Has Anyone Cured their Fear of flying?

trolleyrun

piglet74 wrote: »

Like mentioned above I try and think that the staff on board also have family and want us to all arrive safe and sound, I watch the staff's faces, esp during turbulence, and if they are not worried, and strapping themselves in, I try not to worry.

I am sorry, that's prob not what u wanted to hear, I am not cured of my fear, but I travel through it.

Good luck, piggy x

Just so you know, the crew only strap in during turbulence to make sure they don't get injured. That's why passengers are told to strap in too. There's no danger of damage to the aircraft - the pilots won't fly straight through a storm. Hope that helps a little.

Errata

Why be frightened of flying? You've a better chance of being minced to small pieces in a motorway pileup, or winning millions on the lottery than you have of being on a plane that has a mishap.

suki1001

piglet74 wrote: »

I hate flying.. Hate it with a passion.. It scares the £hit£ outta me :-O

I hate taking off, and landing... And everything in between.. And as for turbulence...

From about 10 days before I go I feel like I want to be sick at the thoughts of it..

Eg "how long to u go on holidays piggy"... "Ten days... Omg.. I feel sick"!!

But.. I know I have got to do it, to get where I want to go, (been to NYC a number of times, florida, other parts of the usa, spain and some short haul flights from ireland to uk)

I go to the doctor for diazapam before I go and this helps get me on the plane (thought I have been known to pretend to forget something and try and get back off again)

Like mentioned above I try and think that the staff on board also have family and want us to all arrive safe and sound, I watch the staff's faces, esp during turbulence, and if they are not worried, and strapping themselves in, I try not to worry too

I usually wear earphones and have music on quite loud to drown out noise from the engines etc, and as I usually haven't slept the night bfore with nerves, I would normally sleep.. Well.. Try to!

I am sorry, that's prob not what u wanted to hear, I am not cured of my fear, but I travel through it.

Good luck, piggy x

Wow, you're so brave, there's no way i'd get on a plane to go to those places. Wish that wasn't the case though

suki1001

Errata wrote: »

Why be frightened of flying? You've a better chance of being minced to small pieces in a motorway pileup, or winning millions on the lottery than you have of being on a plane that has a mishap.

I don't know - i just can't control my fear - can't cope with being up in the air. It's like being frightened of spiders - which I'm not - some people freak about them. It's the same for me - if I see a plane I feel uneasy.

belfastgirl23

I have had this too.

A few things have helped.

First of all, familiarity, simply making myself do it. You might be able to do some of this via CBT - eg going to the airport, gradually getting yourself used to it.

Secondly, hypnosis helped. The hypnotist had me visualise being at the airport, being calm, picturing my old panic and seeing it on a tv screen which gets smaller. All of which sounds a bit naff but it worked.

Finally I now bring rescue remedy and sudoku. Sudoku (newspaper or book) for me is enough to distract me but not so much to panic me. You may have something similar. Books somehow aren't much use, even though I'm quite a reader, they don't distract enough. And any kind of electric equipment needs switched off for takeoff and landing so they are less use.

Believe me I have been where you are. I can now fly with only minor nerves just before boarding. I used to be shaking for a week. It's amazing knowing I've overcome it - more or less. It is possible. Believe in yourself.

phill99

I don't understand this fear of flying. Flying is incredibly safe. Crashing is quite unsafe. That's what you should be worried about. Crashing into the side of a mountain, running out of fuel, a wing falling off etc. They are all really dangerous. But flying: absolutely no problem.

andygb

Suki, I do not like heights, I suffer from extreme vertigo.
However, I love aircraft, and I recognise that they are as safe as turning on a light and not being electrocuted.
They are as safe - even safer - than driving a car along a motorway, safer than crossing a busy road, so ry to remember that if you decide to fly.

piglet74

I know all the sayings.."Safest form of travel" etc,
It does not stop my fear,
When the plane shakes in turbulence, to me, that feels like being on a rollercoaster, its like the plane dips away down.. And rises again,.. Tho in reality, it prob doesn't move that far,
I have all the fears, what if we crash, the plane goes on fire, the engines stop, we fall from the sky, etc etc etc
I just hate it, but I also hate taking tablets, and getting injections and getting blood tests done, and other things that I do have to do sometimes and I have accepted that flying is one of these things,
I had to spend the day in bed (really sick!) The day before I left for new york about ten years ago, I had got myself so worked up :-( but I still went.. After trying to get back off the plane.. And then I went back 9 months later :-) and kept going back, I actually got married in nyc :-)

FBaby

My words could that of piglet. I used to love flying. Really love flying. I did every other weekend for a few years when I was a kid and my parents were divorced.

Then I moved to the States and used to travel twice a year back to Europe but went through emotional difficulties resulting with some issues with anxiety...and one day, I had a nightmare about being in a crashing plane that was extremely disturbing, and that was the end of my love of flying. It turned into an obsession, 911 finished it.

I didn't fly to years after that. I used to go visit my parents in the South of France and took the train with my very young children rather than flying, justifying it by the fact it wasn't more expensive!

Then I met my partner and I knew I had to do something about it as I wanted to enjoy nice holidays together. 2 months after meeting, we flew to go skiing and that was quite traumatic as as we were landing, the plane took off again and I went into mental meltdown, but he coped well with it. Since then, I have flown twice to six times a year. I used to have a few drinks before and that sorted me out, but I then got too drunk and we almost missed a flight because of it, so I now take valium and just one drink and it is ok.

With the pills and the work I have done to rationalise my thoughts, I manage ok on short trips. The main work I do is to force myself to kick any bad thoughts from my head when they start overwhelming me. I listen to music the entire time as this helps me imagine I am somewhere else and as a whole, flying is bearable. I don't like it, can't wait to get it over with, but I don't fret so much about it.

I haven't tried long hauls yet, longest was Egypt and that's what worries me as I cope well with shortest distance, but start to find it harder longer, presumably because the drink/valium start to wear out.

My fear of flying is a phobia. Totally irrational. I know that, but knowing that doesn't mean I don't experience the horrible feelings of fear. I have made sure to explain to my kids that it is me who has a problem with it and that my fear is irrational and my problem so they don't get scared to. So far, they think it's funny and enjoy flying. There is no doubt that the only way to cure it, or at least get better is to just do it as it does get easier the more I do fly.

karen310

I could have written your post , I still don't enjoy it , but like the our poster I do it to get where I want to go ( although I once didn't fly for 14years).
What helped me was Allen Carrs book on fear of flying , I got it of Amazon and was attached to it for weeks before every holiday. It explains all the noises , turbulence etc. I don't think I will ever enjoy it , and I really don't like take off , but I can at least do it , and whilst on board get up and go to the loo , watch the film or nod off ( I could do none of those things when used to fly when I was paralysed with fear :rotfl:).