A fear of flying

[Monte Carlo]

I am terrified of flying. I loathe it. It is a proper, drench-in-sweat phobia. It wasn't always this way, but around 2000 or so I became terrified of flying whilst on a Virgin 747 somewhere over the Atlantic.

 

I last went on a passenger jet in 2007, whereupon the flying-phobics nightmare of heavy turbulence hit the aircraft over the Swiss Alps. I was too scared to be sick.

 

I need to conquer this, or failing that at least find a way to get me back on a plane. I can't drink on aircraft, have never been able to. Does anybody else have this problem, and if they've beaten it, how?

[Humodour]

Tried a few drinks before boarding? I ask this because alcohol is an anxiolytic, and you sound like you're getting anxiety/panic attacks. Even if that doesn't work, there are many other anxiolytic drugs with vastly different structure which probably would.

[Moose]

Rationalise the situation in your head and you will conquer it.

[Walsingham]

I was once on a plane an my neighbour turned out to have a fear of flying. I selflessly launched into a lecture on the culture and customs of the Hazara peoples of Afghanistan, and she was soon far too bored to be scared.

[Kaftan Barlast]

I hadnt flew in a few years and when I finally did, I found out I had developed a fear of flying. But once I flew some more, it went away again. So Id advise you to book a couple of flight back and forth somewhere until you're not afraid anymore

[Walsingham]

Actually in seriousness, I went through a short phase of being afraid of flying. I realised it was being so accustomed to it which made me scared. I then elected to study flight on the plane, and to be really really excited by how awesomely clever the business is.

 

I did much the same thing to overcome my fear of needles.

[Rosbjerg]

Rationalise the situation in your head and you will conquer it.

I hadnt flew in a few years and when I finally did, I found out I had developed a fear of flying. But once I flew some more, it went away again. So Id advise you to book a couple of flight back and forth somewhere until you're not afraid anymore

 

If it is a phobia then none of your suggestions will work and only result in further misery - I know cause I have arachnophobia and was given similar advice which certainly did not help.. Phobias are not rational and cannot be beaten with rationality.

 

 

Monte, if you have aerophobia, you only really have 2 options - either going under hypnosis to cure it or dope yourself like Krezack said to subdue it..

[Kaftan Barlast]

Isnt arachnophobia treated by forcing you to play around with increasingly larger spiders until you realise theyre not that bad? Atleast TV tells me it is.

[mkreku]

I think you should admit defeat, realize that you're a **** and never, ever leave your country again.

[mkreku]

I AM REFERRING TO THE CAT, STUPID FILTER

[Rosbjerg]

Isnt arachnophobia treated by forcing you to play around with increasingly larger spiders until you realise theyre not that bad? Atleast TV tells me it is.

 

That only works for mild cases .. and then only if you are drugged (or in an otherwise very safe environment) and over a long period of time until your mind realizes the idiocy of the fear. Hypnosis however can remove the severe panic in 2-3 sessions, but only if you are susceptible. The people on TV were probably under a mild NLP hypnosis (something they are not necessarily aware of), allowing them to avoiding running out of the studio in panic.

 

It's classic conditioning, but first the mind needs to be panic free in order for the new reality to set in, otherwise you simply revert, which can still happen. Imagine an uncontrollable fear, that completely dominates your mind and fires every escape mechanism in your body, until you are away from the source of the fear and then imagine sitting next to this object and playing with it.

[Humodour]

Psychedelic therapy would probably also work permanently with a handful of session (maybe one) but I doubt Monte Carlo considers that an option.

[Kaftan Barlast]

Arachnophobiacs are still pussies when compared to us hypochondriacs. We get more "Well, you ARE probably going to die of cancer. But I wouldnt worry about it." which isnt really much comfort.

[Rosbjerg]

Let's just agree on the fact that hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobes are the worst.

[Orogun01]

Try skydiving, instant cure to your fear of planes.

[Kaftan Barlast]

I tried that, I got to the plane when it was parked on the ground and instantly pussied out. The fear of flying went away but Im still insanely scared of heights

[Gfted1]

I can't drink on aircraft, have never been able to. Does anybody else have this problem, and if they've beaten it, how?

 

I'd love to help but Ive always been able to drink on aircraft.

 

Sorry, I got nothing MC.

 

I too am afraid of heights but only the middle heights. Im not afraid of the heights involved in flying or being in a tall building but when I climb on my roof to hang the damn Christmas lights Im freaked out. Or if Im at the top of a ladder. Also, I would never be able to walk out on that glass platform they have constructed that goes out over the Grand Canyon. Well, not without soiling myself.

[Gorgon]

The thing about planes, if it does go wrong there is nothing you can do to rectify the situation. If it's just a tall drop you can take a minute and try to come to terms with the vertigo and fear.

[LadyCrimson]

Agree with Rosbjerg - if it's a true phobia it's not something cured by rational thoughts.

 

I don't have any advice....I don't like flying either, but don't have any serious issues. The main thing for me is my allergies make me a little paranoid that one day my head will explode upon take-off.

Also, not afraid of heights but am afraid of falling, eg ladders are almost bad enough to be an actual phobia, but not quite. I refuse to get on them 99% of the time however. Oddly, I'm not afraid of climbing trees. I guess they feel stable.

[Serrano]

It's all those D&D games pushing druid philosophy on you.

[Gorgon]

Maybe so, but if you had to make a difficult climb to save your life, your survival instance would trump the phobia and you would just get on with it, like throwing someone into a pool who doesn't know how to swim, you learn because your brain doesn't leave you any choice.

 

I suppose skydiving lessons as a cure would only work if someone kicked you out of the plane.

[GreasyDogMeat]

It isn't flying that I'm afraid of... its the take off and landing where I'm white knuckling it.

 

A number of ideas from this site have already been suggested, but maybe they'll help.

[Orogun01]

Maybe so, but if you had to make a difficult climb to save your life, your survival instance would trump the phobia and you would just get on with it, like throwing someone into a pool who doesn't know how to swim, you learn because your brain doesn't leave you any choice.

 

I suppose skydiving lessons as a cure would only work if someone kicked you out of the plane.

You are strapped to another person who has more experience, so no backing out.

[Monte Carlo]

I have spoken with a doctor today, who apparently tells me that I'm legitimately eligible for valium, which I thought was only proscribed to housewifes in the 1970s.

 

This should be a new experience. The quack, obviously thinking about his professional ethics and Hippocratic Oath suggested that I washed them down with a couple of large cognacs for optimum in-flight nirvana. He assures me that my usual aversion to airborne boozing will be nullified by the tranqs.

 

At this rate I'll be getting frequent flyer points.

[Tale]

Can I have your doctor's number?