Scared of flying, please help

[KrazeeK120]

I'm going to Disney on Thursday!!

However, I am scared of flying. I have flown before 4 times - 3 times to Florida and once to Europe. I don't know why I am scared. I think it's just because it seems illogical to me that a big hunk of metal can stay up in the sky. DH has a degree in physics and has explained it to me multiple times, but I cannot rationalize it.

Anyway, it's not so severe that it's debilitating or anything like that. I really just get nervous on takeoff. I do OK once we're in the air and on landing.

I had been worried about the weather...where I live, we get snow and ice in the winter. However, fortunately, the weather forecast is about as good as I can expect this time of year...cold but clear on both our departure and return dates. So this puts my mind at ease a little bit.

Does anyone else have experiences being or accompanying a nervous flyer? Do you have any tips on anything I can do so remain more calm?

 

[jupers]

I am a horrible flyer! I agree with you it is completely unnatural. Honestly I usually medicate to fly it definitely helps! however our next trip this summer we are driving!

 

[MEK]

Well, you are probably not going to like my idea but fear of flying is a very basic anxiety and the best way to deal with anxiety is to face it head on. Don't try to find ways to rationalize your fear because you just give it more power. Instead, keep telling yourself that Thursday is the day you are going to be in a plane crash. You are going to get on that plane and go down. So bring it on! Once you face your anxiety head on, your fear starts to subside. Make a joke out of it and laugh at your fear. I know this sounds cruel, but it actually really works. I've had some personal experience with anxiety, so I use this all the time.

If all else fails, take some Xanax!

 

[DeadHead]

I'm a nervous flyer, and really don't like the whole air travel thing so i usually have my family doctor precribe low dosage valium (5 mg), this helps a whole lot.

 

[Greysword]

Instead, keep telling yourself that Thursday is the day you are going to be in a plane crash. You are going to get on that plane and go down. So bring it on!

This is awesome!!!!!

 

[goofy4tink]

Air travel is not my favorite mode of transportation...never has been. But, I now fly to WDW at least once a year, and most times, twice a year. And my step-mom is in Florida, as is my son. So, it's the most reasonable way to get there!!!

Here's the thing to keep in mind. There are an incredible number of planes up in the air at all times. No, I don't say that to scare you. Sure, you may see another plane up there with you, but it is seldom anywhere close to you. I say it because it's basically mind boggling that there aren't many incidents with that many planes flying!!! The number of personnel that are in each plane is pretty substantial. They wouldn't be doing that job if it was all that dangerous. Those pilots, officers, flight attendants feel it's a very safe job.
So, relax. I can't get my mind around the reasoning behind such a huge thing being airborne, but it seems to work. I can't figure out how those huge ships stay afloat either....just don't know why they just don't flop over!!! But, they don't...at least not very often.

So, it's okay to be nervous. Try some nice deep breathing.Try to actively relax your muscles. Did you ever take a Lamaze class??? Those exercises are terrific for nerves when flying. Gives you something else to focus on. That's one of the reasons a lot of people bring magazines with them. It's easier to focus on a magazine vs a book...at least when your nervous upon take-off.

 

[lylone]

I am like you... don't like take off in an airplane. I take xanax and sit near the front. That way I don't see the people in front of me higher.
If you do medicate, try it before you fly. Different people have different reactions to medication.

 

[pigletto]

I'm a nervous flyer. This is compounded by the fact that I am claustrophobic. So the combination of being up in the air and packed in with no way good way for me to leave is difficult at best. It hasn't always been this way but got bad a few years ago. I finally had to call the doctor when it was causing panic attacks. That would be awful up in the air surrounded by strangers. And I flatly refuse to quit flying as I know it's an irrational fear, so I push through.

She prescribes me a low dose that I take about a half hour prior. I usually need one more while I am in the air. I am still nervous but it's nowhere near as bad.
Because it's a mild dose I am a little sleepy but not out of it and can still enjoy the rest of the day. It's the only thing I need it for and it makes a huge difference.

