Fear of flying...

[chrispete]

I'm quite terrified of even the thought of flying, even though I do fly when necessary and can hold my anxiety to a bearable level (about the level of a guy who's just heard someone say, "Dead man walking.") I'm doing my first international flight (IAH to Belize) this Sat and it seems to be worse this time, I guess because a) it's an international flight, b) it's on a carrier that I am unfamiliar with (TACA) and c) it's my first post 9-11 flight. My doctor is going to be kind enough when I see him Friday to give me some tranquilizers for the flight, but I wanted to see if there were any other tips or tricks from you guys on how to manage the anxiety without putting myself into a catatonic state.

 

[Scubaroo]

I would be more worried about the car ride to the airport. Did you know that there was not a single commercial aviation death in the United States in 2002?

 

[Wendy]

That flight is pretty short and its not like you will be spending hours over the ocean like other international flights folks take.

Also if you plan on diving I'd make sure that all those drugs you take to stay calm on the flight are out of your system before you hit the water.

Get a window seat, bring a headset with some good music, look out the window and enjoy the view of the nice warm blue water with the occasional island here and there. Or to keep your mind off of the fact that you are in a plane, if you are traveling with a significant other, join the mile high club.

 

[notabob]

As Ben said, commercial air travel is the safest form of transportation in the world, even in spite of the events of yesterday. Commercial aircraft accidents are extremely rare. Considering the immense volume of aircraft and passengers in the sky at any given moment (i.e. many millions of people are up in the skies as I'm typing this), you're more likely to get struck by lightning than be involved in an airliner accident. If the statistics alone don't make you feel better about the flight, I'd be happy to discuss technical aspects of flight and multiple safety measures involved in flight and airline travel (i.e. equipment redundancy, procedures, physics of flight that still keep the airplane in the air even if the engines aren't producing power, etc.).

Another thing that might help if you're still feeling anxious while in the air, is to occupy yourself with something else. Bring an interesting book and a walkman with you. Or maybe a portable DVD player if you got one. Consider getting an aisle seat as well, it's easier not to pay attention to what the airplane is doing or how high it is if you can't see it.

-Roman.

 

[DocVikingo]

Too late for this trip, but if needed for the next one:

http://www.fearofflyinghelp.com/

http://www.fofc.com/other_clinics.html

Have fun in Belize.

DocVikingo

 

[qaztwo]

Try to get a seat near or on the wing. The structure is a little bit more beefy there and the wings block your view of the ground, might make you feel more secure. