Does anyone have "flying anxiety" and do you take anything to help??

[edk35]

My 16 year old son who has been flying since he was 6 months old, flew 5 times in 2012.....and last flew in 2013 and does not want to FLY again. We have driven a few times since 2013. He had a couple of ROUGH flights in 2012 and 2013 and now he does not want to ever fly again. I have always wanted to go to Disney in Oct. for the decoration, food and wine and MNSSHP and my husband suggested yesterday than my son and I go since I have a friend who will be there in Oct. with her son. SO I immediately booked a resort but now he is balking at going. He wants to drive but we live in MD and can't take the time to drive for a Thursday departure and a Monday return. Any suggestions??

 

[Lumiere Lover]

On our kids first flight in 2002 at the end of the flight our flight attendants said they had never been on such a turbulent flight ever. We were dropping regularly during a storm. The flight couldn't relocate because we were heading through the storm to land. I have never flown without Valium ever since. Talk to your pediatrician and see if you can get something. Good luck.

 

[Miss Monorail 1971]

Ever since I saw the movie about flight 93 I have a horrible time flying. It just got to me I guess. My family Dr gives me Xanax just about 6 pills and I take it for then flight. It helps..

 

[Ladygoldenhair]

I take xanax, but maybe just benadryl for your son. Get him up super early, then he will sleep most of the flight. Otherwise buy him a bus ticket and tell him you will meet him there.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Don't let this fear continue. There are treatments for this which are very effective. Talk to your son's doctor for advice.

 

[edk35]

Thanks everyone. I will definitely talk to his doctor.

 

[stinkpickle]

My wife uses a nice xanax and vodka combo. It works, but she's not a doctor, and I wouldn't recommend it for kids.

 

[North of Mouse]

My 16 year old son who has been flying since he was 6 months old, flew 5 times in 2012.....and last flew in 2013 and does not want to FLY again. We have driven a few times since 2013. He had a couple of ROUGH flights in 2012 and 2013 and now he does not want to ever fly again. I have always wanted to go to Disney in Oct. for the decoration, food and wine and MNSSHP and my husband suggested yesterday than my son and I go since I have a friend who will be there in Oct. with her son. SO I immediately booked a resort but now he is balking at going. He wants to drive but we live in MD and can't take the time to drive for a Thursday departure and a Monday return. Any suggestions??

Some people will never be comfortable flying. DH had to fly to Japan many times for work related meetings and had several 'uncomfortable' issues on those trips, also I've flown less, but each 'incident' experienced has gotten us to the point that we 'will not' fly except for extreme emergencies. The recent issues in the air the last few years have not helped any! If we can't drive - we do not go!

Good luck with your son, but at that age, insisting that he go anyway will just make things worse. Hopefully, he will agree to some type anxiety meds to get him more relaxed.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I'm a bit disturbed by all the recommendations to use medication when there are very effective treatments not using medication.

OP, good luck.

 

[edk35]

I'm a bit disturbed by all the recommendations to use medication when there are very effective treatments not using medication.

OP, good luck.

Please give me your suggestions.

 

[Accident]

Please give me your suggestions.

I recommend the advice of talking with their doctors, nobody online is going to know your family as well as them and what options should be seriously considered and explored.

Advice for this trip, amtrak or driving is mine. Both would require more time or a shorter amounts of time at WDW though.

 

[schoen]

I think many have just given their solutions to their fear of flying, and a very effective, and safe way to deal with it is through medicine.

Medicine is there to help people. No one can (legally) get the type of medication that will help with this anxiety without talking to a physician, and getting a prescription. I went to my Dr. when I was letting the fear of flying get in the way of what I wanted to do. He prescribed Xanex. a decision we came to together. I also spoke with my therapist, who I see for anxiety, and she was the one who suggested that I talk to my Dr. about getting some temporary help for temporary anxiety.

There is so much negativity and stigmatization about real and helpful fixes for things like this. Let's not allow this thread to become a place of judgement. Sometimes people need extra help, and medicine can be a great solution for this problem.

I am certainly hoping it works for me!

 

[disneyseniors]

Well, OP, I probably have a different approach to this fear of flying. I have always been afraid of flying. It was an irrational fear, and I knew it. I knew the pilots were well trained, the plane would "stay in the air", etc, but none of those rational arguments would help. It was so bad that I would get physically sick 2 weeks before I had to fly. I am an adult, so I took 2 dramamines and a drink (usually bloody Mary), during each flight just to get through it. My husband would have to help me off the plane, but it was the ONLY way I could fly.
I finally had a friend who talked me into hypnosis. I thought, "no way, they can't do anything and I bet they can't even hypnotize me". Well, I scheduled a session with a trusted professional, and even though she had a difficult time getting me to go under, it got to the bottom of my irrational fears, and IT WORKED! I won't go into what she found out as the cause of this fear, but I can say that from that point forward, I have never been afraid of flying!!! I can get on a plane just like everyone else now, and it's a great feeling not to have that horrible fear. I would recommend hypnosis to anyone who has an irrational fear of any kind, but you MUST find a certified, professional hypnotist. I don't know if this will help your son, or if you will even consider it. I am just offering it as something that cured me of a life long fear. Good luck!

 

[jennwdw]

I take ativan - low dose and it works for me. (Valium would knock me out!) I use to love to fly but after a couple rough flights I avoided it. Now I do ativan and feel comfortable flying.