How Can I Calm My Fear of Flying?

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For some, boarding a aircraft can carry on a racing coronary heart, shallow respiratory, clammy fingers, a roiled intestine, and clouded pondering. “It’s principally a miniature panic assault,” says integrative psy­chiatrist Henry ­Emmons, MD, writer of The Chemis­strive of Pleasure. “Your physique is in fight-or-flight mode, with an excessive amount of adrenaline. You’ll be able to solely speak your self out of that a lot.”

However you could have different choices. Beginning a couple of week earlier than your journey, contemplate complement­ing with magnesium, a chilled mineral that the majority of us are low in, suggests nutritionist Samantha ­McKinney, RD, CPT, a Life Time grasp coach. (She recommends magnesium glycinate or malate.)

Emphasizing protein and fats in your meals and midflight snacks may also help keep away from blood-sugar swings that improve nervousness, too.

“Once you’re anxious, the physique releases cortisol, which may spike blood sugar, so that you’re already primed for these glucose swings,” McKinney explains. She recommends choosing nuts, seeds, cheese, or hard-boiled eggs as an alternative of meals which are starchy or sugary.

Calming dietary supplements resembling cannabidiol (CBD), passionflower, kava, or L-theanine — significantly within the type of a fast-acting liquid tincture — also can assist, says Emmons. Rescue Treatment, a mix of 5 stress-free flower essences, is one other travel-friendly possibility. Any of those will be taken earlier than a flight or for on-the-spot reduction.

Lastly, respiratory workouts are a wonderful strategy to get grounded (even within the air). “In case your respiratory slows, it sends a sign to the sympathetic nervous system that it may possibly stand down,” explains Emmons.

He suggests:

  • Inhaling to a rely of 4.
  • Holding the breath for a rely of two.
  • And exhaling to a rely of seven.

“The rely­ing is one other method of distracting your thoughts,” he notes. (Discover these different respiratory workouts.)

This was excerpted from “6 Frequent Journey Sicknesses and Tips on how to Deal with Them” which was printed within the November 2022 subject of Expertise Life.

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