Self Care for Nervous Flyers in the Days Before a Flight

08/02/2022

by guest blogger Crea Sentido Psicología

In today’s hectic, nonstop world, where so often we rush about with nary a glance at each other, we hardly have time for ourselves, let alone actually take care of our needs.

Funny how we don’t have time to give ourselves a hand, but for others we often do. Imagine that your best friend tells you that she’s worried and afraid because in the next few days she has to fly for a work trip. Surely you’d try to help, give some advice or even go the extra mile in whatever she asks of you.

What if we started to take care of ourselves as we care for our best friends?

We understand self-care as any act that we can do to achieve well-being not only on a physical level, but also cognitively and emotionally: that is, we are not only going to focus on what is visible, but we can go deeper, to be able to work on that part of our discomfort generated by fear that we cannot see, but that our body expresses day by day.

Normally we simply expose ourselves to stimuli that generate fear, without prior training, without preparing ourselves emotionally for exposure and without taking care of ourselves the days before.

Can you imagine a firefighter putting out a fire without having prepared, both physically and mentally, beforehand?

Without prior care, we may be able to silence fear, simply accepting that “it scares us,” without thinking that we can do something to manage that emotion that is limiting us on a day-to-day basis. We do not mobilize, we do not look for new strategies, nor do we think about what resources we can use if fear should incapacitate us on the day of the trip.

Wouldn’t it be better to be aware of this fear? Perhaps we can talk about it, give it some space and observe how it is reflected in the body the days before the flight: that is the key moment to start taking care of ourselves.

Paying attention to me and taking care of myself at the same time

Keys to take care of ourselves the days before the flight:

  • Find a moment of the day for you, to take care of yourself.
  • Think about how you have taken care of yourself when facing other challenges in your life.
  • Seek activities, tasks or resources that not only meet your needs, but also generate a deeper sense of self-care and attention towards yourself.
  • Try to monitor your sleep patterns and practice good sleep habits. Rest is essential for feeling calm, capable of handling stressful situations and with the energy to continue taking care of ourselves.
  • Pay attention to any negative thoughts that appear and try to rationalize them, that is, bring them to reality.
  • Give any concerns that appear the days before the flight their rightful place, remembering that you can discuss them with people close to you or also write them in a notebook to be able to work on them internally.
  • Allow yourself to feel the discomfort that fear generates and learn to tolerate those sensations: this too is self-care.

The best self-care proposal is to treat yourself with respect, affection and understanding: in this way, you will be your best travel companion.