Terrible fear of flying

LegacyUser

help...i am getting more and more terrified about flying lately. im going on holiday(2 hour flight) with my girlfriend soon and am so scared of flying, i try and rationalise it in my head but it just doesnt work. i hate being up in the sky knowing that if anything goes wrong thats it.

has anyone got over this fear or has anyone any advice on it to make it easier?

Zaph

You might also find the Phobias forum useful. I won't move this thread over there unless you ask me to as I don't think there's unregistered posting on that forum.

Kevo

Go to your GP. My GP prescribed me a few Xanax which relaxed me quite a bit. It is a mild sedative and it will def take your mind off it.

Miaireland

I would say go to your GP as well, they can give you some mild tablets.
Whatever you do don't have a few drinks for your nerves before the flight. It makes things worse.

karlog

Well if it makes you feel any better. Your more likely to die in a car crash on the way to the airport than in a plane crash.

Qprmeath

http://web.me.com/flyfearless/Flyfearless/Welcome.html
This might be some help

SarahSassy

There was a similar thread to this a few weeks ago which you may find useful. Aer Lingus and a number of other companies do courses to help with your fear.

Tipsygypsy

Hi, Im absolutely terrified of flying aswell. Cant even get on a plane without a valium. I have to fly in 2 weeks time too and Im already having nightmares and panicking about it, all of the recent accidents havent done anything to help my case either.... I just try to get on with it, take the valium, and try to stay calm, its good to have something to distract you, a really good book or dvd, or even some difficult work, anything that can keep your mind off of it... Sorry I have no good advice for you really, I read the Alan Carr book and it made me worse... hope you find something to make it easier.

zxcvbnm1

well if it's any good there are tens of thousands of flights every day that never crash - so the stats are well in your favour.

I went through a slight phase fo that fora while - and i drank a good bit before i got on which helped.

Maybe a vlium or something might be better though.

Flyfearless

Qprmeath wrote: »

http://web.me.com/flyfearless/Flyfearless/Welcome.html
This might be some help

Thanks for the mention .. we are launching a new DVD soon on some of the topics and have a course in September in Dublin and Cork. Reading the posts I think we might have to include a session on medication!

Any ideas welcome..

Michael


Flyfearless.com

LegacyUser

fear of flying wrote: »

help...i am getting more and more terrified about flying lately. im going on holiday(2 hour flight) with my girlfriend soon and am so scared of flying, i try and rationalise it in my head but it just doesnt work. i hate being up in the sky knowing that if anything goes wrong thats it.

has anyone got over this fear or has anyone any advice on it to make it easier?

Hiya,

The one sentence that stuck out for me was "i hate being up in the sky knowing that if anything goes wrong thats it. "

I understand your fears of flying but I think that if something goes wrong that is NOT the end , as a pilot myself there are two quick pieces of advice I have

1) Know that all planes are gliders , and will glide perfectly to the ground without probs, we train to loose engines, hydraulics , bit's of wings , all electrics gone , cabin presure loss etc , even landings without using the control stick is no problem (use rudder and trim and power)

and to be honest it would have to be a LOT of these factors (including extreme weather) to bring down a plane with fatalities. so realise that if all the lights go out and the engine switches off, I doubt the Capt would break much of a sweat , planes will glide for 6 to 10 miles for every 1 mile up they are.

2) As hard and difficult as this may seem , take an Intro flight lesson with a local school.I have always believed landings are far scaryier (sp) for passengers as looking out a side window watching the ground get closer is very disconcerting for most people, whereas up front in the (cock)pit it feels and looks more like a gentle drive down a shallow slope, as we can see the runway far off in the distance and can almost picture the little road down to earth , we can also see each minute tick by as we draw closer to a runway and it seems a lot less intimidating from up front of the plane.

I say this because as I kid I had a fear of landings , loved take off my mom would say. and the best way to really get around this fear is to understand what is going on at every stage of the flight.

oh and I nearly forgot, I know the undercarriage makes a lot of weird noises when it's being lowered for approach , and also the flaps being deployed have very loud gears. None of these noises does anything good for a nervous flyer, so it's better that the passenger understands that these noises are part of everything running smoothly.

So if you know what to expect in a take off , cruise or approach ( i imagine this is what the aer-lingus course offers) then you feel slightly more reassured during the flight .