 

[grimley1968]

I can't get my mind around the reasoning behind such a huge thing being airborne, but it seems to work. I can't figure out how those huge ships stay afloat either....just don't know why they just don't flop over!!! But, they don't...at least not very often.

Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world. - Archimedes

Give me a wing long enough and I can get the Spruce Goose to fly - me, paraphrasing Howard Hughes

As a pilot, I can say that no matter how heavy a plane is, the generation of lift by a big enough wing, and enough air going over it, guarantees flight.

Private aviation, like what I do, isn't the safest mode of transportation because there are unfortunately some people who shouldn't be pilots still able to get their private licenses (it can take less than a hundred combined solo and instructed hours to get one - and there are some real idiots who manage to do it). Commercial aviation, however, is the safest form of transportation out there. Those pilots have THOUSANDS of hours, mostly in those big behemoth planes. I trust them more than I do most drivers on roads.

 

[DVC Daisy]

If all else fails, take some Xanax!

This! A lot of the time, you don't even need to go see your Dr., just a phone call will do. I do recommend name brand though, I don't care for the generic, it just does not seem to work.

 

[themrsp]

I am the same way and literally did have a panic attack from Minneapolis to Charlotte last summer. Like I made small children cry....

We are flying to Orlando in May and I am terrified, but I plan on getting some medication. Luckily our flight is only an hour and thirty-two minutes!

 

[runsandjumps]

My mom always has a bloody Mary as soon as she can. Baring that perhaps something like atavan? Good luck. I am not afraid to fly but I can't say I enjoy it, especially take off.

 

[goofy4tink]

Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world. - Archimedes

Give me a wing long enough and I can get the Spruce Goose to fly - me, paraphrasing Howard Hughes

As a pilot, I can say that no matter how heavy a plane is, the generation of lift by a big enough wing, and enough air going over it, guarantees flight.

Private aviation, like what I do, isn't the safest mode of transportation because there are unfortunately some people who shouldn't be pilots still able to get their private licenses (it can take less than a hundred combined solo and instructed hours to get one - and there are some real idiots who manage to do it). Commercial aviation, however, is the safest form of transportation out there. Those pilots have THOUSANDS of hours, mostly in those big behemoth planes. I trust them more than I do most drivers on roads.

I hear ya. I know that planes are built to be 'in the air' and that it's really hard for a plane to just fall out of the sky. They 'want' to be up there. It's just hard to wrap your head around sometimes!!!
My dad was one of those private pilots, but took it very seriously. I remember being at Newark Intl and having my regular flight be cancelled, back to Providence. After a 4 hr wait for a new plane to be brought in, they had us walk down into the bowels of the airport...kinda scary. Then, they put us on a shuttle bus. My then 10 y/o dd wanted to know if we were being bused back to RI!!! No, they put us on a very small prop plane.....with it's wings over the top of the plane!! Dear God...I felt like I was in the 'way back machine'. No frills on that plane. We bumped and ground our way back to Providence. When I told my father about the flight, he told me that I had been on one of the safest planes around!!! But they don't use them often because they tend to make people nervous!!!

Human nature being what it is, people just get nervous about getting into that metal tube and flying around thousands of feet in the air. I understand why they are nervous. But, we have to remember that planes are designed to fly!!!

 

[mhnewcomb]

I see the Xanax bet, and raise you one adult beverage of your choice once the drink service starts!

I have been terrified of flying since 9/11, and was so paralyzed with that fear that our tour group drove from Nashville the first time we went. Fun drive, but TOO LONG!

Went to the doc before our second trip. He said he usually just had a couple of scotch and waters; I replied that I didn't want to be stone drunk when we got to Disney World! He gave me .25 Xanax; I take one after security and another when the calming effect wears off in flight. It's silly for a darned 1.5 hour flight, I know, but it is what it is for me...the anticipation at the airport is worse than the flight!

