{"id":110771,"date":"2025-09-01T00:49:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T00:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/110771\/"},"modified":"2025-09-01T00:49:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T00:49:09","slug":"nearly-25-million-people-face-flight-anxiety-in-america-heres-what-you-can-do-to-ease-your-worry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/110771\/","title":{"rendered":"Nearly 25 million people face flight anxiety in America. Here\u2019s what you can do to ease your worry"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 As millions of Americans take to the skies for Labor Day weekend, mental health experts are addressing a growing concern: flight anxiety.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The bustling scenes at Jacksonville International Airport mirror airports nationwide, where approximately 25 million adults struggle with the fear of flying, according to the Cleveland Clinic.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cI mean, who likes flying?\u201d Ezra Wagner said, a traveler heading to Thailand. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Wagner described the challenging aspects of air travel, noting, \u201cJust the stuffy feeling of not being able to move. You are stuck on a flight for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Jacksonville Licensed Mental Health Counselor Melissa Brown emphasizes that there are effective strategies to manage flight-related stress.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">RELATED: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news4jax.com\/news\/local\/2025\/08\/29\/traveling-for-labor-day-weekend-here-are-the-best-and-worst-times-to-drive\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.news4jax.com\/news\/local\/2025\/08\/29\/traveling-for-labor-day-weekend-here-are-the-best-and-worst-times-to-drive\/\">Traveling for Labor Day Weekend? Here are the best and worst times to drive<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cThe number one thing I recommend for you to do when you\u2019re experiencing flight anxiety is to focus on the facts, opposed to your feelings,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">She pointed out that anxiety often stems from how our minds process the flying experience rather than the actual risks involved. To combat these feelings, Brown recommended creating what she calls a \u201cpeace pouch.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cMake a peace pouch where you have items with you while you\u2019re flying, while you\u2019re travelling that target your five senses,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Travelers can ease their anxiety by packing:<\/p>\n<p>Calming scents<\/p>\n<p>Favorite snacks<\/p>\n<p>Soothing music<\/p>\n<p>Other comfort items that engage the senses<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">These simple tools can help passengers maintain composure during their flight and make the travel experience more manageable, especially during busy holiday periods like Labor Day weekend, when airports are particularly crowded.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The goal is to transform what could be an overwhelming experience into a more controlled and comfortable journey, allowing travelers to reach their destinations with less stress.<\/p>\n<p>Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX &#8211; All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 As millions of Americans take to the skies for Labor Day weekend, mental health experts&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":110772,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[49,48,84,8494,60713,393,394],"class_list":{"0":"post-110771","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-jacksonville","12":"tag-labor-day-weekend","13":"tag-mental-health","14":"tag-mentalhealth"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110771"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110771\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/110772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}