By guest blogger Crea Sentido
If you’re reading this post, it’s probably because you feel you’re not able to manage your negative emotions – fears and anxieties – whilst on a flight. So here we’re going to lay out several basic steps you can take, beginning when you’re planning your trip, to make that trip an emotionally positive experience.
Identify Which Emotion You’re Feeling
Before trying to manage your emotions, you first have to be clear about what you are feeling. Therefore you should always ask yourself, “what emotions do I experience when I think for example about…”
- Buying an airline ticket?
- How long a flight will last?
- The route your flight will take?
Here we’re of course talking about fear and the emotions that derive from fear itself, such as insecurity, worry, overwhelm, inferiority, or even feel insufficiency because you’re are not able to manage emotions in a flight situation. In the same way, other emotions may arise not directly linked to fear, each person feels different and valid emotions in different situations.
What Messages Are Your Emotions Sending You?
Next you should listen to your fear or related emotion, to see what it’s really telling you. You might be tempted to to turn your backs on that fear by avoiding the situation that causes it – for example avoiding taking a plane altogether. But instead, why not stop fighting it, accept and face the fear, and see what it’s telling you – most likely some variation on “there might be dangWher”. That stems from not having control of the situation, which is generating an intense state of alert – you sit on the plane without being able to do anything to control the situation. when we understand something,
What you need to tell yourself is: “I’m going to fly, even though I’m afraid”.
How to Deal with Your Emotions
Be aware that if you try to fight the fear you’re experiencing, its intensity is likely to skyrocket. Instead, opt to accept and manage it. One strategu that may work for you is to put it into words, write it down (even draw it), and if possible share it with someone close to you.
Give Your Emotion Some Space, and Act Accordingly
Let’s add to all of this the last step, which is to allow yourself to feel these emotions freely, with the mantra “it’s OK to feel what I feel”. Keep in mind, too, that fear is ultimately something that protects us, so don’t reject it, and on the contrary, fly with it.