Fear of Flying

Corpus Twisty · 27-12-2015 11:25PM

RoboKlopp wrote: »

What's the stats on large planes having survivors?

I'd imagine most jumbo planes wipe out everyone

I've visions of the people on MH370, the russian one the boyos blew up, that other malaysian one that went missing..the ones ploughed into the world trade center, etc etc..sitting there as they started to turn fiery going "Jasus Mavis, the lying B******s said this craic was the safest way to travvel.."

Must just have been their lucky day to be on the ones that didn't follow the general trend..

Poochie05 · 28-12-2015 12:07AM

Hi OP
http://www.flyfearless.ie
I did this course and found it really good.
Also check out the Phobias forum here on Boards.

The main thing to remember about a fear of flying or other phobias is that sufferers already know it is not rational so people on here trying to rationalise it will not really help. The course provides lots of information to help you understand more about flying but also provides techniques to stop the anxiety taking hold. the guy who runs the course is very helpful and he recommends having a short flight booked to take a few days after the course.

Grandeeod · 28-12-2015 12:30AM

Its been said before and will be said again, but...

Nobody has a fear of flying, they have a fear of crashing.

To be a little safer and depending where you are flying to, sit at the back of the plane, because they tend not to reverse into mountains.

In general...you're grand. Safe as houses. (that aren't under crashing planes.)

faceman · 28-12-2015 12:45AM

I fly regularly OP, mostly long haul and I can identify with you. I dislike flying, and dislike ranges from crippling fear to almost crippling fear.

It used to be a lot worse but fortunately it never got to a point where I wouldn't get on a plane. I always had the end goal in mind.

I don't dread flying as much anymore and a number of things help. First off I'll share what doesn't help.

* Drink or drugs as a remedy. Doesn't deal with the problem and can make things work.

* Reading flight stats on how safe if it is makes little difference to how you the fear.

* Listening to the safety demo. I gave up. It only gives an association with danger.

Things that helped me:

* Allen Carr's book "The Easy Way To Enjoy Flying". (Another poster mentions it earlier too) Bu far the best book on controlling your phobia. Can't recommend it enough.

* BA's course, Flying Withour Fear. You can do it at a number of UK airports. It's very highly rated. They also have an excellent book of the same name.

* Try find a pilot you can chat to. You'd be amazed at how much it can put you at ease knowing that the pilots are not dare devil adventures and are in fact a routine journey.

* Chat to the crew when you're on a plane. Most crew and sympathic to people with phobias and some airlines train their crew to deal with it.

Feel free to drop me a message if I can be of help.

Mr. CooL ICE · 28-12-2015 01:35AM

No fear here. I think takeoff and landing is pretty awesome. Just everything in between is boring as hell.

I remember a flight back from London was delayed at the gate. We were all boarded but the plane wasn't moving for ages. Eventually the pilot spoke over the intercom

Good evening ladies and gentlemen.

My name is xxx and I am your captain today. It was actually supposed to be a different pilot, but he was sick so I'm here instead. I was supposed to be off today, but, well, here I am.

*long, loud sigh*

Aaaanyway, enjoy your flight.

If you have a fear of flying, last thing you would need to hear is the pilot not wanting to be there.

uck51js9zml2yt · 28-12-2015 02:00AM

The 2 best airports I've flown in and out of were Innsbruck which is a mountain at the end of the runway and Kowloon in hong kong . can't beat flying in over the apartment blocks and hoping the pilot stops before he hits the sea at the end if the runway.

BreadnBuddha · 28-12-2015 02:42AM

I take about 100 commercial flights a year on business. Everything from 50 minute city hopper types to 12-16 hour long haul. I love flying. Infrequent travelers have a crap experience: queing for everything, security checks, immigration, paying baggage fees, €5 for a sandwich...

It's a stressful thing, to be taking a flight every now and then. Anything you can do to make it more pleasurable an experience can be a great help. Check in online the day before. Put the boarding pass on your phone. Don't check in your bags; travel light with carry on. Pay for lounge access and priority services and pay for a seat with more legroom. It's €50 extra that will turn a pre-holiday hassle into a much more pleasant experience overall.

Put something interesting on your ipod/phone to listen to, something that enagages you in thought. Take your mind off all the what-if's. NPR's 'Car Talk' regularly has me laughing aloud on a flight.

If you have a cold, get a decongestant and take it when your flight is departing, or before landing. Ask the chemist/doctor for timings. It'll help you deal with the ear ache that you'll likely experience.

With only 1 exception, I've been able to supress the internal discomfort of being in a tube full of strangers, flying at 10-13km above the earth, at speeds of over 700km/h. The only time I had a rough experience was in incredibly heavy turbulence into Gothenberg a couple of weeks ago on an Embraer 190. 'Small' plane, thrown around the place so the pilot 'went around'. Brilliant job landing after all, which reminded me, the guys and girls in the cockpit are absolute professionals. Flying with a major western airline, you're in the safest possible hands.

I watch Air Accident Investigators. There's no doubt that people and machines go wrong, but the way airlines and manufacturers work, they learn their lessons and do it fast. I've no doubt that the machines I get into every week or two are better designed, built, maintained and operated than the cars that pass me from the opposite direction on the roads each day.

