Anyone else have a fear of flying?

[kellyf2626]

I love to travel and go away...but have a huge fear of flying. I refuse to let it stop me from traveling to Disney (only a 3 hour flight!), but the week before I leave - I actually have nightmares and start to feel sick!

So, I am down to 6 days, and I can't stop thinking about it. My DH thinks I have totally lost it, b/c I went to the doctor and got some medicine (Ativan) for anxiety. But, I am not a big medicine person, and now am nervous to take the anxiety medicine!! What is wrong with me?!

I know flying is the safest way to travel...but it still gets to me. I am hoping that once I have kids it will be better, b/c I will have to be brave in front of them!!

Anyone else hate to fly?

 

[Lorix2]

Yes, I do. Know what? It is 8 months prior to my trip and I every so often while watching a movie, or driving or just doing something other than thinking of my trip, I start to get anxiety about it and have to quietly talk myself out of it. I happen to have a script for Ativan anyway, so I take one and slowly forget about it.

Like you said, I refuse to let it stop me from going on my vacation. I think I will be frightened of taking off and landing, but once we're up there, I think I'll be okay. I'm sure you will be too.

It's a fear of having no control and I have to learn that some thing's in life are not in my control, because they simply cannot be.

Have a wonderful vacation, take you're meds and try to enjoy the whole experience.

www.fearofflying.com

 

[disneydreamerinny]

Oh yes. I will jump on this band wagon.
I HATE it. I am the same as you. I plan for my Disney vacation for 3.5 years, heavily plan for the last year, but then as soon as it is about 1-2 weeks before, I feel like just saying forget it, I'm not going. Have a fun trip family.
I am so stressed at the thought of getting on the plane. I lose all of my excitement and it turns to fear. I dream about it as well. Not fun.
I just try to think of the vacation ahead of us, because I just know we arent going to make it home, evein IF we do get there safe.
Then I see all of these plane crashes on TV, and everybody is still telling me its the safest way to travel ....yeah, right.

Oh well, I will just sit there and let my kids and husband make fun of me and close my eyes and pretend I am not there. Maybe I will go get some of that xanax everyone talks about on these boards. I hear it is miricale stuff.
It might make the pretending I'm not there part easier.
So, nope, its not easier when you have kids, because they just laugh and point, and sometimes say, Oh Mom, stop it, its not that bad, just look at the clouds........

 

[CleveRocks]

It's a fear of having no control and I have to learn that some thing's in life are not in my control, because they simply cannot be.

We have less control over our lives than we think. You're not actually in control of your safety when you drive your own car. All of the people around you, especially the people coming towards you on the other side of that little yellow line on the road, are in control of whether or not you get home safely.

I don't say this to freak you out, I say this to help you begin to realize that you're no more out of control in an aircraft than you are behind the wheel of your own car.

And like you said, you know that, statistically, flying is safer than driving. I don't fear flying, but I'm scared to death when I drive to the airport.

-- Eric

 

[kellyf2626]

I plan for my Disney vacation for 3.5 years, heavily plan for the last year, but then as soon as it is about 1-2 weeks before, I feel like just saying forget it, I'm not going. Have a fun trip family.

Yes! This is exactly how I feel!

And of course, there was an awful crash today in Greece. I pray for all of the victims families.

 

[2buzzboys]

Its not the fear of flying so much as it is the fear of dying. I am afraid to be so high up and aware of the drop down and hard hit that will be experienced.
I know this sounds horrible but I have to fly in two weeks and this is whats running through my mind. I wish I had a Dr. that gave me a pill. I guess I will have to start a tab on the plane.

 

[AnnetteF]

I absolutely feel the same way and commend you for being able to keep those fears in check and still fly. I fly when I want to go somewhere (Europe or California) that I cannot get to in a reasonable amount of time, but other than that, if there is some other way, I don't fly. For me it is a very unpleasant experience. I don't even really think something will happen but I'm not sure what it is that bothers me about it. I am very claustrophobic, however. We have been driving to or taking the train to WDW from CT for the past 14 years because I found that flying was putting such a damper on my trip. I've heard all the arguments about how it is statistically safer, blah, blah, blah..., but I feel that, at the very least, I have control over the fact that we are good drivers and our car is in good shape, and if something happens, we were in the wrong place at the wrong time, and it was our own fault and I can accept that. Also, I have to say that flying is not what it used to be. The last few times I flew I felt like cattle being loaded into the back of a truck. No frills and rude flight attendants. It doesn't help the whole flying experience in the least.

 

[miss missy]

Its not the fear of flying so much as it is the fear of dying. I am afraid to be so high up and aware of the drop down and hard hit that will be experienced.
I know this sounds horrible but I have to fly in two weeks and this is whats running through my mind. I wish I had a Dr. that gave me a pill. I guess I will have to start a tab on the plane.

Thats just it. The real Fear is dying, not flying. It just means there are things in your life that you feel you have get to do. You gotta live now! Get an idea of what it is you haven't done, and do it. Don't wait to do the things you want in life, and you'll be past these fears.

 

[CleveRocks]

Its not the fear of flying so much as it is the fear of dying. I am afraid to be so high up and aware of the drop down and hard hit that will be experienced.

In a NORMAL year, about 50,000 people die on USA streets and highways. In a REALLY bad year, such as 2001, about 250 people die in aircraft crashes in the USA.

