5 tricks to calm your fear of flying

GINA MOFFA'S FEAR OF FLYING took off early. When she was 10, her mother-overwhelmed by bad turbulence on a flight to Italy clambered to the emergency exit and tried to get out of the plane. A fellow passenger offered her Valium, and a nun onboard prayed the rosary with her. "And then she was OK," Moffa says. "But it taught me there was something to be afraid of."

- ANGELA HAUPT

Moffa recently flew in a tiny 12-seater plane for nearly three hours over the Atlantic. She almost didn't board. "They were like, 'Ma'am, you're going to make us late-we have to get on before the winds come," she recalls.

If your heart also takes a nosedive while flying, you're not alone. Research suggests about 25 million adults in the U.S. experience aerophobia, and who can blame them? Door plugs are falling off of Boeing 737 and small planes alike. Engines are catching on fire mid-air, and tires are falling off.

But the truth remains: Flying is safe. Even now. According to the National Safety Council, the lifetime odds of dying on a plane in the U.S. are "too small to calculate." That's part of the reason Moffa, now a grief counselor in New York City, hasn't allowed herself to be grounded. "It's a very common fear, and it can be immobilizing, but you can't let that fear get in the way of witnessing the beauty in the world," she says.

We asked experts to share the psychological tricks that help them conquer their flight anxiety.

1. Check out pilot TikTok