Fear of Flying: Why It Happens and How You Can Overcome It
Fear is part of being human. We all have fears, and some fears make a great deal of sense. Often, though, anxiety is our brain’s exaggerated perception of danger — our mind interpreting something as far more threatening than it actually is. Our brains are designed to constantly scan the environment for danger and keep us safe.
I know this firsthand because I, too, struggled with a debilitating fear.
Fear of flying is incredibly common, yet at times it felt deeply isolating. I often felt like I was the only person struggling this intensely with flying anxiety. Before flights, I would become consumed by fear. Once on the plane, I couldn’t focus on anything else. I constantly monitored the flight — the sounds of the engines, the expressions on the flight attendants’ faces, the flight path, every bump, every sound.
I used to set a timer on my phone for the duration of the flight and repeatedly check how much time was left to “endure.” I wasn’t relaxing. I wasn’t enjoying the experience. I was surviving it.
The difficult part was that I truly loved traveling. I loved exploring new places, experiencing different cultures, and making memories. Traveling made me feel alive. Yet this fear had started to limit something that mattered deeply to me.
Eventually, I decided I didn’t want fear making those decisions for me anymore.
Recovery didn’t happen overnight, but with dedication, support, and gradual practice, things slowly began to change. Today, I consider myself a recovered fearful flier. Now, I can watch a movie on a flight, read a book, play a game with my son, or even look forward to the opportunity to disconnect for a few hours and let someone else handle the logistics.
The skills that helped me overcome my fear are the same evidence-based approaches I now use to help clients in my therapy practice. Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and EMDR all played important roles in my journey.
But perhaps the biggest shift was this:
I stopped believing that I needed to eliminate anxiety in order to fly confidently.
Instead, I learned:
Even if I feel anxious, I can still get on the plane.
Even if my mind is sounding alarms, I can still move forward.
Even if discomfort shows up, I am capable of handling it.
That shift changed everything.
Fear of flying is treatable, and healing is possible. You do not have to stay trapped in the cycle of avoidance, dread, and white-knuckling your way through travel.
That’s one of the reasons I decided to create this Fear of Flying Course — to help others better understand their anxiety, break free from the fear cycle, and begin building confidence through evidence-based tools and support.
If any part of this sounds familiar, I want you to know you are not alone. So many people quietly struggle with this fear. Others have felt just as terrified, trapped, and overwhelmed — and still found a path forward.
Healing is possible, even if anxiety still shows up along the way.
Join us June 9th for the first session and begin taking your life back from fear and watch the world open up before you: https://bit.ly/48uizFP
By Andrea Born-Horowitz, LCSW
