Flying And Petrified

jammie

hey,

Am going to new york in a few weeks, only problem is I'm absolutely PETRIFIED, I'd say I'm as bad as you can get, the last time I flew there was a priest on board, I was so bad (apparently, I can't remember) that he started saying the rosary and people joined in!!!!! That was a few years ago and while I'm dying to get to New York I'm bricking it, I took sedatives last time and they didnt work, any ideas????????

Endurance Man

Bottle of sleepin pills?

Ruu_Old

There is plenty to keep you busy on the plane normally, especially a long haul flight. I, and others posted a few tips on this thread.

Drift

I'm not sure if you would be able to organise this before you go to NY but I saw a program on tv once where they took a guy who was afraid of flying up in a small plane (2 seater) and he said that it made a big difference to the way he viewed flying because he was able to sit beside the person who was in control of the plane. So he was then able to view planes like a car with someone driving as opposed to a big "faceless" lump of metal flying through the sky. I'm not sure if this would work for everyone though.

When I was young the air hostesses used to allow us to go up and see the pilots in the cockpit and they chat with us and show us what various buttons did etc. I'm not sure if this is still allowed but if you felt you wanted to see who was in control they might let you.

I'm not afraid of flying myself so I've no idea if this "See the person in control" thing would work for you ..... I just saw a documentary on it once.

And before anyone says it I know this second-hand type of information is what gives the internet a bad name :rolleyes:

LadyJ

OP,I feel your pain. I've become increasingly more afraid of flying in the last while. Last time I flew the flight was four hours long and I had several panic attacks and vomitted 3 times.

If you are as bad as me then go to the doctor and he/she might give you some xanax.

If you're not that bad then maybe watching a dvd might help.

Blisterman

I'm not afraid of flying, so I don't know if this would work, but you could try staying up all night, the night before, so as soon as you get on the plane, you nod off, for the whole flight.

Steyr

Flying is brilliant, believe me your safer in an Airliner than being in a small 4 seat Cessna 172SP, i was over Lough Corrib,Galway City, one friday afternoon with a buddy a few years ago who was flying and we were at 650ft AGL and got hit on the top by a heavy belt of Turbulence, it happened in an instant and we checked the gauges and found out our "New" Altitude was 480ft AGL:eek:

If it helps, try get a window seat, and look out and admire the view and just imagine all that is going on just to get you over the Atlantic, a powerful Jet Airliner, capable of just under Mach1 pushing you through the air, between 32 and 36,000ft cruising over the Atlantic Ocean, and while your relaxing the Pilots are in the cockpit in contact with controllers at Shanwick as they get clearance over the Atlantic to be passed on to Gander Radio in Canada who in turn will pass the Aircraft over to Controllers in the US, there is an awful lot going on that you dont even realise!Its Organised madness! But your not alone up there mate, keep an eye out for other Airliners as at any one time there are over 10,000 flights over the Atlantic going in either direction.

rediguana

My mum was like you (it didn't help that her birthday falls on September 11th). She had one two-hour session of NLP, now she's cured.

NLP is Neuro Linguistic Programming. Owen Fitzpatrick is a top guy in Dublin but I know he's abroad a lot. Email him at owen@nlp.ie and I'm sure he can recommend someone, if he can't help you himself.

Good luck.

ps. You'd need to fly every day for 25,000 years to be involved in a plane crash (statistically). Even then, the chances are you'd survive it

red_ice

cystic5roses wrote:

I took sedatives last time and they didnt work, any ideas????????

yea... turns out those over the counter things dont really work... DAMN YOU NERVICALM! *shakes fist*

One word - Valium.

That'l sort you out, 2.5mg for the girls and 5mg for the fellas!

littlesurfer

i used to love flying but have been getting more scared of it over the last year or two,....i get the jitters big time now....no idea why. i find that hypnosis cd's work really well. YOu get them in holistic therapy shops and the ralaxation ones basically send you off to sleep. Get one or two and try them out before you go. I find when i wake up really calm and relaxed.....am i was a sceptic!

