What’s happening…
- Booking a flight is a financial and psychological commitment to fly – and this can trigger anticipatory anxiety
- Anticipatory anxiety can be strong as the brain can’t discern between a real and an imagined threat
- You can reduce the immediate stress with breathing exercise, focusing on what’s happening now – not in some imagined future
Booking a flight makes it real…
When you book a flight, you commit to air travel – and that can be a source of anxiety. It can kick start anticipatory anxiety, the fear of an imagined future. Your mind might start to imagine what flying will feel like. It can also resurface previous experiences that you may have forgotten.
Booking a flight should be a positive experience. You’re opening the door to a new opportunity. If you find that anxiety levels rise when booking a flight (or even searching for one), we provide some solutions that can help deal with this common micro panic moment.
Micro panic moments are anxiety triggers that can affect us all. Individually they may be small, but can combine to cause more severe anxiety. In our Micro Panic Moment series, we explore what’s happening, why it can trigger panic and what you can do to deal with it.
Anticipatory anxiety is powerful
Booking a flight can kickstart weeks or even months of anticipatory anxiety for some people. The stress can start as soon as the confirmation email arrives and build up until the day you travel.
The fight-or-flight response to stress can be triggered in some people by even thinking about flying. That’s because the brain is unable to tell the difference between a real or imagined threat.
When you book a flight, you are committed to a course of action that your brain perceives as dangerous. This can cause anxiety and a desire to escape.
This stress can be compounded if you are flying with pressure. That could be the pressure of having to fly for work. (Will I lose my job if I don’t fly?). It could be the pressure of flying with your family. (Will I let them down if I don’t fly?) It could be the stress of missing a meeting with a loved one. (Will they leave me if I don’t fly?)
This is a simplistic explanation and your experience may differ. What we want to illustrate is that anticipatory anxiety is common and there’s a cause to it.
What you need to do is find ways to calm the anxiety and restore some control.
Practical ways to reduce anxiety
When you fly, you are giving up control and placing your faith in what’s statistically the safest system of travel per-mile travelled.
The immediate focus should be on reducing the feelings of anxiety you experience in the moment. Diaphragmatic breathing and other breathing exercises can help to reduce the physical symptoms of stress and help you refocus.
Find the time to do these exercises as soon as you feel stress rising can help to provide immediate relief. It can also demonstrate that you’re able to control these feelings. If you can do it on the ground, you can do it in the air…
Calming exercise: I’m flying because because…
People with anxiety imagine the worst that can happen in a situation – and worry about how they will react.
Acceptance is a powerful approach. Instead of trying to ignore anxiety, you can accept it’s part of the experience for you and learn to live with it.
What can make it easier is having clear reasons why.
Grab a pen or open the note app and complete the rest of this sentence:
I’m flying because…
- …I want to experience new cultures
- …I want to visit my daughter abroad
- …I miss my partner and want to see them
- …I’m fantastic at my job and I’ve earned this opportunity
Every time you feel anxiety, calm it with a breathing exercise and then reflect on your reasons for flying.
This can provide clarity, strength and confidence when you need it.
If you need a little extra help, download our Calm Flight Toolkit and check out our Help Desk.
This article is part of our Micro Panic Moments series
Here are some more other Micro Panic Moments: