Fear of flying is called Aviophobia, and millions of vacationers and business flyers who travel on commercial flights worldwide are affected by it, to a greater or lesser extent. Even though air travel is approximately thirty times safer than traveling by car, you hardly hear about people that have a fear of driving. Maybe television, radio, internet and print media contribute to this fear when they graphically cover commercial airline crashes and the large number of air passengers that are injured or perish.

Fear of flying on commercial flights can be triggered by a number of concerns such as the fear of heights, the fear of falling, the fear of the takeoff and the landing, the fear of crashing, the fear of flying over water, the fear of flying at night, the feeling of losing control causing panic attacks, air turbulence, stormy weather, the fear of hijackers or terrorists, motion sickness, and claustrophobia such as the fear of being trapped in the confined space of an airline cabin as well as being packed in like sardines with your fellow passengers, and also other phobias.

Some of the other symptoms of the fear of flying can be mild nervousness to extreme anxiety and panic attacks, a shortness of breath and tightness in your chest, chest pains, clammy hands, headaches, as well as nausea and vomiting.

If you think that your fear of flying is very severe, you can enroll in an intensive treatment program, However, if youre sure your fear of flying is not severe, there are some things you can do that may help to remedy this problem.

First, try and book a seat over the airplane wings, preferably not a window seat, so you can not look down at the ground. When you sit over the wings you will also experience a much smoother flight.

If possible, leave your seat belt on as much as possible, so if any air turbulence suddenly occurs, you wont get jarred or bounced about as much.

Eat light and try to avoid eating or drinking any food or beverage that contains caffeine, sugar, or alcohol.

It will help a lot if you try to stay positive and constantly think only positive thoughts.

It may help to occupy your mind by listening to soft, soothing music on your I-Pod.

It usually helps to wear eye shades and try to sleep on the flight if you can.

You may feel less stressed if you can book a flight that leaves at an off-peak time as there are usually fewer airline passengers to contend with.

If you are contemplating taking prescriptions or over-the-counter drugs to calm yourself down on your flight, always consult first with your family doctor or pharmacist. Keep in mind that if you are already taking prescriptions for pre-existing conditions, any new medication may interact adversely with them. Even over-the-counter drugs can be dangerous.

I have a true story that may help you with the fear of flying. A number of years ago a good friend of mine had a severe problem dealing with the fear of flying. His main fear was that he was terrified of dying in a plane crash. A funny thing is that he had absolutely no problem driving all over the country, or taking a Greyhound bus or train when he traveled on his holidays.

Fortunately he started working selling ads for a local community newspaper near a busy international airport. As he drove around to sell advertising to the stores in the area, he constantly saw commercial airliners take off and land day in and day out. He heard the loud roar of airline engines every day. Eventually he started to lose his fear of flying.

He finally made a huge decision to vacation on the big island of Hawaii, which he had always longed to do. The only concern was that he had no choice but to fly. He then bought flight insurance in case the plane crashed. He wanted to be sure leave something for his mother and father if he did not come back.

Before boarding the airplane he took a sleeping pill hoping that it would help to keep him calm. He bravely booked a window seat as he wanted to be able to see where he was going and what the earth and ocean looked like from the air.

When the flight attendant told all the passengers to fasten their seat belts, he cinched his belt up so tightly he thought that it would break. On the long flight to Hawaii he only removed his seat belt to go to the washroom. During the flight the only thing that really annoyed him was that his ears got plugged and hurt because of the changes in cabin pressure on the takeoff and landing. A helpful fellow passenger suggested that he should chew some gum and that seemed to solve the problem.

When he landed in Hawaii he was proud of himself! After all those wasted years hung up on that phobia he had finally broken free. All it took was working near a big airport and watching the constant stream of takeoffs and landings by these large jet airliners to reprogram his mind.

If you happen to have a fear of flying you must try and rid yourself of this debilitating, irrational fear. I know that your life will be changed forever when you break free and allow yourself to soar with the eagles and fly anywhere in this big, wide, wonderful world that you want to.

Visit FlyingWithoutFear.com if you would like more information on how vacationers as well as business travelers can lessen their fear of flying. This helpful company offers a free online self-help course that we highly recommend you take. Its conducted by a currently flying airline captain.