Freaked out about flying ...help!

[alphakitty]

Here's an Indigo Girls song for the "fear of flying" folks. :) Seriously, phobias are very real to the person suffering from them, but they can be controlled. If it is debilitating and life altering, my advice is to seek professional help. Your regular doctor is a good place to start. :)

 

Airplane

 

Up on the airplane

Nearer my God to thee

I start making a deal

Inspired by gravity

If I did wrong I wont do it again

Cause I can be sweet and good and nice

And if I had enemies their friends

Ill hold to my life with the grip of a vice

 

And Im up on the airplane

Nearer my God to thee

I start making a deal

Inspired by gravity

 

That little spot on the ground is my hometown

I like to call it my home and its sweet

Id rather take a seat down there

Than a throne up here up above 30,000 feet

And Im up on the airplane

 

I never should have read my horoscope

Or the fortune on the bubble strip

Saying what you think wont happen will

A great thing to read before a trip

On an airplane

 

Pilot says the big blue skys like a swimming pool

Big fluffy clouds like a feather bed

Id rather have a real pillow underneath my head

Lying in my bed which is in my hometown

Which is on the ground

Far from an airplane

(my bed my hometown)

Far from an airplane

(on the ground my bed my hometown)

Far from an airplane

(on the ground my bed my hometown)

On the airplane

(on the ground)

[ill be making a deal]

On the airplane

(on the ground)

[ill be making a deal]

On the airplane

[ill be making a deal]

[cbreit]

I too am one of the "take off" scaredy cats. Last year, I flew with my daughter and her friend and neither one of them wanted the window seat. When I fly with my husband, he usually takes the window, so this time I decided to try it. I think if you can see the ground from up there it's not so bad. I also had a pill to help, but that didn't do much. Plus I can't sleep anywhere except my own bed so I had some crossword puzzles to do.

 

I'm also flying again in February and have no idea how I will be by then, but am hoping for the best.

 

Good luck!!

[Kaboochi]

Grits53,

 

Good for you. Waiting until you are 55 to get on a plane is a long time and now that you have your wings you have an entire wonderful world to explore. I see you have a pic of someone on a horse. Is that you? Now that scares me. I take Xanax to fly but I don't think it would work to get on a horse! Happy future travels, Kaboochi

[Dee777]

I don't like to fly... scratch that I am terrified to fly. Hate it, hate it, hate it. After several years (9 to be exact) of avoiding getting on a plane I am going to have to finally do it. We are booked on the Conquest in 02/09. While I am excited to finally see an ocean other than the pacifc I am starting to have panic attacks thinking about getting on a plane.

 

Anyone else afraid of flying out there? If so, what do you do to help get you through it? I am not a drinker so I know alcohol won't work for me. Drugs maybe? Help!

 

Get your doctor to prescribe a little Ativan for you. One or two of those and you won't care about anything, just be sure to "practice" at home once or twice to see how gorked it makes you, you don't want to be too out of it on the plane, just enough to take the "edge" off your fear and you will be just FINE!

[corinnv]

One word-xanax. I also hate to fly and sadly I have to do it a couple of times a years cause my DH choice of land vacation is always Nassau.

 

Go see your doctor and explain the situation and he/she will write you a prescription for a few pills. I usually take a 1/2 of one before I leave the house and the other 1/2 right before boarding. i usually sleep through the whole flight. I keep my seatbelt on so I and don't have to wake up until we land.

 

DO NOT DRINK if you choose to a prescribed drug.

 

I always fly air XANAX

I agree... I have a full blown panic attack when flying. I was a little worried about trying Xanax, but it was a life saver.

[harrodsfan]

I have tremendous empathy for you. I too once was terrified of flying. I have gotten over it..

First, I take Xanax. Only take for flight. The lowest dose depending on the length of the flight.

It never makes me dopey...I just feel normal.

I also always fly business or first class.

They treat you better and it is much more comfortable. (I also suffer from claustrophobia. Common with people who have a fear of flying.) I buy a cheap ticket and upgrade. i have a credit card that gives me miles.

I buy a lot of treats for the flight...I save my favorite magazines. new books.

I use an IPOD at the airport with my favorite upbeat music. I ahve found this this really helps.

