Has Anyone Cured their Fear of flying?

Gloomendoom

Abbymoo wrote: »

I've only done short flights, Liverpool to N.I.

One of the worst flights I have ever had was a short one to N.I. Breakfast had just been served and the plane just dropped several thousand feet. There was tea, coffee and sausages everywhere. I've not been able to eat a Müller Crunch Corner since.

suki1001

mel48rose wrote: »

I couldn't have put it better myself. Is there any help for us?? :rotfl:

Nope, I think we're lost causes!

suki1001

Gloomendoom wrote: »

One of the worst flights I have ever had was a short one to N.I. Breakfast had just been served and the plane just dropped several thousand feet. There was tea, coffee and sausages everywhere. I've not been able to eat a Müller Crunch Corner since.

Now, I will not be able to look at a muller crunch corner without it reminding me of planes

Did the cabin crew freak? Or did they remain calm?

mel48rose

Gloomendoom wrote: »

One of the worst flights I have ever had was a short one to N.I. Breakfast had just been served and the plane just dropped several thousand feet. There was tea, coffee and sausages everywhere. I've not been able to eat a Müller Crunch Corner since.

This must have been awful, it did make me laugh though :rotfl:

blunther

A bit leftfield maybe, and probably impossible to do if you're too scared to approach it, but maybe try a flying lesson in a small plane? It's really insteresting to see how it all works. You get to understand what the flaps do, what the controls are like, and see for yourself that the plane wants to be in the air, even if it's not being touched by a human. It's also good to be able to see ahead, so you can see where you're going, where the runway ends on takeoff, where the runway is for landing, and is really interesting. It might help if you have a greater understanding of the mechanics of it (and see how easy it is to fly a plane - much easier than driving!), and see how much goes into he safety and maintenance of the planes.

suki1001

blunther wrote: »

A bit leftfield maybe, and probably impossible to do if you're too scared to approach it, but maybe try a flying lesson in a small plane? It's really insteresting to see how it all works. You get to understand what the flaps do, what the controls are like, and see for yourself that the plane wants to be in the air, even if it's not being touched by a human. It's also good to be able to see ahead, so you can see where you're going, where the runway ends on takeoff, where the runway is for landing, and is really interesting. It might help if you have a greater understanding of the mechanics of it (and see how easy it is to fly a plane - much easier than driving!), and see how much goes into he safety and maintenance of the planes.

My uncle says this is why he learnt to fly and I've spoken to someone else who had a flying lesson and they said it helped. I think I'd be too chicken though:(

I suppose it's worth considering. However, I'm not sure i could cope with the height - I suppose it depends on why you're sacred of flying. I liken part of my fear to a dislike of being high up and I'm the same on anything that has a height - a tall building for example.

koalamummy

Suki it sounds from your description of your symptoms like you would actually benefit greatly from prescribed medication to help manage your symptoms. If it is of any help to you I have an aunt who I think may be just as terrified as yourself but has holidayed abroad every year that I can remember. She is prescribed diazepam which she likes to combine with one glass of champagne before boarding the flight. I don't think she has ever learned to love flying but she certainly manages to cope with it.

Fbaby the same aunts has flown to both USA and Australia for family weddings. She has something different prescribed which I am sure was clonazepam. Diazepam also comes in slow release capsule form but I am not sure what time span this would cover as I have no personal experience of benzodiazepines and the substance misusers I work with tend to provide me with less than reliable and accurate information about their usage of their drugs of choice.

Gloomendoom

suki1001 wrote: »

Did the cabin crew freak? Or did they remain calm?

Like everybody else, they looked a bit shocked but then just got on with clearing up as best they could. Nobody panicked though. It happened without warning and was over in seconds although it was a bit bumpy afterwards.

karen310

suki1001 wrote: »

The one thing that worries me? The whole thing!

It's very difficult to pinpoint, I hate being in the plane and feel very claustrophobic, at the same time they look far to big to actually be able to stay up in the sky, I hate the noises, I hate that I feel like a freak and I'm a complete gibbering wreck, I hate the take off, the speed, the bumpiness, the creaking, the sheer height, the distance from the ground, I can't bear to eat, drink, move, look out of the window. I hate the captain reminding me how high we are of the ground, the lifetime you feel you're up in the air, the safety checks to remind me that something might go wrong, the impending sense of doom. Have I forgotten anything? I don't know, but that's it in a nutshell!

I feel the same way on fair ground rides and those big wheel things you get in cities.

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 !.

Abbymoo

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 !.

That made me laugh. I was just the same. Convinced that so much as shifting in my seat would unbalance everything and send the plane groundwards. I was brave enough to make it to the loo once and was utterly convinced the plane was tipping backwards as I walked down the aisle. Well, I say 'walked', semi-crawled whilst hanging on to every single seat that I passed and gibbering hysterically is more of an accurate description.