Hope this helps , let me know if you have any questions

jen_23

OP I completely understand where you are coming from.

Over the past 3-4 years I've been developing a fear of flying and now I'm terrified. I'm flying in less than two weeks and I'm beginning to be a nervous wreck about it.

I have 7 flights in total between the time I go and come back.
One of those flights is 11 hours and 2 others are 6 hours.

I agree with what many have already said about the sedatives. I'm such a wreck this year at the thought of flying I got some Xanex. My only fear is that they won't have any effect on me though in the case that happens the doctor just said to take another one and I shoud fall asleep!!

I think it's the turbulence that gets me the most. And everytime I see the seatbelt sign come on I start to panick and bad thoughts start going in my head. Hopefully I'll just sleep them all this year though.

I have a feeling this will be my last long haul holiday anywhere!

LegacyUser

I know I am late replying to this because you have probably taking your flight at this stage but there is a course that you can do in dublin airport. My wife and father were both terified of flying and this course helped both of them. British airways carry out the course up at Dublin airport twice a year and the next on is in Novemeber. Now the only problem is that it costs 340 euro which is alot I know but my wife reckons it was well worth the money. It includes a 45 min flight where they have a number of experts from the aviation industry on board explaining all the details from take of to landing and in between. All I can tell you is that my wife flys quite easily now and even though the fear is not completely gone she certainly does not spend weeks dreading it.

http://www.aviatours.co.uk/venues/view/15

Above is the wesite for booking the course and the best of luck with it because I understand from my OH's experience what a nightmare this fear is.

LegacyUser

I did the aviatours fear of flying course earlier this year. I was so nervous I couldn't actually go into the room in the hotel at the start. I had to be talked in. I was crying and had palpitations.

But I decided to stay for the theory bit and then I decided to go to the airport, and then I decided to get on the plane for a look (I'm a nosey git!!) and then the person who was supposed to be sitting with me got off because she was so scared.

But I decided, to heck with this. They can bring the plane down if I get a heart attack and the girl ahead of me had a spare valium.

Would you believe I loved it. For the first time in my life I actually looked out the window and realised what a beautiful world we live in.

I've flown to and from Europe since then and am due to fly to England next month. I really enjoyed the flight out but was a bit nervous coming back but I was still fine.

I didn't just do the course on its own, I also downloaded a FOF course from the net and got a hypnosis relaxation FOF CD that I listened to regularly.

Good luck.

davmol

I used to love flying years ago.Id get on a plane and loved the whole experience from teh engines roaring at take off to the view as we ascended and descended.
It helps to know what the sounds are during a flight which i knew as i have an interest in flying and actually wanted to be a pilot til i found out i was colour blind:mad:

I was doing a round the world trip a few years back and we had a nightmare flight from BAli to oz and after that ive been nervous getting on planes,well thats an understatement i actually hate flying .
I always head into the bar for a couple of quick ones before the flight which normally takes the edge off and have a couple on the flight which means the flights arent so bad anymore.I also did a learner flight in a single prop which i think is giving me confidende i flying again.

I think the bad experience created the fear but i also think that doing something about it can help as evident above

LegacyUser

It may be a more cruder way of looking at it but if you look at the statistics it should sure up your fear even slightly.There really is nothing to worry about - the behaviour of the media would lead you to believe that your taking your life into your hands when you fly.

I love flying, the bumpier it is the better, i love everything about it, I never get worried, but I have a real interest in aviation in general although I am in know way connected with it. I know a great deal about all aspects of flying from the functionality of the aircraft, to air traffic control to pilot training, navigation etc, just from self teaching

I even love watching those air crash investigation programmes.
If I didnt know anything about aviation I would probably be slightly sceptical about flying although I would probably still enjoy it.

Try and inform yourself - pilots are some of the most highly and precisely trained professionals in the world. The aircraft they fly are ultra sophisticated and are largly controlled by computers, which even if they fail have backups, which have further backups etc etc

I am honestly more afraid of driving on our roads where any idiot can get a license !!!!

am_sunny

My doctor gave me Xanax for a flight (4hrs) last year and cant say I found them helpful

Anyone know of anything else i could try as i'm going to australia in a few months.