Ok, so this is a total deviation from the weight loss thing, but I thought this would be a good place to ask for advice.
I used to fly all of the time as a kid because I was a military brat. And I had no issues with it. Then I stopped for awhile in my teens/college with only occasional flights. By the time I graduated from college I developed an extreme fear of flying. So the ironic part is that I started a career in consulting (pwc to be exact). So I entered into a world of pure travel. I actually love travelling except from the point that they close the airplane door to the point where they open it up again on the other side.
Over the years, I've developed some coping techniques. I try to devert my thoughts to other things. I sing to myself in my head. I try to read magazines. Or of course drinking alchol before and during. But they've only mildly worked. Now, I'm 35 and my travel is picking up again and I dread each and every flight. I'm exhausted by the time I get to the destination.
So do you have any tips on how to deal with a fear of flying? I know there are some courses that I can take, but they all cost money. So I was wondering if there is anything else that I can do before shelling out the money. Any suggestions?
I am 36 and I used to have a horrible fear of flying. I mean like I paid my own money for a bus ticket from Washington, DC to Chicago instead of taking the FREE flight which was paid for by my job.
LOL! Crazy! I laugh when I think about it.
Anyway, I prayed about this a lot and I am 100% confident that nothing is going to happen to me on an airplane. I truly believe that my prayers were answered and that I know as long as I decide to trust in God that nothing will happen to me on an airplane...nothing will happen.
So, I said all of that to say... if you feel so inclined, I'd pray about this. It truly works!
Through the years, I've read TONS (and I mean TONS) of info on how to get over a FoF. Some of the tips I've found helpful include forcing yourself to be in the moment while on the plane. What I mean is do not let your mind wonder to "What if" scenarios. If nothing horrible is happening at that moment, you have nothing to worry about. It's just turbulence, the plane is not falling. It's just takeoff, the plane isn't breaking apart.
Also, make yourself relax. Actually focus your mind on relaxing every part of your body when you're on the plane. If you feel your body tensing, just focus on relaxing each part of your body one body part at a time...calm your breathing, relax your shoulders, relax your fingers etc.
This may be a silly thing, but personally I like to look at the people I'm flying with. It's especially great when there are children on my flight (I'm weird, I know). But, I think about all of the people who are flying with me and I think about all of their friends and all of their family and all of the people who love them and how there's no way in the world those people would be OK with this person getting on the plane if they suspected something would happen to them. When I see mothers flying with their children, it's especially great for me.
Now, when I fly, I like to take pictures of the view. I have so many cool in-flight pics on my phone. I love looking at them.
I'm actually flying to Tampa on Thursday and I'm super excited!
You can overcome this. Trust me when I say...If I can overcome this fear, ANYONE can. :-)
I had the exact same problem, its like my fear just came out of nowhere and got worse and worse over the course of a year (where i just so happened to have about 8 flights to take that year). I ended up doing the Virgin Atlantic fear of flying course and I have flown since and I genuinely think it has helped the panic! Others that have done the same course say that it gets better and better with each flight so to be honest I am not all that nervous about flying any more when before even looking at a plane made me want to thrown up.
I do have a tendancy to get a bit drunk before a flight which helps me ALOT lol and the doctor has given me valium that i try and avoid. I think you definitely need to look into some sort of therapy or course though, before it snowballs into a massive phobia.
I am like CallDoll, I pray. As soon as I get my seat belt fastened I start , I pray for the pilot, copilot, flight attendants, traffic control officers, food handlers anyone remotely connected with the flight , other passengers, other passengers families, other planes in the air, by the time I get done praying for everybody I have usually reached my destination, and I have had some long flight, to Europe and South America as an example. I have never had any problem but have been in several automobile accidents !
Thanks for the suggestions! It's nice to hear that I'm not alone in this. I do find that alcohol calms my nerves as well, but I hate to rely on that because sometimes its the morning, or i have to drive when i land, or i have to go to work when i land. I just don't want to be dependent on that. I have a few of my own calming techniques but they're not working as much any more.
Good point about watching others. Some times I stare at the flight attendants. They must think I'm creepy cause I'll watch their every move during turbulence. And I have to give them credit. I've never seen any freak out. In fact I was once on a flight that got caught in the wake of a 747 and so dipped from side to side. The flight attendant fell over then got up laughing even though she banged her head. Maybe she had a concussion, but she never let on. So I do appreciate them being there. I also like pilots who talk a lot to the plane. Just hearing their voice makes me feel comfortable. One thing that I read said to introduce yourself to the pilot, but I think I'd feel stupid/embarrassed to do that.
So anyway, I agree that a course would be good. There is an online course called SOAR, but it seems pretty expensive. I've downloaded a few books. I've got a flight in about 2 hours and I'm determined to not freak out. I know that I can beat this. I just don't know how yet. :-) But if praying is what it takes then I'll pray!
I just close my eyes and silently pray, anyone looking at me would assume I am just resting. I always take something along to read and have never read anything, yet. I flew in my business, too and am still here to tell you about it.
Some times I stare at the flight attendants. They must think I'm creepy cause I'll watch their every move during turbulence. And I have to give them credit. I've never seen any freak out. ...I also like pilots who talk a lot to the plane. Just hearing their voice makes me feel comfortable.
I also stare at flight attendants, especially when the plane is "lumpy bumpy" (as I say).
And I cannot agree more about hearing the pilots voices. It is comforting.
I'm sure your flight was fine and you can report about it when you return.
About the staring at flight attendants, on my flying course the pilot who ran the day for us said that they are well aware that people watch them constantly and are trained to not show any emotion at any point.
But yes, I also stare at the attendants looking for any sign of panic even though I know deep down they would never show it!
I've heard that phobias are actually very curable (like in a couple of sessions with someone who knows what he/she is doing), their root is in the fear of loss of control. I grew up on the west coast and moved to the east coast, so for a while I was on 5 to 6 hour flights a couple of times a year. I never had any fear over it, then had a stressful period of time, and developed a fear of flying and started to develop a little bit of claustrophobia too (something I've always had to a certain extent).
I don't fly that much now, but I overcame both by kind of talking myself through the fears (basically irrational), and calming myself. Breathing. Distracting myself with crossword puzzles, books, that sort of stuff, even music. I think working on my physical health helped too.
Before you sink money into it, I'd do a little reading at the library and maybe online, you might find some very useful techniques for free.
I love to travel so I fly somewhat often (4 or 5 round-trip flights a year, usually one really long one). when i was younger I could get on a plane without thinking twice; as I have gotten older I've been much more nervous on flights. If it's smooth sailing I'm totally fine, but one bump can make me create crazy scenarios in my mind. Thinking about the number of flights that take off and land safely from every single airport every single day actually really helps me. I'll think "100 plans have already landed safely at my destination airport today," and feel much better.
Thanks everyone! So I'm back and of course made it home just fine. Now that I'm really assessing my phobia and trying to figure a way around it I think it's actually helping. I watched a fear of flying course online and got some books about flying. I think learning about the science of flying and hearing over and over again how safe it is is actually helping. I was nervous on my flights out, but on the way back I was the calmest that I've been in a long time. I was also actually super tired cause it was a 6 am flight which might have had something to do with it. But I was so calm through all of the pieces of the flight. I even looked outside a few times which I never do! So I'm excited to go on my next flight sometime soon and see how I do the next time. If I can actually get over this then one piece of my life will be so much easier.
Now if only I could tackle my weight loss in the same positive way....
Fear of Flying
