The fear of flying is one fear that almost everyone who has flown has experienced to some degree.For a large number, it is no more than an annoyance; perhaps disagreeable but nothing too troubling. 

Others, however, experience physical and mental symptoms that can range from simply “tense” to “outright panic”.There are a number of useful treatments for the fear of flying.What will work for you will probably depend on where you are on that scale. 

Fear of flying symptoms often have real life causes that, if identified, may help a person with mild fear of flying overcome their anxiety.  What often happens is a person encounters a symptom, and assuming it is caused by fear of flying, they get more and more upset until major panic sets in.  If they can recognize that pattern early on, they can stop the cycle in its tracks and overcome their mild fear of flying. 

For example, unstable air pressure in the aircraft cabin often results in inner ear problems.Inner ear problems can result in a wide variety of unpleasant symptoms, including nausea, tingly ears and skin, dizziness and loss of orientation.These are the same symptoms that occur when a person is anxious, and if they don’t recognize the source of the symptoms they may psyche themselves out and accelerate their fear beyond a normal level. 

Additionally, spending long periods in the tight seats in an airplane cabin can cause muscular pain, joint pain, and tingling from lack of blood flow.  These too are all symptoms often experienced during panic or severe anxiety attacks.  Therefore, the passenger who feels these symptoms may misdiagnose a mere physical reaction to small seating quarters as a fear of flying. 

Clearly, there are those whose fear of flying is more significant than the mild fear described here.  For those folks, mere recognition that the physical symptoms could be coming from other sources than the fear of flying may not be enough.   But for some, this awareness is the first line of defense in combating their fears for good. 

To learn more about the fear of flying visit here to receive a free twelve part audio tutorial that will share simple, effective techniques and facts to conquer your anxieties and get rid of your chronic fear of flying. 

Stress is part of life. There’s just no escaping it. There are good forms of stress and bad forms, but it’s always with us in one way or another.

Fight-or-flight response, also known as acute stress, is an anxiety disorder. When we experience either a real or perceived threat to us, it kicks in. The perceived threat can be a physical one, such as an impending plane crash while trapped in a passenger seat. Or an African lion, 100 yards away,  bearing down on us in the middle of the jungle. Or the threat can be emotional as a mother might feel as she’s waiting for the hospital to call regarding the fate of her husband or child that is lying on a hospital operating table.

The hypothesis of acute stress response is not new. It’s been around since at least the 1920’s. When acute stress response occurs, the body experiences many changes. The blood vessels constrict which causes blood to drain away from the skin and leading to the expression “he was white as a ghost” as a way of describing somebody who has just experienced a frightening event. The drained blood, and oxygen, flows into the muscles, lungs, and large muscles - strengthening them all. The heart rate increases enabling blood to be pumped to the various body organs faster. And the pupils of the eye becomes dilated allowing for sharper vision.

Besides the symptoms referred to above, the adrenal glands release the “stress hormone” cortisol which flows through the body. Cortisol has an instantaneous and striking effect on the body. Reflexes are enhanced, immunity is augmented, sensitivity to pain is diminished, and the body is suddenly more energetic and ready to run or fight.

Prime candidates for acute stress are soldiers returning from war. Many of the troops coming home from Iraq have experienced high levels of acute stress resulting in post tramatic stress disorder. Many people in the medical field, such as doctors and nurses, experience this as well.

Acute stress disorder is something a bit more serious. It is something that develops after the initial traumatic event that may have caused acute stress in the person. It’s triggered by the person merely remembering the event. Only a licensed therapist or psychologist can diagnose acute stress disorder, but some symptoms are:

1) Difficulty concentrating - the person may have problems focusing or following a train of thought and may seem as if he is in a daze or fog.

2) Detachment and a decrease in emotional responsiveness - the person may seem emotionally aloof, as if they’ve detached themselves from their feelings in order to avoid further pain.

3) Ongoing Short term amnesia - the person may go into a room to get something but suddenly can’t remember what it was he wanted. Or, he may start to ask you an important question, but can’t remember what he wanted to ask.

To be classified as acute stress disorder, these symptoms must occur within one month after the initial traumatic event. This disorder is very closely related to post traumatic stress disorder or PTSD. PTSD is basically a longer lasting form of acute stress disorder.

Broadly speaking, stress is normally thought of as bad for us. But, in reality, acute stress or short term stress is a centuries old survival mechanism that helps us to cope with wrenching events in our lives.

Since the early eighties stress has been very much in the news as a health epidemic and the situation continues to get worse as a growing number of workers say they are increasingly suffering stress in the workplace. In fact the workplace now provides the leading environment for stress among adult Americans. However levels of stress have also been rising for children and teenagers in recent years and many believe that this is linked to a loss of family and religious values, too little social support and corporate greed.

Stress nowadays is more of a danger than it was only ten years ago and seems to be more extensive and more invasive than ever with much more stress arising out of psychological instead of physical threats.

Stress produces a raised heart rate and greater blood flow leading to higher blood pressure. Blood sugar levels also increase to provide the body with the extra fuel which it requires to combat stress and our body is designed to move blood away from the stomach when under stress to provide extra strength in our arms and legs as part of what is frequently referred to as our “flight or fight” response.

Stress contributes to anxiety and chronic depression together with gastrointestinal and skin problems and interferes with the working of a number of the body’s main organs. It can also create an impairment of the body’s immune system so that it in unable to fight off viral conditions from the common and not particularly serious cold to serious diseases like cancer and AIDS.

Stress in the workplace directly influences things like employee absenteeism and productivity and the business climate worsens little by little with competition nowadays at an all-time high. The pressure which is placed on employees to produce and the continual concern about job security can lead to various conditions including back pain, neck pain, hypertension, stroke, ulcers, diabetes and heart attacks. 

Many different things can cause stress including just sitting in front of a computer screen for eight hours every day or more, meeting targets or having someone checking on you constantly. Here the results are usually seen as depression and a range of physical complaints that result in lost working days.

Taking the steps needed to manage the stress you have in your life may be the nicest gift you can give yourself and your family and just a few simple changes to your life can make a huge difference to the way in which you handle stress. For instance, taking just 20 minutes out of your day to walk will lower your stress level as will talking to friends, meditation and following a healthier diet. Take the time necessary to master a few relaxation techniques because deep breathing and relaxation exercises can greatly reduce your stress levels.