Plane Terror

LadyJ

Ok,this may seem a bit unworthy of PI but it's really quite a problem for me.
I'm going on holiday tomorrow and I have to get on a plane but I'm utterly terrified of them. This fear has only developed in the last 8 years or so and the last time I was on a plane it wasn't half this bad.

I know that my fear of flying is just a tangent of my fear of death but knowing that is hardly any help to me.

I don't really know what kind of advice I'm looking for here,as I know that nothing anyone could say will help me but it's just good to be able to write down how I'm feeling I suppose.

I really don't know if I'm going to be able to get on the plane tomorrow,I'm just so scared and it's ruining what should be excitement.

Victor

Talk to your doctor and see if you can get something to calm you down.

Realise that on a mileage basis that flying is very safe. driving everyday is more likely to kill you.

http://www.snopes.com/science/stats/donkey.htm

http://www.planecrashinfo.com/index.html"Accidents are extremely rare, with the probability of a passenger being killed on a single flight at approximately eight million-to-one. If a passenger boarded a flight at random, once a day, everyday, it would be approximately 22,000 years before he or she would be killed."

Ickle Magoo

If you leave tomorrow then chances are you won't have time for hypno-therapy.....can you buy a book en route to the airport about controlling fear with breathing techniques? I have a friend that hates flying & they stay up all night before their flight & then sleep the whole way.....that sounds quite a good way of avoiding most of the worry.....

Hope you have a good flight & enjoy your hols....best of luck

CathyMoran

My mum used to be terrified of flying, she got her doctor to prescribe a sedative for the flight and sometimes told the airline in advance that she was scared of flying, she had the air conditioning on full for all of the flight.

Last year I got a bit nervous of flying (for a short while) so what I did was meditate for the take off and squeeze the hand of the person beside me, that was all that I needed and I have flown several times since. Have been flying since I was 4 and for the most part I have great memories of falling asleep beside my dad for the first few years, I still always think about him when I am flying. Best of luck with your flight tomorrow.

kensutz

Don't worry about it, I do it every week. If my mother can do it, anyone can do it.

cashback

I'm flying to Australia next Tuesday and I'm a little nervous too. Twenty or so hours on a plane wouldn't be my favourite situation. Hopefully the one hour flight to Manchester will help ease me into the rest of the journey. Six years since I've been on a plane.

I think as children we don't get too scared of stuff like flying as we're slightly oblivious to what it involves. When you look at the proportion of times, a simple flight on TV or in film descends into terror, it's no wonder a fear develops over the years. Just last Thursday Final Destination was on. I knew I shouldn't have watched it! Then there's Lost, Alive and any number of bad TV movies.

Just think that every few seconds, every day, there's planes taking off all over the world and how often do you hear of something going wrong?
That's the way I like to think.
Enjoy your holiday!

the_syco

If you're going with a friend, do a Mr T job. Sleeping tablets, and goto sleep before you take off

That, or get a portable dvd player, and watch a dvd on your flight, to take your mind off it.

Supercell

Focus on the now, and divert your attention with other matters, clasp hand of person sitting beside you

Last time I looked at the needle in the dentist I fainted (many years ago), so now I look away, it feels the exact same of course, but my attention is slightly diverted and i can't see my worst nightmare - don't get a window seat, and if your partner/friend etc has one and is beside you ask if they would close the window blinds, now think of it as a bus or train, good luck

Canis Lupus

Just get on the plane. Once the doors shut you CAN'T GET OUT and regardless of being scared or not at least you get to go on your holiday....

dbnavan

I have flown all over the world well....Europe, africa, and The US, 3/5 of it I delvoped nervousness in last few journeys which I never had before, but then I read statisicly you have far more chance of being knocked down crossing a road then you do being in a plane crash.

Secondly, it is a PI i dont see why you should post here.

Thirdly Have a stiff drink before the flight, and one for me too

godtabh

I dont like flying but I still can do it. Best bet is to get something to distract you. iPod or psp or something like that. Works for me.

LadyJ

Thanks everyone. I'm heading off now so I'll let you know how it went if I get back!

Victor

How did it go?

drdre

yeah lady j , how did you get on, hope you were alright.and how was the holiday

0utshined

Victor wrote:

How did it go?

Not too well it would appear :

Chucky the tree

maybe she crashed.

Pigman II

Maybe she's got a life?

the_syco

LadyJ wrote:

Thanks everyone. I'm heading off now so I'll let you know how it went if I get back!

