How To Do What Scares You And Not Freak Out
Desensitization + perspective
When I got over my fear of flying, I was surprised at how simple and easy it was. I realized that being on a plane is like riding on a bus: The buzzing sound of an engine and a seat right before you.
When we landed, I even felt disappointed by the whole experience.
And that’s it?! Why haven’t I done this before? Instead of waiting all these years, my life could have been more colorful and fun!
What you’re scared of isn’t that scary. It just feels more dangerous because it’s colored by your convictions. But to get to fear-free, you do it bit by bit.
First I saw pictures of a plane. Then I watched videos of an aircraft cabin, boarding, a propeller rotating (Good, that was scary), and taking off. After this “preparation”, we bought the tickets. A day before the flight, I packed my “comfort bag”. Before boarding, I took my Dramamine. When the plane took off, I counted the minutes until landing. I wasn’t looking at the scary propeller but at a flight attendant or leafing through a magazine.
If you do step-by-step exposure (all those pictures and videos I saw) and learn to focus on the things you can control (like me counting and reading a mag), you learn a new response to the anxiety-inducing…
