travelling by ship, those who get nauseas on the hills, don’t  stop driving to the hills and so the people who fear flying or  heights must not stop travelling by air.

The best way to face your fear of flying is to board a flight as many times as is possible.  Don’t look down, don’t constantly think about it, don’t keep focussing on the plane but rather focus on the journey and keep doing something or just relax and sleep throughout the flight if you cannot keep yourself from thinking about it.

Please note: The opinions expressed in this post are the personal views of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of mycity4kids. Any omissions or errors are the author's and mycity4kids does not assume any liability or responsibility for them.