Photo by Aleksei Zaitcev on Unsplash
Feeling anxious about an upcoming flight is a common feeling, and it’s frustrating to feel as though your ambitions to travel are cut short by something beyond your control. Fortunately, it might not be as beyond your control as you’ve been led to believe. The trick is finding a solution that works for you. That’s important here, as while there are several possible routes that you could take – it might be that only one or a few suit your specific problems.
A lot of these solutions might come in technological forms – something that might help to substantially open the door to the options available.
Simple Distractions
The answer might not even be so complicated. It could be that by searching for a specific solution that you’re hoping will change your world completely, you’re ignoring answers that are more simple – and more effective. Your phone, for example, is a technological device that you likely take with you almost everywhere. On the plane might be no exception, and so looking at what it has to offer could give you some options.
Downloading episodes of a show you love can be both a comfort and a welcome distraction or something that you haven’t seen to get more engrossed. However, it might be that you want something that can more actively engage you, turning your attention to mobile games. Playing real pokies online can engage your attention and keep you fixed in the present moment, on the turning of the reel, but there are also other short-form mobile games that might appeal to you too.
Noise-Cancelling Headphones
A lot of what can cause this anxiety for some people is the uncertainty surrounding the flight itself. There are a lot of what-if questions they might have that keep them on the edge of their seat. This uncertainty can be fueled by sensory factors, too, such as murmurings or agitation among other passengers or sounds the plane naturally makes that you don’t understand. Noise-cancelling headphones can solve this problem for you and have you much more focused on your own breathing and your own calm.
It might be that this idea panics you more, in which case you simply use those same headphones to play more soothing sounds over what’s being canceled, to help you sleep or just simply relax.
Calming Apps
Another route that you could go with (likely with the help of these same headphones) is apps that are specifically designed to help you relax in stressful situations like this. They can teach you breathing exercises that help you to cope with your anxiety, and these can be things that you take with you and use whenever you find yourself in similar situations in the future. These apps might be more focused on simply playing relaxing sounds and creating a relaxing environment, but they can also help to guide your mood in a specific direction, as might be the case when it comes to meditation-based apps. You might even find some that are specifically designed for soothing those anxious about flying.
