Fear of Flying

In 1980 Boeing researchers found that 18.1% adults in the U.S. were afraid to fly, and another 12.6% experienced anxiety when they fly. In 1999, a Newsweek poll found 50% of the adults surveyed who flew commercial airlines were frightened at least sometimes. This makes sense. I am not afraid of flying, but always say a little prayer during takeoff. The fear of flying does not stem from one cause or thought. There are many phobias that stem this: fear of heights, fear of the dark, fear of being enclosed in a crowded space, and loss of control are a few.

There are as many manifestations of this fear (excessive sweating, nausea, panic attacks) as there are ways of coping–some healthy and some not so much, and lots of  advice (‘face the fear’, etc.).

In three weeks I will be flying across the country to attend a convention held by the Hearing Loss Association of America who provide assistance and education on hearing-loss related issues. My goals for attending are multiple: Meeting others afflicted with hearing loss, learning about tools and technologies, understanding coping techniques for living with hearing loss, and writing posts and articles to share with my readers.

While I am not afraid of the flight (more bothered by the thought of how to fill six hours with no flying companion), I am troubled by an enormous amount of “firsts:”

• The trip will be the first I have taken alone in seven years
• This will be my first time travelling  with hearing aids
• The conference is the first I will attend for the purposes of documenting it for others
• It will be my first true attempt to publicly publish (look for my blog updates on the conference here) and sell my work (hopefully articles to follow elsewhere)

My instincts want me to get caught up in the swirl of anxiety, to drown in it, to justify it, and to succumb. However, another first I am discovering is that I want this to be the first time I don’t give in. There will be no wallowing with  pints of ice cream, mindless television watching, or any other popular method of escapism. Also, I will not spend hours on the internet searching for the latest or common techniques to cope with fear.

OK, I lied, I did spend a few minutes on the Internet looking for some inspirational quotes on fear, and liked these best:

“Fear makes us feel our humanity.” ~ Benjamin Disraeli

“Fear is static that prevents me from hearing myself.” ~ Samuel Butler

“I’m not afraid of death; I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” ~ Woody Allen

This time, I will just accept that some things might not work out as planned (changing hotels mid-stay, gaining admission into all the sessions I want to attend, getting people to agree to being interviewed) with grace and dignity (sans typical meltdown behavior). I found another way to cope with fear is to prepare for the things I can control (bringing goodies and gadgets  to cope with the flight; packing  extra hearing aid batteries and chargers; researching the conference events, attendees, and speakers so I will have my “homework” done and can focus on the conference and writing about it; and, just doing my best to write honest,  entertaining, and informative content.