A few things helped me. First, I got the Headspace app and bought their guided meditation package for fear of flying. It has a routine that stops you from falling into the self-defeating spiral of anxiety that you get from thinking about flying. Now it seems that they've partnered with some airlines to provide an in-flight audio channel for this guided meditation: https://www.headspace.com/partners/airline-partnerships
The second thing that helped me is telling myself that because of how the plane flies, there is effectively a wall of air underneath it propping it up. This wall of air is buttressed by such a strong force, that it behaves much like an actual solid surface.
Third, specifically for turbulence–I've read that the overwhelming majority of turbulence incidents are extremely routine for flight crew. They are nowhere close to any cause for concern. Whenever we hit turbulence, I tell myself that what we're experiencing is nowhere near the level that would affect our flight in any way.
That said, turbulence is always disturbing and in the moment it's hard to force your brain to accept it. What usually works for me is focusing on others–essentially people-watching. Making human contact in those situations always acts as a stress-reliever.
The second thing that helped me is telling myself that because of how the plane flies, there is effectively a wall of air underneath it propping it up. This wall of air is buttressed by such a strong force, that it behaves much like an actual solid surface.
Third, specifically for turbulence–I've read that the overwhelming majority of turbulence incidents are extremely routine for flight crew. They are nowhere close to any cause for concern. Whenever we hit turbulence, I tell myself that what we're experiencing is nowhere near the level that would affect our flight in any way.
That said, turbulence is always disturbing and in the moment it's hard to force your brain to accept it. What usually works for me is focusing on others–essentially people-watching. Making human contact in those situations always acts as a stress-reliever.