>> Travel Guides and Travel Information : [TravelGuidesTravel] Afraid of Flying? Here's How to Relax, from the Experts
Add a fear of hyperventilation or a panic attack in-flight and it’s easy to see why as many as 6.5 percent of Americans suffer from such a severe fear of flying that it’s classified as an anxiety disorder or phobia, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Dr. Lucas van Gerwen, a clinical psychologist, pilot and director of the VALK Foundation in the Netherlands, estimates about one third of the adult population across the Western world has some degree of anxiety associated with flying. With some guidance from van Gerwen and Dr. Martin Seif, a Manhattan-based psychologist and author who studied phobias to remedy his own fear of flying, U.S. News has pinpointed seven smart strategies for alleviating anxiety before takeoff and staying calm and collected at cruising altitude. Determine your triggers According to Seif, the “fear of flying is really a confluence of many different fears.” By singling out the anxiety that provokes your fear — be it a phobia related to turbulence, crashing or claustrophobia, for example — you can identify the alarming thoughts and images that cause distress and abate flight anxiety.
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