I don’t remember the official name for it, but one common technique to overcome all sorts of fears is to progressively visualize the experience.
For your flying example, that might mean to sit and think about just packing for a trip. How does that make you feel?
Then think about driving to the airport. How does that feel?
Then think about boarding the airplane.
Then think about flying calmly.
Finally, think about really rough turbulence.
The idea is to think about each step several times (over many weeks/months) until you are progressively more and more comfortable with the entire process. Often, anxiety about a specific event (turbulent flying) will start well before you experience the turbulence - so by progressively visualizing each step in the process, your mind will begin to better control your body over the entire experience.
This process works for all types of fears: spiders, bridges, going underwater, etc.
However! I’m not a professional - so if it is really bad, then I would recommend going to a therapist - even for just a few sessions - and they can better walk you through the process. Search for “CBT in [your area]” if you don’t know where to start.
Also - if you can’t get over it with just mental exercises, and you really need to fly somewhere - a doctor can prescribe medication that will relax you for the flight (though there are potential side effects - including addiction - so talk that over with your doctor).
Yes, CBT is probably the best therapy for this kind of thing - in fact, phobia of flying is THE case study (very much their version of the todo-app :) ).
For your flying example, that might mean to sit and think about just packing for a trip. How does that make you feel?
Then think about driving to the airport. How does that feel?
Then think about boarding the airplane.
Then think about flying calmly.
Finally, think about really rough turbulence.
The idea is to think about each step several times (over many weeks/months) until you are progressively more and more comfortable with the entire process. Often, anxiety about a specific event (turbulent flying) will start well before you experience the turbulence - so by progressively visualizing each step in the process, your mind will begin to better control your body over the entire experience.
This process works for all types of fears: spiders, bridges, going underwater, etc.
However! I’m not a professional - so if it is really bad, then I would recommend going to a therapist - even for just a few sessions - and they can better walk you through the process. Search for “CBT in [your area]” if you don’t know where to start.
Also - if you can’t get over it with just mental exercises, and you really need to fly somewhere - a doctor can prescribe medication that will relax you for the flight (though there are potential side effects - including addiction - so talk that over with your doctor).