i'm scared to death of flying

I always wanted to travel, but I always thought that planes were scary.
Just recently, I went to Daytona Beach for vacation. I had to fly there and it was my first time flying. I was nervous as I came close to the airport. I have never seen a plane up close before, so once I got to the airport, I looked out the window and saw a bunch of planes lined up and I started panicking and crying. After my mom calmed me down, we ate and relaxed until it was time to board our plane. I was shaking the whole time, and couldn't get comfortable on the plane. We took off and the turbulence was shaking the plane and I kept panicking, even though I knew it was normal. After we landed at our destination I told my mom how much I dreaded airplanes. She just blew it off and said they're no big deal. On the way back home was the same deal with the panicking and crying.

I want to travel everywhere in the world, but with this intense fear of flying I'm afraid it's going to stop me from traveling
I don't know what to do!

 

I am also afraid to fly and since the last ferry sinking I am afraid to sail. So now I am stuck on this little Island until they build a bridge. Cheers!

 

Understandable to be afraid of flying. I have been in planes lots of times and i still dont like it. Now i dont know this for fact but iv heard many times. Its safer now days to fly then to drive your car. Hopefully that helps. -.-

 

I don't like flying either, makes me really afraid. I mean it definitely beats driving time-wise, but I feel so claustrophobic on the plane, the minutes seem like hours to me and I can't wait to be back on the ground again! It seems like everytime I've flown, I'm so shakey and nauseated once we finally land that it takes me several hours to feel normal again.

 

Two options:

1.) There are psychiatrists that specialize in phobias. A half decent one can cure that.

2.) Valium

Good luck.

 

I used to have panic attacks when flying but I used to have to take sedatives. What I learned to do was channel my anxiety and focus on one specific things. No when I am get on board I sit close my eyes and think that I am on a bus. I do that until the flight is over. I haven't had a panic attack in a really long time. Also I have a couple of drinks before I get on the plane.

 

Is your fear due to 911? If so, don't worry. You have more of a chance of getting killed in a car than a plane. More so today with how people drive and how many is on the road.

 

Often that fear comes from the fear of not being in control, thats all, you have to let go to learn to let go being in control cause we dont control most of the things if anything in our lives.
Just let it flow, let you be taken, dream when you fly, how wonderfull it is to be in the sky and watch out the window all the clouds.. thats beautifull.
And as for risk of drawning by ferry or crash by plane, the risk of getting killed while crossing the road is over 100 times bigger, so thought for the mind..
It doesnt stop you from crossing the road.
also oyu cna get all kind of illnesses from going shopping with all viruses people have who are sick and go there.. but it diesnt stop you from shopping..
What you can do is going to the aitport without having to take a plane, just to watch the airplanes, and to go near it and to do it often, to get used to it, also if you could come inside an airplane that you dont have to take just sigth seeing..
Use video games like playgames, with flying on a plane, and your fear will vanish.
The more you get use to it the easier it will be, dont make such a big deal out of it and alll will be fine.

 

you beat me on that one.
she isnt afraid of 911, she got a phobie about planes in general.
But many got thatone you talk about and honestly how big a chance is there for that to happen again? none.
you almost cant pass through with your clothes on!
chnaces to die from smoking are far higher than to die in a plane accident or a highjacking.. I only traveleld once by plane, and i loved it completely, I wanted to do it again, was sad to have to leave it..
I wanted to be the pilot instead..
will have been really exciting.

 

it's not a fear of 9/11 its just a fear of flying in general.
i always get panicky and nauseated when i'm flying.. especially when taking off and when we're landing. i can't even look out the window because it's so high in the air and i'm just afraid i'm gonna crash

and yes i also heard that flying is safer than driving, but i'm still scared

i'm probably just gonna have to take some kind of medication to make me less sick and have less anxiety

 

My advice: Just take some sleeping pills so you can zzzzz right through the trip.

 

I have a fear similar to yours. I don't cry or shake, but I can't look at anybody. I have to concentrate really hard, and the sight of people break my concentration. I mean, I have to concentrate so hard I give myself serious headaches. I wont sit by people I know, because their constant chattering to me, sends me off the hook. Strangers usually don't talk to somebody who looks like they are going to flip out much. So yeah, I spend almost the entire flight with my eyes closed concentrating. Generally after about an hour or so into the flight, if there is little turbulance, I will open my eyes and be able to relax for, usually, a couple minutes at a time. LOL the funny part is, I'm mostly concentrating on breathing, and avoiding thoughts of the plane spinning out of control. And the worst part is when the pilot lowers the elevation, because the destination is soon approaching. Man, then I get the worst ear aches...and no, I can chew a pack of gum and it does nothing.



So yeah, you most defintely are not alone. I kinda feel silly flying because I'm not a young child who needs to be consoled, but man do I act like it.

 

Or you could have sex in the airplane restroom. Just kidding ! That will keep your mind off of being scared. LOL If the airplane does crash, at least you will feel no pain and die with a big smile on your face. Sorry, just trying to make you laugh. Like I said..
you have more changes of getting killed in a car than an airplane. Now a days even crossing a road is scary. No one wants to stop for ya.

 

i'm glad to know i'm not alone on this!
and thanks riggs for the laughs

i think i'm just gonna have to go with sleeping pills to knock me out on my flight
so then if we do crash i'll just be sleeping the whole time :tongue:

 

you should def. consider taking up skydiving as a hobby :leaving:

 

I'm also terrified of flying- only it's worse for me because I've probably flown over 100 times in my life and I go to college that is a 24 hour train ride away (and yes... I did take the train once because I could not deal with the extra stress from flying for finals). I don't go home for Thanksgiving, midwinter break (which is a week long in Feb/March), or spring break- so I'm the only person left in the dorms.

My fear is also a huge conglomeration of a lot of things. I have more connections to plane crashes than is normal. I knew people in both of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center. My childhood best friend's mom's first husband was the pilot of a major airliner crash in the 80s. I had some family friends die in a prop plane accident. But I had the fear before any of those happened/ I found out about my friend's mom's first husband. It's a control thing for me. I have to sit still, chew my gum rhythmically, and stare out the window at a cloud. I can't board a plane if I'm not in the window seat and night flights freak me out.

I am an international relations major and the idea of having to fly to the places I study terrifies me! I'm already preoccupied about a flight I'll have to make either to the UK, Mexico, or Bolivia that's a year away!