If we're each driving at 100km/h, that's a combined impact force similar to crashing on my own at 200km/h. It's unlikely I'd get out of that in one piece, yet we all drive at those speeds, trusting our own driving ability and comparatively crap machinery to keep us safe.

Putting aside the statistics about air safety, does it really matter whether you're sitting in a plane versus driving againt the direction of an oncoming articulated truck on an N road? Probably not.

So, take what enjoyment you can from the experience and go where you want to go.

LeeLooLee · 28-12-2015 02:56AM

ScumLord wrote: »

Really? Sounds more like an excuse. How much control do you actually have in your life? Your car doesn't even trust you to take full control of it, pretty much everything you do on a daily basis is out of your hands.

I think I'd be more nervous if I was expected to be in control of the plane. I'll just leave that to the guy who's been training and flying planes for the last decade.

You don't really need to get over your fear of flying, flying is scary, it's not supposed to be something humans should do. All you need to do is find a way of dealing with it for the duration of the flight. You only have to put up with being a afraid for 6 hours at most. Six hours is nothing.

Eh? You can't even get to New York in 6 hours. She wants to go to San Fran.

bilbot79 · 28-12-2015 03:25AM

I had a fear of flying, deep down I still do because I don't want to fall out of the sky however I believe that no fear of flying can exist without the inability to just calm yourself down. You are paranoid and that's what's causing it. I used to smoke a bit of weed and if ever I smoked too much I would get paranoid and think I was going to have a heart attack but somewhere in that crazy experience I learned to calm myself down by assuring myself in my head. Becoming calm is a deliberate act and you must force it to happen just like you must force down a door handle to open door. Refuse to lose your head.

I developed certain rules that allowed me to become comfortable on the plane

1 The crew aren't bricking it - nothing is wrong
2 The crew do this constantly and are alive - nothing is wrong
3 The sounds you are hearing are same as always - nothing is wrong
4 Turbulents are scary but you are still in your seat - nothing is wrong
5 You are at cruising altitude - relax, it usually goes wrong at take off and landing
6 You are on a Western Airline - nothing is wrong

Wings pushing against air at the angle they have with massive power behind them counteracts the effect of gravity perfectly. The air becomes to the plane what the ground is to a car, you are perfectly safe. Only an act of God or terror can get you and the odds are astronomically low, you have more chance of winning the lotto. Has that happened yet?

KatW4 · 28-12-2015 03:30AM

Grandeeod wrote:

Nobody has a fear of flying, they have a fear of crashing.

I don't agree. I have a fear of flying because of how it makes me feel. It physically makes me feel sick. My stomach churns and my head feels like it's about to explode. I don't even think about the plane crashing.

mynameis905 · 28-12-2015 03:32AM

Corpus Twisty wrote: »

Un-apt user name.

Although a fear of flying isn't all that irrational. Planes crash, usually taking everyone on board with them. Logically, you are sitting in an aluminium tube packed with jet fuel and people, traveling at huge speeds, so to say "I have an irrational fear of flying" isn't actually irrational. Possibly a good approach would be to accept that the day your number is up, it is up, and feel the fear and do it anyway.

Your post makes no sense. A logical person would look at the statistical odds of dying in a plane crash and decide that it's an incredibly safe means of travel.

Nesta99 · 28-12-2015 03:45AM

Dont mind flying but I do fear the whole ATC stuff, long shifts, language or accent issues. increasing air traffic. It is no different imo that than being on a motorcycle which is safe as houses if ye could get rid of the road users. Id fly before commuting daily on the M50!

Diamond Doll · 28-12-2015 04:10AM

I'm a wee bit anxious about flying, but actually I have more fear about driving. You're statistically far more likely to be killed when on the roads than when in the air. I am a good, safe driver, but I hate the fact that I'm so dependent on the safety of other road users at all times.

faceman wrote: »

I don't dread flying as much anymore and a number of things help. First off I'll share what doesn't help.

* Drink or drugs as a remedy. Doesn't deal with the problem and can make things work.

Actually I'd disagree with you there ... OK drink isn't a good idea, but benzos (e.g. Xanax, Valium, Librium) are actually really effective at relaxing you and reducing anxiety. Benzos are highly addictive and suitable only for short-term use, and it wouldn't be a good idea for a regular flier to become dependent on them. However for someone like the OP, who is highly unlikely to ever become a regular flier, they could be an excellent solution for the odd time they take a flight ... why make yourself suffer more than you have to?

faceman · 28-12-2015 11:23AM

Diamond Doll wrote: »

I'm a wee bit anxious about flying, but actually I have more fear about driving. You're statistically far more likely to be killed when on the roads than when in the air. I am a good, safe driver, but I hate the fact that I'm so dependent on the safety of other road users at all times.

Actually I'd disagree with you there ... OK drink isn't a good idea, but benzos (e.g. Xanax, Valium, Librium) are actually really effective at relaxing you and reducing anxiety. Benzos are highly addictive and suitable only for short-term use, and it wouldn't be a good idea for a regular flier to become dependent on them. However for someone like the OP, who is highly unlikely to ever become a regular flier, they could be an excellent solution for the odd time they take a flight ... why make yourself suffer more than you have to?

Fair comment re irregular fliers. My point is that the anxiety for flying remains and the individual risks seeing pills as their only solution. Short flights fine but long haul the pills will only be so effective.

Fear of Flying

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