Nervous Flyer

[LyssaLovesStitch]

I'm a nervous flyer It worries me that we'll be in a crash/terrorist attack and won't get back home to our families. While my head tells me everything will be ok, my heart hurts until we're safely on the ground in Florida, and then back home here in KY. I'm not scared of dying - I know where I'm going when I do - but I'm scared and sad for our families and friends who would be without us (and I'm an only child, and I've been told numerous times by my mom and grandmother that if anything happened to me, they have no reason to live and I certainly don't want that....

I always write letters before I leave, and leave them with my best friend, should anything happen, I have left a piece of me here with them to know how much I love my family and my friends. This doesn't ease the pain or the distress, but at least it gives me peace of mind that I've done all I could to make things easier on those I love.


We would drive, but it becomes prohibitive for us to do so, as it's 15 hours, and my DH has to go immediately back to work when we return, which would cut into our trip by 2 days, and not feeling like we have enough time to do all that we want to. Also, both of our cars need work, so that's also prohibitive at the moment. We did the drive to Florida 3 years back for DH to ask my dad for his permission to marry me, and it took a week for us to catch up on sleep and get back to a normal sleep pattern - not what I want for us to have to deal with again

I guess what I'm getting at...any suggestions for the nervous flyer? I know there are several people on the boards that work for the airline industry, and I'd LOVE to hear suggestions and ideas that may make our flights this time around easier. I've gotten anxiety medication from my physician, specifically for flying - but he doesn't want me on it full time, because I'm not normally an anxious person. However, flying does something to me I can even begin to explain - I'm already in tears sitting here writing this, just thinking about something happening and what it would do to my family

Thanks

 

[Alesia]

Honestly, you need to see a therapist. This isn't an issue that people on an internet message board can help you with. What you have isn't just a case of the jitters; it sounds like a pretty deep-seated psychological issue. It's not particularly uncommon, and a good therapist really can help.

 

[DebbieB]

I'm a nervous flyer It worries me that we'll be in a crash/terrorist attack and won't get back home to our families. While my head tells me everything will be ok, my heart hurts until we're safely on the ground in Florida, and then back home here in KY. I'm not scared of dying - I know where I'm going when I do - but I'm scared and sad for our families and friends who would be without us (and I'm an only child, and I've been told numerous times by my mom and grandmother that if anything happened to me, they have no reason to live and I certainly don't want that....

I always write letters before I leave, and leave them with my best friend, should anything happen, I have left a piece of me here with them to know how much I love my family and my friends. This doesn't ease the pain or the distress, but at least it gives me peace of mind that I've done all I could to make things easier on those I love.


We would drive, but it becomes prohibitive for us to do so, as it's 15 hours, and my DH has to go immediately back to work when we return, which would cut into our trip by 2 days, and not feeling like we have enough time to do all that we want to. Also, both of our cars need work, so that's also prohibitive at the moment. We did the drive to Florida 3 years back for DH to ask my dad for his permission to marry me, and it took a week for us to catch up on sleep and get back to a normal sleep pattern - not what I want for us to have to deal with again

I guess what I'm getting at...any suggestions for the nervous flyer? I know there are several people on the boards that work for the airline industry, and I'd LOVE to hear suggestions and ideas that may make our flights this time around easier. I've gotten anxiety medication from my physician, specifically for flying - but he doesn't want me on it full time, because I'm not normally an anxious person. However, flying does something to me I can even begin to explain - I'm already in tears sitting here writing this, just thinking about something happening and what it would do to my family

Thanks

Do you leave letters before you go out in the car everyday? Much more likely to be in a crash and die there.

I recently heard that the odds of being in a plane accident everytime you board is 1 in 3 million. And the odds that you will survive if there is an accident is 95%.

 

[mouseaddictoldschool]

Nervous flyer here, too. I get a pit in the stomach if I think about it too hard. We leave in 10 days. I'll wake up the morning of the flight and have no appetite until we're on the ground in Orlando. I'll wake at 6-7am, drive from Rochester up to MSP, park, then wait 1.5-2 hours before boarding, then the flight. I'll not eat from supper Thursday night until about 3ish in Orlando. Then, 8 days later, the flight home will be fine with no issues for me...strange.

Fortunately, DW has scheduled non-stop flights, and we take 3 hours from MN.

Also....do you have kids? Watching the kids not care one bit about the bumps helped calmed me down.

A good friend flies all the time and he always says "if you made it to the airport in your car, you're done worrying about your safety!"

I don't know if therapy is necessary, but I do know that you've done it before! Correct??

And here you are!! Posting away on the DIS!

Hang in there....don't drink too much coffee that day or too much alcohol the night before(experience talking) and have your WDW guidebook in your hand on the plane.

Good luck.

 

[goofy4tink]

Please, don't take this the wrong way..but you seem to have gone a bit further than just being a nervous flier. Many are nervous fliers, but it's pretty much fear of falling out of the sky, not leaving their grieving families behind. Now, don't misunderstand.....there is nothing wrong with feeling that way....I would hate for something to happen to me and have my 17 y/o dd go through the rest of her life motherless..it is an awful thought. But that doesn't make me all nudgy getting on the plane.

I'm not at all sure that all the flying stressfree tips in the world are going to alleviate your type of stress. Telling you to watch the FA's or to educate yourself to what is happening at any given time on the plane isn't going to make you feel better about leaving your family behind and never returning.

As someone already mentioned, do you feel this way when you drive to WDW?? You should. It's much safer in the sky than on the nation's highways.

 

[LyssaLovesStitch]

I've done therapy before, and while I'm not opposed to it, it's not covered on my current insurance.

I typically do fine once we've landed and we're in Disney.

I will say that I've never actually missed a vacation or NOT gone somewhere (at least since I started flying when I was 26). I may freak out, but I always go. I think it was somewhat easier when I was flying alone, I navigated the airports by myself, my flights, all of it (may not seem like much, but for me at the time, it was). Now I'm much more nervous and addled by it.

I've done the fear of flying courses, and they help - temporarily. I also know that I'm not the only one that has these types of fears about flying. There are people that have fears of flying worse than mine, and a lot of mine stem from an overbearing family (to some extent).

I do appreciate the suggestions however. Thanks