How to Turn Flight Anxiety Setbacks into Progress
If you recently experienced a setback with your flight anxiety, whether it led to canceling your trip or enduring an anxious journey, you might be feeling disheartened and self-critical. It's crucial to recognize that setbacks are a normal part of the journey when dealing with anxiety. Despite the disappointment, there are valuable lessons to be learned from these experiences.
Give Yourself Credit
Firstly, acknowledge any progress you've made, no matter how small it may seem. Perhaps you took steps toward facing your fear by booking a flight in the first place or maybe this time you didn’t self-medicate during the flight.
Every effort counts, and it's essential to give yourself credit for any small changes. Change isn’t all or nothing and is a process.
Stop Beating Yourself Up
Instead of dwelling on the setback, focus on what you can learn from it. Avoid the temptation to criticize yourself harshly; self-compassion is key to moving forward constructively.
Are you calling yourself a pathetic loser? I want you to ask yourself if you would talk that way to a friend who made a mistake. I’m guessing not. You need to treat yourself how you would treat a friend.
And rather than shaming yourself, channel your energy into understanding why the setback occurred and how you can use it as motivation to overcome future challenges. I have a free Learning from Setbacks Worksheet you can download to help you learn from the setback.
Why Is Flying Important To You?
Consider why flying is important to you. Reflect on the reasons behind your desire to confront your fear, and let these motivations guide your next steps. Remember, just because you didn't succeed this time doesn't mean you won't succeed in the future.
If you feel defeated right now, it can feel really hard to decide to get back on the horse and keep riding. But instead of focusing on how your feelings of defeat, think about why this is important to you and how overcoming this fear can open up your world.
I recently wrote a blog about how to understand your motivation so that it can serve as fuel during challenging moments. You can check that out here.
What Did You Do To Prepare For This Flight?
Reflect on the preparations you made for the flight. It’s not uncommon for people to wait until the month before their flight to start practicing effective skills. But depending on where you are in your journey, that may not have been enough time.
I wrote a blog recently about some ways I prepared for an upcoming flight. You can read that here.
Perhaps this time you need some additional support. There's no shame in reaching out for help, whether through therapy, medication, or a fear of flying course.
Recognize that you don't have to figure this out on your own, and investing in support can significantly improve your chances of success.
Have Reasonable Expectations
It's also essential to have reasonable expectations for yourself. Anxiety during a flight doesn't mean you failed; it's how you respond to that anxiety that matters most.
Instead of focusing solely on the absence of anxiety, concentrate on developing coping strategies and resilience.
Remember, progress is not always linear, and setbacks are opportunities for growth. It can help to expect that there will be setbacks, because that will keep you from giving up all together.
As long as you keep learning and keep flying, you will get there.
Need More Support With Your Fear of Flying?
If you need more help with flying anxiety, Grab the Free Flight Anxiety Toolkit for my top 12 tips here.