LegacyUser

Steyr wrote:

If it helps, try get a window seat, and look out and admire the view and just imagine all that is going on just to get you over the Atlantic, a powerful Jet Airliner, capable of just under Mach1 pushing you through the air, between 32 and 36,000ft cruising over the Atlantic Ocean, and while your relaxing the Pilots are in the cockpit in contact with controllers at Shanwick as they get clearance over the Atlantic to be passed on to Gander Radio in Canada who in turn will pass the Aircraft over to Controllers in the US, there is an awful lot going on that you dont even realise!Its Organised madness! But your not alone up there mate, keep an eye out for other Airliners as at any one time there are over 10,000 flights over the Atlantic going in either direction.

And this is supposed to relax the OP lol

Carrigart Exile

My brother sounds like the OP; his solution was to get drunk. Now that airlines won't fly drunks he has had to come up with anotrher strategy which is basically focussing on the time saved. By boat to New York is 4 days, by airplane, 7 hours

Victor

Steyr, try to be helpful.

red_ice wrote:

One word - Valium. That'l sort you out, 2.5mg for the girls and 5mg for the fellas!

Thats for a doctor to decide.

jammie

STEYR "keep an eye out for other Airliners as at any one time there are over 10,000 flights over the Atlantic going in either direction"


thanks so much, feel a whole lot better NOT :eek:

Steyr

Im not trying to put you off im just saying its amazing that what is termed as "organised chaos" is going on and you have no need to be afraid, im trying to show you the positives as to the amount of people on either side if the Atlantic in ATC,Ground support,safety,regulators that do everything to make sure you reach your destination as safely and as quickly as possible. Flying is the safest form of transport, i love it.

red_ice

Victor wrote:

valium - Thats for a doctor to decide.

Of course!

MrPillowTalk

Im a dreadful flyer, I get xanex from my doctor after I had panic attacks, you are still worried but the drug stops you having heart palpatations and the like and relaxes you generally. Stay up all night so you can kip during the flight

faceman

hey op i really sympathise acos i used to be a bad flyer but ive learnt to beat it. Ive had no choice tho as i ly regularly. My bro and dad are bad flyers too and i have 2 friends who are unbelievable. (one of them is afraid of airports - even when he is not flying!!!)

its a common thing and nothing to be ashamed of. ignore the advice given here about drinking or staying awake the night before, as its of no help. (If you are already a bad flyer, trying to sleep on a plane sitting in an already uncomfortable position will make your journey even more unbearable)

First thing you can do is buy this book There are many books out there on fear of flying but this is by an irish author and uses irish examples. You 'll pick it up in easons or in any of the bookshops in the airport. Its only about a tenner. Its split into 2 sections, the first walking through what happens on an airplane, the noises, the pilot's day, the stats etc. The second section is on relaxation techniques which you will find helpful.

You next need to identify what is causing your fear. its considered to be 1 of 3 things, (altho it can be a combination but 1 will dominate)
1. claustrophobia
2. fear of not being in control
3. fear of he unknown

We could quote you stats till the cows come home but at the end of the day it wont help, as fear of flying is an irrational fear.

If your trip is close, have a chat with your GP. He may prescribe valium which may help you relax. BUt do avoid getting drunk or not sleeping before your flight.

I think BA and Air France still run a program for people who have a fear of flying. Give them a call if you have time. Aer lingus stopped doing theres years ago.

As for advise when you are on the plane. Do try breathing and relaxation techniques. Go for regular walks up and down the cabin. (i still do this even on short haul flights) Keep yourself occupied if it helps, chat to whoever is with you. Im sure the NYC flight will have movies etc.

Best of luck, let us know how your flight goes.

Rb

MrPillowTalk wrote:

Stay up all night so you can kip during the flight

This is a good idea, I know a friend of mine who absolutely despises flying does this most of the time and it works well, though he also gets sleeping pills and usually has a drink or two before the flight in the airport bar.

LadyJ

I dunno about the staying up all night thing. It depends how terrified you are. Personally,I find it makes things worse because I'm so afraid of flying that I couldn't sleep on a plane even if I'd stayed awake for a week beforehand!

If you are that afraid then it makes things worse because not only are you scared, ill and panic attacky, you're exhausted too. It's horrendous! But,like I say,it just depends on the extent of your fear.

Steyr

You will be grand just sit back, relax, look out and enjoy the view!