I also have taken a small dvd player with great new movies that I know I would like.

Its a lot of prework...

But I took 7 flights on a recent trip to Greece and did just fine.

Part of the issue is the fear of the fear.. with all that I do I am distracted and focusing on all the fun treats. and the medication helps.

Do check with your doctor of course.

[misguidedangel]

I too won the free cruise, but I won it on the Conquest. The Conquest is a very nice ship. As far as I know, it should now have Seaside theater

 

Air travel--get a mild sedative from your doctor and when booking your airline tickets (or at the airport gate) leave a comment that you are a nervous flyer (you can also say that you're taking a mild sedative too). This way they don't look at you as a problem and not allow you to board. Make sure they give you a ailse seat nearest to the bathroom in case it affects you in other ways....

[63Corvette]

The most dangerous part about flying is the drive to and from the airport. I have had my private license since 1969, and have owned my own aircraft since 1979 (jointly owned with my Brother). In my small plane, I am definately a "fair weather" pilot - don't want to mess with storms. I retired last year from the Boeing Company as an Aerodynamics Engineer, and have flown many hours in our test aircraft checking out new systems. The airliners are extremely safe. Flying fear is a tough one for people to overcome. There were a lot of good advice in this thread to help overcome the anxiety.

[redskin80]

I don't like to fly... scratch that I am terrified to fly. Hate it, hate it, hate it. After several years (9 to be exact) of avoiding getting on a plane I am going to have to finally do it. We are booked on the Conquest in 02/09. While I am excited to finally see an ocean other than the pacifc I am starting to have panic attacks thinking about getting on a plane.

 

Anyone else afraid of flying out there? If so, what do you do to help get you through it? I am not a drinker so I know alcohol won't work for me. Drugs maybe? Help!

 

 

 

 

Hope this is the right place to post this thread. :confused:

 

 

I am also a bad flyer. I get on planes but it is no fun. Depending on the length of the flight I will take a prescribed drug called Alprazolam at.05 MG. This is bascially a drug that turns off the brain. I use it when I am extremely stressed out, it does make me sleep, so the longer the flight the better. We flew from Kona to Denver , took it right before we left the ground and woke up 25 minutes before we landed. Do not remember a thing. For shorter flights it is basically my IPOD with my favorite music and hubbies hand. Good luck, the end result of the cruise will be more than worth the fright of flight.

[nrdsb4]

I am also a bad flyer. I get on planes but it is no fun. Depending on the length of the flight I will take a prescribed drug called Alprazolam at.05 MG. This is bascially a drug that turns off the brain. I use it when I am extremely stressed out, it does make me sleep, so the longer the flight the better. We flew from Kona to Denver , took it right before we left the ground and woke up 25 minutes before we landed. Do not remember a thing. For shorter flights it is basically my IPOD with my favorite music and hubbies hand. Good luck, the end result of the cruise will be more than worth the fright of flight.

 

 

Also known as Xanax, which several posters have stated worked well for them.

 

Learning two or more names for every drug must be a nightmare for the Pharmacy majors. They have to cram a WHOLE lot of info into their brains!

[kaylahszoo]

PhoenisDawgCruising- Maybe not seperated at birth, because I am old enough to be your mother, but yep, we think alike. Must be the Arizona connection. Lived in Cave Creek for over 35 years now. Heck, at 35 mph being the highest speed limit around, I don't even like freeways anymore now. And when I travel with family, I think every time...this could be the end of us now. But like they say, it is more dangerous to travel by car. But at 35 mph, how much damage could they do to me.

[Chat Noir]

 

I also watch the attendants to see if they look worried...my theory is, as long as they are standing, moving about and serving drinks, we are all fine. When they sit down and buckle up, then that stupid 'bong' sound happens and the seatbelt sign comes on, it's over for me.

 

 

This is EXACTLY what I do. They probably think I'm strange watching them all the time, but it works for me... keeping an eye on their body language and facial expressions.

 

I also debate when I book. When I ultimately push the button to book which flight I want, I always wonder if I've just doomed my family and myself by choosing the 'wrong' flight.

 

Xanax is my friend, too. Sometimes I take it, sometimes I don't. Just having it with me gives me a sense of having some control over how I feel.