I have a vacation coming up in a couple weeks where we are flying down south. Flying has never been easy for me. My legs usually tremble, I get sweaty, really anxious and nervous. Generally I will have a few drinks before getting on the plane because i find it settles the nerves a little bit.
Recently with all the planes disappearing and crashes occuring I feel like this trip is going to be a lot worse as I am still weeks away and I am already starting to worry.
Saying all that, does anyone have any tips or tricks I could try? Aside from just getting really drunk and passing out as I don't really see that as a good solution to my problem (although not opposed either haha)
I'm a terrible flier, and I actually found myself doing quite well on my flight to europe about 6 months ago. Distraction is best for me. Keeping occupied with something so I don't notice the little creaks, bumps and dips really helps. If I can talk with someone, it really helps too. Probably 95% of the flights in my life have been solo, and it sucks to sit inside your own head. Keep conversation going.
I HATE flying. Used to love it, but ever since I started flying up to Site at the age of 21 I began to just absolutely dread it because of flying on those POS Can. North planes that bounce around like a 2 year old and didn't help as we were not allowed to drink before/during plane rides (dry camp) and now the fear has just spread to all plane travel.
To give you an idea of how much I hate flying. I drove all the way to California in the winter, through blizzards and back to meet my buddies in Palm Springs. (6000 km total travel...). Only trick that helps me is getting drunk as piss before going on one. Being hungover is even worse being on a plane though especially long distance cause I can't sleep on planes either (unless black out drunk lol)
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Talk to your family doctor and see if there is anything he can or is willing to prescribe you to calm your nerves for flights. That's what I do and my family doctor was really understanding. You could go to a walk-in clinic potentially as well, but you will probably get better info from your family doctor.
I used to be so afraid of flying that if I knew I had to fly somewhere even several months ahead of time, I would have bouts of panic. I even bailed just hours before a trip before because I didn't want to fly.
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"A pessimist thinks things can't get any worse. An optimist knows they can."
Please don't drink too much before getting on a plane. It sucks if because you are trying to calm your nerves we have to kick you off. If we let you on and you start acting up, then you cause other people's flight to be miserable. Both of those happen way to often.
A couple of drinks is fine, but know when to say when.
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I fly quite a bit for work and I never had a "fear" of flying. Mostly annoyed with noobs who don't know flying protocol or etiquette (just take your GD jacket off, don't ask why during security check!!)
However, with the recent Malaysia & Germanwings cases, all I can think of is the terror people must feel on the way down, and that has got me a little more than concerned lately when flying. Just utter terror knowing what is coming.
Please don't drink too much before getting on a plane. It sucks if because you are trying to calm your nerves we have to kick you off. If we let you on and you start acting up, then you cause other people's flight to be miserable. Both of those happen way to often.
A couple of drinks is fine, but know when to say when.
Fair. But the couple times I have gotten quite drunk I just sit quietly and try to sleep.
I hear you though. And why I am looking for other solutions.
Getting some adavan from your doctor is a better way to go.
I agree with this. I know it's somewhat of a taboo thing for some people to talk about, but IMO, modern medicine has developed many different kinds of legal drugs that can chemically help with anxiety and other issues. Used responsibly, they can be extremely beneficial for some people in situations like this and there is no shame in discussing it with a doctor.
Perhaps long term there could be better non-drug treatments, maybe therapy or hypnosis (both have been recommended to me, but I never tried them).... it could be worth looking into.
(I am totally not a doctor or a pharmacist, so obviously don't take this as anything more than one guy's opinion)
Also, just to add that if you do get something like Ativan for flights, don't drink alcohol with it.
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I have Ativan from my doctor. Just make sure you take it in advance of getting on the plane so it has enough time to kick in. I once still managed to have an anxiety attack on a transatlantic flight even after having taken an Ativan.
I find drinking before or on the plane actually makes my anxiety worse.
The worst part about flying isn't the fear of crashing. It's being cramped up against a bunch of strangers for hours on end. Load up some movies on your phone/ipad,.
Please don't drink too much before getting on a plane. It sucks if because you are trying to calm your nerves we have to kick you off. If we let you on and you start acting up, then you cause other people's flight to be miserable. Both of those happen way to often.
A couple of drinks is fine, but know when to say when.
From 2007 - 2009 I worked for a company that had 2 small private planes.
1 was a King Air 90 and 1 was a Cessna. I would fly approximately once a week to a spot in Northern Alberta. The plane had around 4 vacant seats, not including the co-pilots chair which I would sometimes sit in.
I can't believe I actually had the courage to fly in these planes, but alas, I was young and stupid. One thing that bugged me was that on occasion my co-workers would consume alcohol on the plane and get real rowdy. They would even make fun of our pilot. The man who had our lives in his hands. Didn't think that was cool at all.
The closest I think we came to crashing was when I was riding up in the co-pilots seat one trip. We flew through a major thunder storm in the King Air plane and there was lighting strikes all around us and rain pummelling the windshield. I naturally tend to fall asleep on planes. When I woke up, the turbulence started. I didn't want to experience crashing while I was awake so I fell back asleep. The pilot said the look on my face was priceless when I initially woke and saw my surroundings.
A couple of Christmas's ago, I saw a news story on CBC. A Cessna registered to an alberta company crashed in the pacific ocean. There were no survivors. They mentioned the plane was owned by the company I used to work for. Sure enough, when they showed the file photo of the plane, that was the plane I would fly on, on occasion.
Real Sobering. I am glad no former co-workers or pilots I knew perished in the crash, but I still feel bad for the families of the victims all the same.
I have a vacation coming up in a couple weeks where we are flying down south. Flying has never been easy for me. My legs usually tremble, I get sweaty, really anxious and nervous. Generally I will have a few drinks before getting on the plane because i find it settles the nerves a little bit.
Recently with all the planes disappearing and crashes occuring I feel like this trip is going to be a lot worse as I am still weeks away and I am already starting to worry.
Saying all that, does anyone have any tips or tricks I could try? Aside from just getting really drunk and passing out as I don't really see that as a good solution to my problem (although not opposed either haha)
Any advice is appreciated.
As the OP of this, I thought I would provide my own experience. Since I started this thread, I have been to Europe twice, All over US (Florida/NewYork) across Canada too many times to count, and even down to Belize a couple of times.
I still have a healthy anxiety toward flying, but have become much better at it. What really helped me was changing my frame of mind a bit. Rather then spend a month in advance allowing my brain to basically convince me I was going to die, I started to concentrate on where I was going, the fun I would have, sports...anything really. The worst thing you can do is allow your brain to run through every possible scenario of flying.
I'm not 100% yet. I still usually will have a drink or two at the airport, and then usually pop a gravol on the plane to relax me. I still have trouble doing things like watching a movie or reading after takeoff (and breaking my mental concentration of keeping the plane in the air ).
Couple other small tips. I downloaded an app called SOAR. It has some great safety reminders and also a turbulence G force monitor. It basically measures the G force being put on the plane. I actually had it on during a few rounds of turbulence, and it really helps you realize how little the plane is actually moving, despite your nervousness telling you otherwise.
I think I will stop reading the news till I go on vacation. Turn on The National last night and the lead story is about a plane crash landing in Halifax!
The number one piece of advice for those fearful of flying:
I don't know if it's on anymore, but don't watch Mayday while on the plane.
I've flown lots, and have always been amazed at the number of TVs that are tuned onto that show.
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