Does Flying Really Help Clear your Head?

[Mtnbiker1998]

I often hear about how people will use flying to relax and clear their mind when they've got stuff going on and need a distraction. Be it msfs, Il-2, or whatever have you. 

 

But does anyone else find that it really doesn't help at all? I find flying, as pleasurable as it is, leaves a lot of down time when you're just flying, from point A to point B, where you really don't have much going on and all you can do is think, think about all those things that you really don't wanna think about, the things you specifically took off for to get off your mind. 

 

I've been doing a ton of cruising around in VR, in MSFS and in a Normandy PWCG campaign this week trying to get my mind off some trouble I'm having and it just ain't working. Maybe I'm doing it wrong, maybe I'm spending too much time in MSFS just following the pink line on my glass cockpit instead of looking out the window and enjoying the scenery, and maybe deciding to fly for 40 minutes across the English Channel supporting DDay wasn't the right move. Or maybe flying (As much as I love it and will never stop) just isn't what I need right now. Maybe I need some fast paced action-y AAA mainstream game to just suck up my attention and focus for a bit.

 

So, Is flying your go-to distraction? What kind of flying? Or, since this is the free subject section, what other games/hobbies help you get your mind off things? I have a good network of people to talk to about my real world issues, but I wanna hear some opinions from random internet strangers who share the common interest of Flight Simming for this particular thought I had. What do you guys think?

[Guest deleted@83466]

I infer your name means you’re into mountain biking.  I hadn’t ridden a bicycle for years, but I recently got a decent one, and it’s pretty magical to go out riding, especially this time of year.

[Mtnbiker1998]

42 minutes ago, SeaSerpent said:

I infer your name means you’re into mountain biking.  I hadn’t ridden a bicycle for years, but I recently got a decent one, and it’s pretty magical to go out riding, especially this time of year.

Funny story with this name, but as it turns out, I've never really been much of a biker, mountain or otherwise. Nowadays I tend to go by a different username but back in 2016 when I made this account I was still going strong as Mtnbiker1998.

[ACG_Bobo]

I like doing laps around the Nordschleife in just about any car very centering and relaxing.  Sims of course.
Flying, relaxing but not centering like race cars.  For Old Bobo anyhoo.

[Guest deleted@83466]

You see!  This is what happens to Children of the Magenta Line, even in simulators!
 

I’ll never fly a virtual airliner again, Chief…

[Zooropa_Fly]

The_Twilight_Zone.zip

 

 

..hang on, you haven't got FC..

That's yer problem 

Edited June 16, 2023 by Zooropa_Fly

[Nocke]

As much as I enjoy virtual flying - I believe now that trying to distract from stuff going on does not help. After the distraction it just comes back, and it usually spoils ones distractive intents.

I try to talk to someone I trust, or go for some hours for a walk in the forest when "stuff is going on". Trying to find a solution, or, if not possible, a state of mind which allows me to look at the stuff without letting it bring me down.

Easier said than done, of course ...

[Justicier]

Flying in a combat sim doesn't necessarily clear my head or relax me, it just makes me think about other things that are of more "immediate concern" than actual life issues. Flying in a civilian flight sim is decent practice for real life, especially when on VATSIM and practicing instrument flight rules... but again, not exactly relaxing.

 

The only way I have been able to clear my head and relax in the past has been to to either do some target shooting out in the middle of nowhere, go for a hike in the forest/mountains... or ride my motorcycle on some nice, twisty roads. Unfortunately, now that I live in southern Florida, those methods for dealing with stress don't really work anymore... shooting at indoor ranges is silly, there are no mountains for hundreds of miles, and there are enough psychopaths on the roads here that riding my motorcycle puts me on DEFCON 1 at all times.

 

Unfortunately the only stress relief I get now is from actual VFR flying, by myself, in an area with minimal air traffic (usually over the Everglades). But renting an aircraft is so bloody expensive and my income is not going to be in the positive until I have enough flight hours to work for a regional airline, so flying alone is a rare occurrence.

