Hi Garibaldi,
I used to be afarid of turbulence....and I had to fly alot for my job...so I had to come up with a method of reducing the stress of flying or I would have died from nervous energy.
Firstly I worked out that a fear of turbulence is normally down to the passenger feeling out of control. So if I gained control of the situation then the fear and physical symptoms that always go with fear woudl recede / disappear.
My approach was quite simple really.
First stage of control is preparation: Go to a website called
www.turbulenceforecast.com. This site as the name suggests forecast the turbulence on your flight route. I found that if I knew what was coming I felt less anxious. Look at your route. There will always be a few bumps when crossing a coast or mountains. So if you know you are crossing a moutnain range and the plane bumps aroudn a bit, then you have nothing to worry about, it is expected and normal. Never seems as bad if you know it is coming :-)
Second stage of control is physical location: sit as near to the wing as you can. This will give you a visual reference with the horizon. If you look at the wing, you will see that it doesn't go up and down as much as your body thinks. It will also help you orientate your mind to the direction of the bumps....this will calm you down.
Third stage of control is finding peace: use music through an Ipod, normally a calming song. Whilst you are listening to the calming music, you pulse will slow and you will find yourself less likely to get anxious.
Forth stage of control is finding happiness: look at the world going past - the spectacular beauty of the world at 36000ft is amazing.
Last stage of control is giving your trust: most importantly, trust the crew. They know best. If the don't tell you what is happening then it isnt worth talking about. If they don't look worried, then why be worried.
I hope this helps. It did me. I now fly all over the world and don't bat an eyelid...no really, not a jot. I have been in turbulence and just don't register it as a concern. No fear, no nerves, no worries, nothing but loving the flight and the view.
Michael H