Has Anyone Cured their Fear of flying?

sassyblue

suki1001 wrote: »

I've always avoided flying. Missed my sister's wedding, and I've only flown twice.

Now my job can include trips away if I want, they're all expenses, but the thought just turns my stomach. I'd love to more than anything, but my fear of flying stops me taking these opportunities. I feel so lucky to have these opportunities, but i just hate flying more than anything.

I'm hopefully starting cbt soon, which will cover this, but I's like to know if anyone has cured their fear of flying and if so, how did they do it?

I hate feeling like this, my children have only been abroad once, but my phobia is crippling.

And to colleensims

It's horrible, but l've been there.:( I got some medication from the doctor to calm me down and stop me having panic attacks, it does make me tired and DH has to carry the passports and tickets so l don't leave them anywhere!

I found out there's 30,000 flights all over the world per day too. You've got to be bl00dy unlucky if your flight ever has a problem with that amount of flights haven't you?

They are only feelings and feelings can be overcome - l've done it and so have others, but it's difficult. xx

escortg3

I am another that is scared of flying.

I now have valium from the doctor. I have 3 tablets to go and 3 to get back. I take one when i leave for the airport. one when i have checked in and the last one when i am boarding. Although i am still a frightened i am not as bad as i used to be. I used to cry sob all the way there and all the way back with my head between my knees.

Now i am pretty much asleep for two hours and when i wake i am alright (well not crying)

I actually like the coming down for landing as in my head i think this actually increases my chances of survival. I do really think that it is a control issue with me, if i had a paracute i think i would be better than i am.

poet123

karen310 wrote: »

I was like this , honestly , I used to hold the arms of the seats during take off , and convince myself that the plane getting off the ground dependended on me doing this and concentrating :rotfl:, it sounds bizarre , but thats how irrational it makes you.

At my worst , I couldnt turn pages of a magazine over because I somehow thought the plane might tip.
I also thought that the noises eg bells and buzzers were a secret signal to the cabin crew that we were about to plummet to the ground !!( I now know they signal the meal is ready , or the captain wants a brew) .

Unless you have such an irrational fear yourself , it is hard to understand , but the Allen Carr book really helped. I have had valium and alcohol in the past , but I was still scared , but dopey as well , I would rather have my wits about me !.

I used to do this too:o

I can cope with flying but I don't think I will ever enjoy it. I breathe a huge sigh of relief every time I land. Take off and landing are the worst for me, but I do get through it as a means to an end. I fly reasonably often now but still feel the same trepidation as I wait to board.

paulineb_2

I used to hate flying to the point that Id avoid going on holiday or Id go by other means, such as the time I went to Bilbao in spain by train and boat. At that time, about ten years ago, Id have safely said I would never fly again.

I went for a short journey to Belfast from Glasgow to watch a football match, the team I support were touring pre season and I thought, what is the point of getting myself upset, crying, shaking, sweating, for the sake of a 25 min flight?

And I didnt. Ive also done a course in EFT and whether it worked or not I dont know, but I tried it anyway.

Went to Majorca for a week in 2007. I flew to Orlando in 2011. I flew to London the same year for a fitness weekend, I flew to London again last February for another fitness weekender, have been to Birmingham airport twice in the last two years (again fitness related events), flew to Gatwick and back from Glasgow last september and Ive just booked flights this morning to get me from Glasgow to Palma and back in August.

I did used to fly but I would get so upset and unwell, I just thought, Im putting a stop to it and I probably didnt go on a plane for about 5 years or so.

I also didnt go on a plane till I was 21, my mum had a fear of flying and we didnt travel that way, oddly enough she flew to visit a friend in France when she was about 40 and shes been over to Italy a couple of times.

All I can say is, if theres hope for me, theres hope for anyone. I cant say I love it, but Im calm at the airport, I look forward to having a glass of wine on the plane and I can look out of the window when we are coming into land.

And I managed 8 hours each way to Orlando without bursting into tears. Even the fact that I now book a flight and dont spend the next few months stressing and panicking, is massive progress for me. Its always been the take off Ive hated, once Im up Im fine and I quite enjoy the landing, but Ive just had to try to get over it and realise that the bumps you feel on the way up sometimes are totally normal.
European planes have a good safety record and these pilots do this every day in life, its their job, they dont want the plane to crash anymore than we do.


