One incident will always stick in my mind.
It's a normal day at work.
A 'call bell' goes off in row 8.
I stop what I'm doing, and proceed to row 8.
"How can I help" I ask.
"I just wanted to know why we have stopped moving?" comes the reply.
"Sorry?!" "Well, I've been watching that cloud for the last ten minutes, and we have not moved" Yes, I did have a little chuckle about this, but it did confirm to me that nervous passengers will look for any signs of danger - even when they are physically impossible.
Of course there is no way an aircraft can just stop moving, and hover at 38,000ft, but this passenger's fear was controlling her.
Normal thought processes go out of the window, as the fear takes grip and controls you.
Up to one third of the world population has a fear of flying to some degree.
In my job as a flight attendant, I meet nervous flyers all the time.
But, the question is, how do you overcome your fear? Firstly, you must identify exactly what you are scared of.
Is it a fear of closed spaces (Claustrophobia)? A fear of heights? Lack of Control? Turbulence? Identifying your individual fear is your first step to overcoming it.
Next, find out everything you can about flying.
Research the airline industry, and how a plane flies.
This will help you understand what's happening at every stage of a flight.
If you are scared of turbulence, don't you think it will be beneficial for you to know exactly what turbulence is and why it's definitely not dangerous? Knowledge is power.
As human beings we naturally fear the unknown, so concentrate on eliminating that possibility Your next task is to face your fear.
This is called cognitive therapy, and is the most effective way of overcoming any fear.
I used to be petrified of spiders - so I handled a tarantula at a local zoo.
Yes, I was scared, but slowly I began to realise that spiders caused me no harm.
Book your flight NOW.
Don't think about it, just do it.
Doing so will allow you to have a definite date for travel to enable you to better prepare yourself.