(On that first landing at Orlando, we were in the very back row. And the drink fridge door had not been properly latched. And all those cans came rolling down the aisle, banging against the metal seat legs underneath us. And it sounded like the End of Days to me. The **** end of that plane was coming OFF, with us in it, I was sure. But the Xanax made me not care so much. )

Good luck!

 

[wiigirl]

If all else fails, take some Xanax!

Works every time!

 

[OKW Lover]

... but flying is safer than driving. By deciding to fly you've made the safe decision.

Hope that doesn't put you off driving.

 

[pumba]

I too am afraid of flying...
But its the only way to go to Disney or anywhere else...we have been to Disney maybe 30 plus times and I do it...I get in that plane and go..
I do get a seat where I can look down the middle of the aisle..I people watch...or I read something I am interested in..
I get to our destination and I am fine until the day we have to pack up again...then I stress some more...but I do it..

I dont like to take meds because even some cough syrup puts me to sleep...so I will just deal with air ..
Just got our air last night for our May trip to the House of the Mouse...I am excited now..

 

[mad madam mim78]

Here's a great website. A lot of great statistics. Flying is so stinking safe. I get nervous too but facts are facts.

http://mobile.dudamobile.com/site/anxieties?url=http://anxieties.com/flying-howsafe.php#2519

 

[Minnie&Nana]

I too am afraid of flying...
But its the only way to go to Disney or anywhere else...we have been to Disney maybe 30 plus times and I do it...I get in that plane and go..
I do get a seat where I can look down the middle of the aisle..I people watch...or I read something I am interested in..
I get to our destination and I am fine until the day we have to pack up again...then I stress some more...but I do it..

I dont like to take meds because even some cough syrup puts me to sleep...so I will just deal with air ..
Just got our air last night for our May trip to the House of the Mouse...I am excited now..

May is such a beautiful time to visit - will you be there for F&G? Like you, over 30 yrs of visits, many years an AP holder. Miss those days

I am from Boston and did not like those long flights. We lived close to Logan (Cambridge is 10 to 15 mins without traffic). Here in NC it is less than a 90 min flight, but over an hour to the airport- I hate that drive because it is nerve wracking to think about the flight. I have to sit way up front, row 2 - 5, aisle seat. If I cannot get a seat up front I'll take a different flight.

Once in the air, I'm okay - really hated the take off and landing directly over the ocean at Logan!

I agree with goofy4tink - it just doesn't seem right that that big piece of metal can be up in the sky and safely get us to our destination. Strange as it may seem, I prefer the smaller planes, even the old prop ones - it feels safe and they don't go as high so I can always see the ground - though I'd be terrified over water. The LaMaze breathing really does help!

If you don't mind being sleepy, Benadryl also helps - many tranquilizers have an antihistamine in it, so the Benadryl has a similar effect. I use it when going to Europe. Good luck and hope everything works out okay.

 

[pigletto]

Oh and me who answered earlier that I have to be medicated. Here is some irony for you. My father has been in aerospace his whole life, and owns a company that builds those darn planes

I think for me it is two things.. the claustrophobia once the door shuts, and the very basic instinct that if I am in the air, I must be about to fall. So I literally sit there with that feeling you get in your stomach when you are about to go down the drop of a rollercoaster for the entire flight. I used to manage it, but like I said, one panic attack and I was toast. They are a horrible, unpleasant, feeling literally like you are going to die or lose your sanity experience. I DO NOT want that to happen on a plane where all the staff and close passengers would see me literally hyperventilating and crying. Never mind that I have children who need a calm and relaxed Mom to set an example.
So lorazipam it is. I retain my faculties, but I am much calmer.
It is a sedative so the next day I do have the blues a little bit but by that time I am in Disney and there is plenty to cheer me up.
I know it sounds crazy but for those that have had a panic attack they will know exactly how bad they are.
So if it ever gets to that point I do recommend talking to your doctor. It doesn't have to be a miserable experience.