I make my living working with people who've had life-altering, devastating injuries in motor vehicle accidents. Trust me, I wasn't exaggerating when I wrote before that I don't fear flying but I'm very afraid driving to the airport.

-- Eric

 

[ktink]

I love the convenience of flying but I'm okay at the airport and all, it's just once the plane is taking off and landing that bothers me and not to mention the turbulence. But I know in reality that I'm safer in the air than on the ground in a car. And that's another reason why I like to fly. Long drives bother me, it just seems there are more and more careless drivers on the road.

 

[Patty106]

I do not like flying so I also bring some things to keep me busy, puzzle books, electronic games, a disney book ( to remember why I am going). Keep your thoughts positive and remember to give yourself a big pat on the back when the flight is over. YOU DID IT.

 

[Harambe]

I'll be getting on that plane a week from today! I also will fly just to get somewhere, I don't love it! Both DH and I have to take our "fear of flying" pills, and the TV screens on Song help us, too.

Here's a trick that I use that works for me. Look at the flight attendants, and the pilots. Really look in their eyes (I know, this sounds weird!). They're people just like us, with families, and jobs. I pick one of them and imagine what they plan to do once they get home that day. Maybe take a son to football practice? Or go to dinner with an elderly parent? They don't look nervous. They look like they have every intention to make those plans!

Good luck, and have a great time at WDW!

 

[kellyf2626]

Here's a trick that I use that works for me. Look at the flight attendants, and the pilots. Really look in their eyes (I know, this sounds weird!). They're people just like us, with families, and jobs. I pick one of them and imagine what they plan to do once they get home that day. Maybe take a son to football practice? Or go to dinner with an elderly parent? They don't look nervous. They look like they have every intention to make those plans!

That is a good idea! I will try that! Thanks for the info!

 

[DisneyForLife]

That's funny, I think the same way. I have always hated flying but I get on the plane because I want the quickest, easiest way to get to my vacation. I have always looked at the crew and thought if they do this for a living and think nothing of it every day I can do it twice a year. It sounds corny but does work.
(I also count the seats to the nearest exit as soon as I sit down, that helps ease my mind also, for that remote possibility something happens and you can't see in the cabin)

 

[DisFlan]

In this day and age, I don't think there's anyone who doesn't have at least a small concern about flying. Just keep reminding yourself that it's safer than driving.

It's not the actual flying that bothers me, it's the time-consuming hassle just to get on/off the plane. And the feeling of being on a crowded "bus in the air". Blech.


DisFlan

 

[tinkerrn]

FLYING~~~~~ The thought makes my stomach tumble!! I am afraid of flying and am ok with that. It is a fear I accept, and am confident that it will not change. I have take pres. medication prior and during flight with NO results. My ex who is a physician was perplexed and confused, along with being miffed at me, as I ran through customs at the Atlanta airport on our way home from Costa Rica~~~wonder why he is an ex??? His answer was to 'just take something to take the edge off'. Not sure if an elephant tranquilazer would have worked on me. I have literally gotten off the plane at La Guardia and taken a cab to Penn Station; took a Greyhound home. I am a medical professional and know that a 'little pill' won't be the magical cure. I am ok with not flying, if it someplace I want to go I drive. I have talked with other medical professionals about 'treatment' and have come to the conclusion, that it is OK to be afraid. If I was suppossed to fly, then I would have been born with wings

 

[Helene]

We're flying on Saturday to WDW and, just like clockwork, my internal anxiety is starting to flow.

A few things have worked for me:

1) A little white "Happy Pill" (Ativan) 20 min before departure helps me with taking off "the edge".

2) I remind myself how tortured I am by my children when in the car for more than an hour and that the risk of dying is well worth it compared to being trapped in the car with them for up to 20 hours.

3) When at the airport, I try to get to an observation area to watch the routine of planes coming & going. It helps reinforce the fact that flying is a very routine event for those in the industry as well as the endless number of travelers who rely on the service. I find the repetitiveness, in some strange way, comforting.

5 days & counting

Helene

 

[Lorix2]

Helene - #2 isn't that the truth

 

[enchantedny]

OK so I am not as crazy as I think I am. Reading this thread has helped me realize that there are many people out there with the same feelings I have. I love to go places and am so excited when I start thinking about the cities and hotels BUT the second I even think about booking the airplane I seriously just want to forget the whole thing. Since June I have been worried about my flight to WDW on 8/21. Just a nagging little worry but a worry none the less. In the next few days I will have to stay very busy or I will be ready to take a bus on Saturday and forget the plane. The funny thing with me is once I actually get on the plane I am fine. I also like to peek into the cockpit while boarding and check out the pilots. I have a few friends who fly for a living (State Trooper helicopter pilots, commercial pilot) and a brother who is on a NASCAR team and is forever flying and they always tell me there is no safer way. Deep down I believe that but still....... Hope everyone has a SAFE and fun time on their upcoming vacations. Thanks for giving me a space to babble. I feel a little better

 

[Meezers]

I avoid flying when possible. It isn't really the fear of flying...it is the fact that I have no control. I cannot stop the plane and get off when I want...like I can if I am driving.

A friend of mine said...it wasn't the flying that bothered her....it was the idea of falling out of the sky

PS...xanax....really does help