Flying used to be no problem for me; in fact, I loved it. But one day, I suddenly developed a fear of flying, aka “Aviophobia”, and stopped getting on planes. In this article, I want to share my experiences with the fear of flying that I struggled with for a long time but eventually overcame. Instead of writing about “how to overcome the fear of flying,” I am sharing what I did to overcome my fear.

If you are asking “Can I overcome fear of flying?” question to yourself a lot, please know that the answer is YES! I tried many methods to cope with this fear (including some rather ridiculous ones). Some of these worked, while others didn’t help at all. I am positive that there is a method which will work for you, too. Here, I want to share what I went through during this process and give you some insight into overcoming fear of flying.

How do I overcome fear of flying?

How did it all start?

At first, everything was perfectly normal. I could travel by plane, and I even enjoyed it. I took many flights alone or with friends. Everything changed one day when I started feeling strange as I was heading to passport control. I began to feel dizzy and nauseous, and as I became more anxious, my hands started to go numb. I didn’t realize at the time that I was having a classic panic attack. Maybe my blood pressure dropped because I hadn’t eaten that morning, maybe something about flying made me nervous, or perhaps the crowd at the airport triggered it—I still don’t know. But from that day on, I began to distance myself from airplanes.

I started avoiding flights, and when I couldn’t avoid them, I would experience intense fear days in advance. I couldn’t sleep at night, I became stressed, I would either overeat or not eat at all, and my digestive system would get out of whack. My mind would be filled with countless scenarios of the plane crashing and everyone dying. Once I was on the plane, I would have panic attacks. Not only could I not focus, but I couldn’t read or watch anything. I would sit in my seat with my nails practically digging into the armrests throughout the flight.

These irrational thoughts didn’t only occur when I was about to board a plane. Sometimes I would cancel a flight, and in my mind, I’d imagine watching the news about that flight crashing and telling my friends that I could have been on that plane. (None of the planes I boarded or avoided ever crashed lol)

While all this was happening, I didn’t have many situations requiring me to fly except for a few mandatory domestic flights that lasted no more than 1-2 hours. When I could, I avoided flying as much as possible. For this reason, I couldn’t make any travel plans, and all the travel plans I did make were by land, spending days on the road.

First Attempts While Researching How to Overcome Fear of Flying: Grasping at Straws

When my flight anxiety first began, I tried many different methods in my search for a solution. Some of these methods were really absurd. From various energy work like bioenergy and regression, which claims to affect the subconscious (a scientifically debated method), to the so-called “definite methods to overcome fear of flying” made up by someone, I tried everything. I even had people of various religions, languages, and races pray for me, remove the evil eye, and made me swallow rice. (Yeah, it is something in Muslim cultures)

These methods didn’t make much sense to me, but you know what they say: “A drowning man will clutch at a straw.” Desperation can push a person to try anything. If someone had told me, “We’ll stick a leech on you, and your fear of flying will be gone,” I would have done it (thankfully, no one suggested that).

In 2019, I decided to seek professional help and started therapy. However, the therapy sessions I started for my fear of flying drifted into other areas, and the subject of fear of flying rarely came up. Although it didn’t offer a visible solution for my flight anxiety, I continued therapy for a long time because it benefited me greatly.

What Kind of Aviophobia Did I Have?

Now, I need to add this piece of information that I think is important regarding my fear of flying: I already knew how safe planes are. Whenever I told someone I had a fear of flying, they would immediately say, “But planes are safer than cars,” and frankly, I wanted to strangle them for saying that. Because I already know! That’s not the problem!

My mind knew how safe planes were, but my subconscious was never convinced. One reason I wanted to try hypnosis was that. Because I already knew that planes are very safe, and the likelihood of a plane crash is less than one in a million. But the problem was that no one could convince me that the one-in-a-million chance wouldn’t happen to the plane I was on because there is no guarantee. So I thought my fear of flying would never go away.

In this case, the question we should be asking is ‘What causes the fear of flying?’ Based on my experience and what my therapists have shared with me, it can be anything. Claustrophobia might be a factor because staying in a confined space for an extended period can be difficult for some. Fear of heights could also be a trigger, as could social anxiety, the feeling of losing control, or even a past experience that has led to this fear. In short, when it comes to the fear of flying, there isn’t just one cause. It’s important to put in the effort to identify your own specific trigger.

I Discovered Hypnosis for Fear of Flying: Can Hypnosis Help Fear of Flying?

Right around that time, the pandemic began, and consequently, there was no situation requiring me to fly for a long time. While making travel plans after that period, I was, as you can imagine, again trying to plan everything by land because of my fear. This way, I didn’t have to think about how to overcome the fear of flying.

