Flying anxiety, or aerophobia, affects many travelers, and is especially difficult to combat as those suffering are confined to a plane, far away from a trusting voice or familiar space. Fortunately, many app developers have taken up the cause, and you can now travel with a virtual anti-anxiety coach right in your pocket.
Created by the National Center for Telehealth and Technology, Breathe2Relax is a free stress-management app offering diaphragmatic breathing exercises that reign in your body’s fight-or-flight response. Users can even adjust the breath cycle depending on their current stress levels.
Another free anti-anxiety app is SOAR, which was developed as an additional resource to the SOAR program, a fear of flying course created by Captain Tom Bunn. The SOAR app offers a number of helpful tools, including G-Force, which monitors turbulence levels in real time to reassure users of their safety. SOAR also provides users with relevant information concerning how planes are maintained and kept safe.
If you’re willing to spend $3.99 on an app, VALK will live up to its cost. Designed by employees from Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, KLM Airlines, MartinAir, ArkeFly and Transavia.com, VALK dubs itself an in-flight therapist and provides flight safety statistics, real time turbulence data and weather forecasts to dispel any unwarranted fears. If anxiety levels continue to rise, users can push VALK’s panic button, which delivers auditory and written support for immediate stress reduction.
Those who aren’t opposed to a little hypnotherapy might want to check out Darren Marks’ Freedom from Fears and Phobias app. This $2.99 app offers visual and auditory hypnosis programs that promise rapid relaxation to aerophobics, as well as cynophobics (fear of dogs) and claustrophobics (fear of tight spaces). So if you find yourself squeezed between two sumo wrestlers while Kujo plays on the in-flight entertainment screen, this app has you covered.
Read This Next
Four Crowdsourcing Apps for Travelers
Entertainment
Oct 12, 2014#TrazeeTravel
Insta FeedDestinations / North America
Nov 21, 2024Art Basel Happenings at Miami’s The Ritz-Carlton Hotels
Art Basel Miami Beach takes place Dec. 6–8. This iconic international art fair features works from worldwide established and emerging artists. To celebrate the event, The Ritz-Carlton Bal Harbour, Miami, and The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach, host special programming with a focus on female artists.
Sponsored Content
Seoul: Your Favorite Worldwide City
Seoul is the place for your next bleisure destination.
Travel Goods
Nov 21, 2024Never Lose an Item Again with Apple’s New Share Item Location Feature
It’s your worst nightmare: Your plane is taxiing and you’re looking out the window, only to realize you’ve left your iPad or laptop in the airport. Thanks to a new feature from Apple, these fears can be allayed, ensuring we always know where our valuables are, whether traveling or at home.
Dining/Entertainment
Nov 20, 2024Experience the Only Restaurant Made Entirely of Ice in America
You’ve heard of ice hotels, but what about ice restaurants? When ice Hôtel de Glace de Québec opens in January 2025, it will be home to the only restaurant made entirely of snow and ice in America thanks to a partnership with Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac.
Sponsored Content
Discover Greece’s Tower Towns: A Journey Through History
Greece's tower towns offer a captivating blend of history, architecture and stunning landscapes that make them perfect for curious travelers. These towns, particularly found in the Mani region of the Peloponnese, are defined by stone towers built during the medieval period. Constructed for both defense and as symbols of family pride, the towers stand as a testament to the region's turbulent history and its residents’ resilience.
Destinations
Nov 20, 2024What Destinations Are Trending in 2025?
Luxury travel company Scott Dunn looks ahead to 2025 with predictions of hot destinations to visit. These focus on under-explored locations, sustainable tourism and exclusive experiences.
ShareThis