So, did ye do a Marge Simpson job, not go, or diid ye go?

If ye went, tell all the plane-phobia people how ye got on, so they may use your advice.

Faith

She didn't say she was only going for a week, did she? She might still be there.

Exon

Get drunk before ya get on the plane, I'm hugely afraid of heights, i'm like a little baby at the edge of a cliff but when I drink whiskey i'd climb up it!

Faith

Dude, she left over a week ago :rolleyes:

LadyJ

I left last Wednesday actually and I'm back now. Thanks for the concern!

Flight wasn't so bad. I was fairly nervous but I found that,just by looking at the air hostesses,I calmed down a little bit. They all looked so at ease that I started to feel safer. Still glad it's all over though!

Thanks for all the advice.

Sifo

Phew!! i thought you were a goner

el tel

Glad you are back safe & sound so now I can tell you a couple of stories... I previously worked as an aero-engineer with a big European national carrier. About six months into the job when passing over the Isle of Man on the way to Belfast I saw a skipper ask the co-pilot to hop out of his seat so he could let one of the cabin crew land the plane. On another occassion I had to make way for a trainee pilot straight of flying school so he could come to the cockpit and take the co-pilot's seat and 'get the feel' of the controls. Apart from that I've been on numerous trips where binge drinking on stop-overs was rife and sometimes pilots were forced to nurse home hungover crew while desperately hoping there'd be no emergencies. Since then I've got a pilot's licence myself but have become quite a concerned passenger having seen these type of escapades myself.

tH3_UnS0cial_1

take a few roach..

tH3_UnS0cial_1

take a few roach..

ferdi

i can see LadyJ at the airport wearing massive gold chains

"I aint gettin' on no plane, sucka!"

the Guru

I know how you feel I take long haul flights very often and they scare the **** out of me, I just take Nyquil and a glass of wine and sleep for the intire flight , maybe if you are flying shorter distances you could me use prozac or somthing along those lines

Victor

el tel wrote:

Since then I've got a pilot's licence myself but have become quite a concerned passenger having seen these type of escapades myself.

The vast majority of accidents are in general aviation (small aircraft, charters, cargo, etc.) not scheduled flights.

**Timbuk2**

Well, I know the problem is solved but I will give my advice anyway
As a commerical air pilot in training you learn tips on how to advise passengers who are afraid of flying

• Take a drink before the flight (not too much though)
• Don't sit beside the window, yet don't sit beside the aisle. People feel much safer when sitting in the middle, as you are in between two other people
• Close the window blind if possible
• Most people are afraid of take-off. My advice: just don't think about it, do anything but think of how high you are, medditate (as mentioned before), read the newspaper, sing a song, etc. Also, just to reassure people, there is a very small chance that anything will go wrong at take-off. Its just the feeling of take-off can make people a bit nervous.

Also alot of people seem to look around nervously before the flight starts on the plane, and then see things and panic, because they think that shouldn't be like that.

E.g. sometimes there will be a steam coming into the cabin. This is in fact air circulation and not a sign that the plane is going to blow up . Also people tend to get frightened on a windy day and they see that the wings are bending :eek: But don't be worried , this is the way wings are designed. In testing, the wings can bend 45 degrees.

So try not to be afraid, as the flying is the safest type of transport in the world.

bohsboy

I used to have an unreal fear until I heard the statistic that you have more chance of being killed in your car on the way to the airport. :rolleyes:

Crash

I get looked at funny by airhostesses cus i think i'm the only person who buys a can of beer from them at 7:25 in the morning

LadyJ

crash_000 wrote:

I get looked at funny by airhostesses cus i think i'm the only person who buys a can of beer from them at 7:25 in the morning

Maybe so but I bought a few vodkas!

Anyway,I really appreciate all the support from people on this thread. Expect another panic attack thread from me sometime in July!

Blisterman

Not so sure that sleeping's the best idea. Whenever I fall asleep on a plane, I wake up, looking out the window, and get really startled looking down thousands of feet, before I remember I'm on a plane.

Victor

Blisterman wrote:

Not so sure that sleeping's the best idea. Whenever I fall asleep on a plane, I wake up, looking out the window, and get really startled looking down thousands of feet, before I remember I'm on a plane.

Or, while wearing ear plugs and waking up, "What the fook is that noise?" (it was a good noise, the roar of engines).

junkyard

Hypnosis is worth a shot if your really afraid of flying, I know two people who tried it and it worked for them.