 

So, I suppose with all that in context, doing flight sims, or perhaps building crazy houses in Valheim is about the most relaxing option for me at the moment.

[Leon_Portier]

I need a bit more sensation to clear my head. Personally riding my motorbike on the country roads does it just right. Combat flying has just long gaps where there is little to look at. And don't get me started on PvP online, that ---- is just stressful

[Billsponge1972]

I don't normally fly just to sightsee but I do sometimes if I'm learning to fly a specific aircraft.

Flying into combat is stressful for me.

Even in a simulator!

Sometimes I'm too tired or run out of time after work to fly.

But I try to fly one mission per night, whatever the outcome.

 

[RossMarBow]

On 6/15/2023 at 9:24 AM, Mtnbiker1998 said:

leaves a lot of down time when you're just flying, from point A to point B, where you really don't have much going on and all you can do is think, think about all those things that you really don't wanna think about, the things you specifically took off for to get off your mind

That is meditation in itself. Or you can develop it into meditation practice focusing on flying good maybe follow a checklist of actions.
Scanning the horizon with horizontal eye movements is also a proven way to relax idk if it works in games but I don't see why not.
Play some music in the background?

Do you fly multiplayer? Cause I find in that you don't have capacity for extra thoughts you barely have enough mental capacity to fly well
At the end of a multiplayer session I'm usually pretty ragey and have ants in my pants and sick of flying anyway so getting back to the real world becomes desirable. 

[Vishnu]

I build models and flight sim.  I also try to go to the gym once a week. 

[LLv34_Flanker]

S!

 

Gaming, reading a book, music, walk outdoors etc. gives enough clarity or whatever to tackle the issues at hand.

[Zooropa_Fly]

On 7/17/2023 at 5:31 PM, Vishnu said:

I also try to go to the gym once a week.

 

You'll get there one day..

 

S!

[Lusekofte]

Not to clear my head. More like getting away for a while. Flight sim is like hunting. Phone away, focus on what you do and everything or anyone else can **** off

Edited August 3, 2023 by LukeFF
language

[Vishnu]

Used to go to gym more, but getting up at 4 am for work and doing a physical job, being 54, it's a struggle.  But at lease I'm lapping people that don't do any exercise. 

[spreckair]

Flying in IL-2 doesn't clear my head, but fills it with things I prefer to think about, which I guess clears it of those things that really need my attention.  If I fly just before bed, it keeps me up at night thinking about flying in combat.  But I like it.

[R33GZ]

Music - cranking up the amplifier and playing my guitar to whatever emotive style takes my fancy definitely puts my head 'in the moment'... a loud metal or punk tune definitely helps expell some demons too ? 

[BOO]

I got MSFS to let aircraft follow pink lines whilst I looked out of the window. For me, it helped through some pretty dark times eariler this year. The problems were still there but a couple of hours of (and i hate the term) "mindfulness" helped keep up a reserve to face them. 

 

In effect I used it as rolling wallpaper to sit zombielike in front of and the combination of some pretty stunning weather and scenery was enough. I couldnt do that in GB or DCS

 

So, in anwer to the question does flying help lear the mind? No, but staring out of the window does. 

[Hoss]

No, Field Archery does.............  fresh air, nice walkabout...

[Ghost666]

Fly Fishing, that will do the trick!?

[Roshko]

I'll setup an unending stream of single Bf109-E7s - novice - in QMB. Set my ammo to unlimited, and knock the cr*p out of them in my Yak1 ser69.

There's nothing to think about, just get behind them one by one and shoot them down ❤️.

Quite therapeutic I find

Edited September 26, 2023 by Roshko

[Airborne-1980]

I fly only VR and I have a dedicated cockpit. Flight simming helped me a lot with recovery over the last few years. I do suck at Il2, but I wanted to start with PWCG and see how it goes. I found that I get a kick out of trying to maintain formation with my AI teammates... Doesn't leave much space for anything else when you try to maintain formation while scanning for targets , It sure does help you be in the moment.

 

I wish you the best.