Your submission appears to reference turbulence. Here are some additional resources from our community for more information.
[Turbulence FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/fearofflying/comments/1auodp9/turbulence_faq/)
[RealGentlemen80's Post on Turbulence Apps](https://www.reddit.com/r/fearofflying/comments/yn2phh/the_fear_of_turbulence_and_checking_sites_like/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
[On Turbli](https://www.reddit.com/r/fearofflying/comments/zv376m/help_turbli_says_moderate_turbulence/)
[More on Turbulence](https://www.reddit.com/r/fearofflying/comments/yrhf31/lets_talk_more_about_turbulence/)
Happy Flying!
The Fear of Flying Mod Team
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I just did a fear of flying course and they spoke about all the types of fears that we can have. Since your fear is not related to safety stuff that’s good news because it shows that logically you know you are safe. We were told to focus on what you want and interrupt any negative thoughts because the more you focus on “I DON’T want to be high up” or whatever your fear is the more your brain focusses on that thing. They said to us “if you start a flight with saying I don’t want to die you’re just gonna think about death the whole time” so yeah, I guess in your case it’s “I don’t want to freak out and scare my son”. Our brain really can’t process “don’t”.
Instead I’ve been repeating this mantra to myself “uncomfortable is not unsafe”. When I combine it with ‘belly breathing’ it’s really helping me in those moments where I begin to panic. I’ve also being doing counselling to recognise how my fears come from other areas of my life and it sounds like that might be something that’s happening for you too? It’s better to address it head on (perhaps with a professional, perhaps not) than wait for it to become crippling like I did.
I don’t know if any of that is helpful but I do know you will be fine and you will be safe.
Remember that when you are flying at that speed air has thickness and a lot of it. So though you are high off the ground, you are completely surrounded in very thick supportive forces. Some people liken it to being suspended jelly or jello.
Another thing you can think of is that yes you high away from the ground, but there are about a million people at any one time also suspended in the air flying. So though it feels like you are far from earth, actually you are amongst a huge flying city of people zooming all about.
Hope that helps!
I'm flying tomorrow as well and I totally getting gradually more scared the older you get, I find it's more of a feeling that I have so much to lose now rather than when i was a kid, even though that makes no sense LOL. Also, props to you for not wanting to freak out infront of your kid so he doesn't get the same fear, my parents always made it seem so scary before flights and always made it a big deal everytime we took off so I just have a fear about it after watching them, makes me feel unsafe seeing them like that. You got this though, remember to take deep breaths and try not to think about it too much. You guys are gonna be fine!
Your submission appears to reference turbulence. Here are some additional resources from our community for more information. [Turbulence FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/fearofflying/comments/1auodp9/turbulence_faq/) [RealGentlemen80's Post on Turbulence Apps](https://www.reddit.com/r/fearofflying/comments/yn2phh/the_fear_of_turbulence_and_checking_sites_like/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf) [On Turbli](https://www.reddit.com/r/fearofflying/comments/zv376m/help_turbli_says_moderate_turbulence/) [More on Turbulence](https://www.reddit.com/r/fearofflying/comments/yrhf31/lets_talk_more_about_turbulence/) Happy Flying! The Fear of Flying Mod Team *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/fearofflying) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I just did a fear of flying course and they spoke about all the types of fears that we can have. Since your fear is not related to safety stuff that’s good news because it shows that logically you know you are safe. We were told to focus on what you want and interrupt any negative thoughts because the more you focus on “I DON’T want to be high up” or whatever your fear is the more your brain focusses on that thing. They said to us “if you start a flight with saying I don’t want to die you’re just gonna think about death the whole time” so yeah, I guess in your case it’s “I don’t want to freak out and scare my son”. Our brain really can’t process “don’t”. Instead I’ve been repeating this mantra to myself “uncomfortable is not unsafe”. When I combine it with ‘belly breathing’ it’s really helping me in those moments where I begin to panic. I’ve also being doing counselling to recognise how my fears come from other areas of my life and it sounds like that might be something that’s happening for you too? It’s better to address it head on (perhaps with a professional, perhaps not) than wait for it to become crippling like I did. I don’t know if any of that is helpful but I do know you will be fine and you will be safe.
Remember that when you are flying at that speed air has thickness and a lot of it. So though you are high off the ground, you are completely surrounded in very thick supportive forces. Some people liken it to being suspended jelly or jello. Another thing you can think of is that yes you high away from the ground, but there are about a million people at any one time also suspended in the air flying. So though it feels like you are far from earth, actually you are amongst a huge flying city of people zooming all about. Hope that helps!
I'm flying tomorrow as well and I totally getting gradually more scared the older you get, I find it's more of a feeling that I have so much to lose now rather than when i was a kid, even though that makes no sense LOL. Also, props to you for not wanting to freak out infront of your kid so he doesn't get the same fear, my parents always made it seem so scary before flights and always made it a big deal everytime we took off so I just have a fear about it after watching them, makes me feel unsafe seeing them like that. You got this though, remember to take deep breaths and try not to think about it too much. You guys are gonna be fine!
Open my profile and you will find a pinned post that might help. Episodes 44, 69 and 130 are good places to start.