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By Sarah Armour, JJsList.com Business Assistant

Travel by air can be very stressful for anyone, especially for people who have anxiety. Crowded airports, a lot of stimuli, not having control, and canceled flights, for example, can be overwhelming for someone with anxiety.

Even though I am an experienced flier who flies on my own, I am often nervous about flying and sometimes have a panic attack, especially when things don’t go as planned. On a recent trip from California, my flight was rerouted because of a maintenance issue. Instead of flying into LAX, which I’m familiar with, I had to fly into Denver. I had never been to Denver before and had to navigate this new airport. To make matters worse, the weather was snowy with only 1% visibility. Then, once I got on my flight to Chicago, I learned the plane needed to be de-iced.I felt trapped in my seat while we were stuck on the tarmac, which made me very anxious.

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I watched movies and took lots of deep breaths until we were up in the air. Once I was able to get up and move around, I felt much better.

There isn’t anything you can do to get rid of anxiety altogether, and there is nothing you can do to prevent a panic attack. However, there are some things you can do to deal with the fear that comes with anxiety. I want to share some of the strategies I use to de-escalate my anxiety. I hope you find them helpful:

• Talk to the airlines: 
  • Let the airlines know if you are anxious about flying.
  • Let the flight attendants know what seat you are in and/or if you want their reassurance during the flight or not.
  • Ask for help.

• Distract yourself: 
  

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  • Watch movies, listen to music or podcasts, or play a game on your phone. Make sure you download them before you leave home in case you don’t have access to Wi-Fi as you travel.
  • Read a book.
  • Work on crosswords or coloring books.

• Breath and Meditate:
  

  Sarah Armour

  • Let your panic attack pass without judgement.
  • Practice diaphragmatic breathing to help calm your body down. This means taking deep breaths in and out using your diaphragm.
  • Download meditation apps, like Insight Timer or Calm on your phone before you travel. These can help ground you and focus on your center.