I have a fear of heights and maybe thats connected in some way, but so does my brother and he loves flying, always has done.

zagubov

colleensims wrote: »

I wanted to re-awaken this thread as I am flying in 3 weeks......helllllppppp:eek:

My husband is very excited and keeps going on about it and I am preparing for the worst.

I am so scared I am even writing notes for someone to look after my dog if we crash

I cant afford to go on a fear of flying course and its too late anyway. I have read a few facts on plane accidents but I have had to stop as i started to feel sick.

Any pilots on here who can give me a kick up the backside?

OK this will sound all 70s tree-hugging hippie nonsense to some people but there's a good argument that you should describe your emotion to yourself as being excited about flying instead of being nervous.

if you can get to Belfast btw I gather they used to run flight-phobia courses at one of their airports where they prepared you and took off and landed again to get you used to it.

Brilson

Like you, I used to be TERRIFIED of flying. In fact, following a series of mid-air panic attacks, I stopped flying completely for several years. Now I fly a lot - and with minimal amounts of stress. How did I turn things around?

For a start, I worked on becoming a less anxious person. Why?

Because, like many folk who hate flying, I was overly anxious 24/7. That meant I was more likely to worry about stuff - including flying - than most other people.

By reducing my day-to-day stress levels a bit, I became less jittery about everything - including air travel. So, how do you learn to relax?

There are lots of options. I used a thing called 'progressive relaxation'. Now I use a system called 'mindful meditation'. They all achieve the same result - but different approaches tend to appeal to different people. I suggest you search the web for more info.

While you MUST do relaxation exercises on a regular basis, you need to do a few other things, too.

For a start, you must learn to deal with 'catastrophic' thoughts. They're the ones in which you imagine some kind of disaster taking place. Like turbulence causing your plane to crash.

You can't stop these thoughts popping into your head. But you can fight them. How?

You fight them with FACTS. In other words, when a catastrophic thought enters your mind, you challenge it by thinking through the REALITY of the thing that makes your fearful.

For example, if you worry about turbulence, you need to discover what turbulence ACTUALLY is. Then learn how planes work in turbulent environments. And WHY turbulence doesn't cause them to crash.

Learning this stuff might sound like a drag. But you'll be happy you did when your plane is bouncing around at 39,000 feet.

Do you also fear having a panic attack while flying? If so, being more relaxed and knowing about flight isn't enough. You also need to stop fearing panic attacks. How?

By learning what they are. And then getting used to their symptoms. By doing so, they become MUCH less scary. And when they become less scary, your chance of having one falls.

Once you've got these things sorted, the next step is to start flying. Lots.

In my case, I started doing day-trips to nearby cities every second weekend. That gave me a chance to test the stuff I mentioned above without having to commit to long flights.

Once you get comfortable doing short flights, you need to progress to longer flights. The idea is to keep pushing the envelop so that the intensity of your fear keeps shrinking.

In doing all this stuff, you must accept it takes TIME to get results. But with patience and commitment, you'll get there in the end.

If you want to learn more about what worked for me, I've posted info on my website: fearofflyingschool [dot] com.

Good luck.

Dunroamin

Reported as SPAM.

themull1

I'm glad im not alone in my fear of flying, i went to dublin last year and sat clinging to oh, with tears running down my cheeks. I felt like a right fool, and i once sat with my eyes shut for an entire trip to Florida, didnt even see any of the films....i pity the man that went in the loo after me.....when i go in four weeks to spain, ive told oh not to ask how i am, if im ok etc, and let me get on with it.

themull1

escortg3 wrote: »

I am another that is scared of flying.

I now have valium from the doctor. I have 3 tablets to go and 3 to get back. I take one when i leave for the airport. one when i have checked in and the last one when i am boarding. Although i am still a frightened i am not as bad as i used to be. I used to cry sob all the way there and all the way back with my head between my knees.

Now i am pretty much asleep for two hours and when i wake i am alright (well not crying)

I actually like the coming down for landing as in my head i think this actually increases my chances of survival. I do really think that it is a control issue with me, if i had a paracute i think i would be better than i am.

I feel like that when we start descending as well, like its safer somehow.