But as fate would have it, one day, these plans fell apart. I got a visa for the Netherlands, and of course, my plan was to enter Europe through Greece since it is the nearist Schengen country to Turkey. I made all my plans based on traveling by land, and everything was ready. But then I learned that since I got my visa from the Netherlands, it was crucial to enter through the Netherlands; otherwise, it would be unlikely for me to get another visa… (Visa is still a problem for Turkish citizens)

Fifteen days before my flight, while anxiously researching how to overcome my fear of flying, I discovered that hypnosis might be effective and started hypnotherapy. If you’re curious about what hypnosis is and how it works, you can check YouTube since there are plenty or resources. (I actually had a very good video here of my therapist explaning how hypnosis work but it is in Turkish.)

This is not a recommendation for a method. What worked for me may not work for you. Only you can find the best therapy or psychologist for yourself through your own experience. At the very least, if you haven’t tried it before, it is good to have some idea about hypnosis.

What Changed with Hypnosis? Did Hypnosis Work for Flying Fear?

Surprisingly, with hypnosis and cognitive-behavioral therapy, I began to overcome my fear. Through hypnosis, the fear embedded in my subconscious gradually decreased, and cognitive-behavioral therapy invited me, so to speak, to “reason and logic.” As a result, my phobia of flying largely disappeared. I still carry this fear to a reasonable degree because, as a being designed to live on land, flying still doesn’t quite sit well with me. However, this fear no longer prevents me from living my life. I don’t have negative thoughts swirling in my mind, and I can respond logically to those that do.

There is still no guarantee that the one-in-a-million chance won’t happen to me. But I’ve realized that this possibility always exists everywhere. The plane I’m on could crash. No one can guarantee it won’t. But the bus I’m on could also crash (and statistically, it’s more likely). A sign could fall on my head while walking down the street. So, I either need to never leave the house or mix into life, take reasonable precautions, and let go of some control.

Which would you choose?

How Safe Are Planes? Is Fear of Flying Irrational?

“Should I be scared of flying”? Yes, I think a little fear is natural because flying isn’t something we’re inherently designed to do. But at the same time, you shouldn’t be scared of flying because it’s one of the safest activities you can engage in. It’s safer than cycling, safer than driving, safer than swimming in the ocean, and even safer than walking down the street. When you think about it, walking carries its own risks—you could get hit by a car, a piano might fall from a building, or you could encounter a dangerous person. So, in comparison, flying is incredibly safe.

While writing this article, I wanted to add this section in case there are those among us who don’t know how safe planes are. You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Aviation rules are written in blood.” Although this phrase doesn’t sound very reassuring, in aviation, every problem that occurs leads to new rules and improvements to prevent similar issues from happening again. This is actually where flight safety comes from.

Your chances of being in a plane crash are about one in eleven million. This statistic shows that air travel is extremely safe. Even in 2018, the year with the most recorded crashes, there were only 15 plane crashes. The total number of flights in 2018 was 38.1 million. So, out of 38.1 million flights, only 15 crashes occurred. In 2023, 36.8 million flights were made, and there were no accidents in passenger flights.

In the 15 plane crashes that occurred in 2018, 556 people lost their lives. In contrast, every year, 1.35 million people die, and millions more are seriously injured on roads worldwide, which we think are safer…

This information can help us understand how safe air travel actually is. On the other hand, pilots undergo intense and continuous training. They prepare for possible challenging conditions by going through simulations for every possible situation that might never even cross our minds.

Tips to Overcome Fear of Flying

While researching different ways to overcome fear of flying, I prepared an article titled “Tips for Fear of Flying” In this article, you can find some practical suggestions while you’re working on how to overcome your fear of flying.

If you have a flight anxiety or aviophobia, avoid getting on planes, and frequently search for how to overcome fear of flying but haven’t found a solution on your own, I recommend seeking professional help. Dealing with a fear of flying may seem like a challenging process, but with the right methods and professional assistance, you can overcome this fear. Hypnosis and therapy were turning points for me.

After overcoming my fear of flying, I learned another important lesson from this experience: unless we truly want to, it’s impossible to change something. Sometimes the roots of our fears can extend to unexpected depths. We can hold onto certain things so tightly that they become part of our personality, and removing them from our lives isn’t as easy as we might think.

If you don’t truly want your fear to go away and are somehow attached to it, no matter what you do, it won’t leave. Accepting this reality and moving forward despite it is an important step in our inner development. Having gone through this experience has taught me the power of inner resistance and acceptance when overcoming such challenges.

I hope this article helps you on your own journey, even if just a little. If you’ve read this far and would like to support my blog, you can share your comments below or follow me on social media. Wishing everyone success on their own path!

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