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Fear of flying. Is it for real?

OK, we could be rational and say that flying is the safest form of transport and you're more likely to survive a fight than anything else.

But if it was down to our rational thoughts, you wouldn't need help!

Deep down, you're afraid of something. Whether it's the fear of being locked up in a confined space in the company of random strangers for hours on end. Or the fear of heights (in which case, keep away from window seats) or that back of mind thought that - despite your rational mind - keeps screaming "we're all going to die!"

Before we start to tackle your fear of flying, take a minute to reflect.

Finding what drives us is often the best way of getting to the root cause of fears and phobias like this flying phobia.

If you've got a strong enough reason to fly, you'll do it. Maybe with a cold sweat and a trembling that means you're best not to drink hot liquids. But you'll do it.

So if your grandchildren are thousands of miles away and you want to visit them, you'll do it.

Dig down through the fears. Peel them away one at a time - it's a lot easier to do this than it is to tackle them all combined. A bit like trying to climb a mountain in one giant step rather than lots of smaller steps.

Identify the smallest fear you've got about your next flight. Maybe being locked up in an aircraft cabin with lousy food and an annoying child behind you going for the world record of shaking your seat. Whatever is there as a nagging doubt - but not a showstopper.

Now work on that part of the fear. Pick it to bits. Lots and lots and lots of bits. Then scatter the bits around so that they can't recompile themselves.

So let's go for the aircraft cabin fear:

* Sure, you're locked in. But that's actually quite sensible. Unless you were wearing a parachute, you wouldn't want to walk out the aircraft door mid-flight.

* Sure, the food wouldn't earn 5 stars from Michelin. But the height messes with even the best tasting food. Eat before your flight and arrange a nice, tasty meal afterwards. Then you can put up with the food onboard.

* The child behind you can be politely asked to stop rocking your seat for you.

Once you've broken down this part of the fear into its component parts, they don't seem too bad, do they?

By starting with the least significant part of the fear, you're chipping away at its edges. As you reduce and destroy each part of the fear, you're reducing its power over you and giving your rational mind a much better chance of winning.

Usually, once you reach the "half way" mark on your fear of flying, you'll find the rest of it will just evaporate of its own accord. Which is quite a fun thing to do!

If you need help with this, follow the links below to get quick and easy help to overcome your flying phobia.