+ The pilot looks way too young to know how to fly this.

+ What was that noise?

+ Turbulence? Again? Oh no…

+ Do these maintenance guys know what they are looking for?
Do you find yourself asking these questions above at the thought of air travel?
 

Imagine for a moment you were at home watching tv then you heard a noise sounding like someone came through the garage door. But, you know thats unlikely because you have elaborate alarm systems, a dog, & good locks. My point is how did you initially feel?
My quess is you felt scare, your eye pupils probably dilated like in the photo. This is a classic example of flight of fear. It a similar reaction when a nervous flier sitting on an airplane hears an unexpected noise. Their first reaction is anxiety,or panic and to run from the situation.
 

Anxiety, Fears, and Phobias Every human had at one time or another experience anxieties, and fears. Most people don't realize that anxieties & fears are normal. Anxiety makes a person want to escape the situation. The heart beats quickly, your body starts to perspire, and you get that butterfly feeling. A little bit of anxiety can actually help people stay alert and focus. One such example are combat soldiers. They have unique fears and anxieties about facing combat, but they are trained to manage that fear to their advantage to keep them focus, and alert on accomplishing their mission. Babies get anxiety such as separation anxiety when one or both parents leave for awhile. Even pets get anxieties! From birds to dogs, animals feel anxieties when their owners leave because they fear abandon. Recognizing the signs of Anxiety Typical childhood fears change with age. This includes fear of strangers, heights, darkness, insects etc. If anxious feelings persist, they can take a toll on your sense of well being. For example, a child with fear of being rejected can fail to learn important social skills, causing social isolation. A person who feel anxiety in their mind feels worried all the time, have feelings of being tired, or are unable to concentrate. In their body they may feel irregular heartbeats, palpitations, sweating, muscle tension or breathing heavily. When anxieties and fears persist, they can lead to phobias. A phobia is when you fear a particular situation or things that are not dangerous and which most people do not find troublesome.

Some of us seem to be born with a tendency to be anxious. Research suggests that it can be inherited through our genes. Most of the time when we feel anxiety we know whats causing it. However, there are some circumstances that are so upsetting and threatening that the anxiety they cause can go on long after the event. These are usually life threatening events like car crashes, or fires. These people involved can get anxious about the event for months or years. This is what we call post-traumatic stress disorder. 

Anxieties About Flying

Some of the reasons people fear flying is because of one of two reasons. They fear their own emotion once on the airplane. For example, they may feel getting sick, vomiting, or panic. The other reason they fear flying is because they can't understand how flying could be safe.They don't understand the industry or aviation in general. Some of the reasons what people say they fear about flying consist of the following:

*Takeoffs                                  *Crashing                          *Panic Attacks
*Turbulence                              *Weather                           *Closed-in-spaces
*Heights                                    *Flying over water            *Trusting pilots
*Trusting airline industry        *Being trapped                 *Nausea

Once you recognized signs of anxiety, you then must learn to control your behavior. You could learn to control your behavior through fearful fliers programs, self-help courses, or other resources from books etc. Here are some sample suggestions below.

Accept your feelings> Don't deny you have a problem. Expect to feel nervous.

Handle your worries> You need to trust the airline industry. But, its realistic to still be worried. You need to actively choose to stop these worries. Use supportive statements like" Turbulence is not dangerous".

breath> There are many different relaxation techniques that involve breathing. try calm breaths, such as a deep breath in & slow exhale for 15 seconds.

Take Supportive Actions> Bring an mp3 player, dvd, a good book etc. Bring anything that will distract you. Reduce caffeine, and drink lots of water to avoid dehydration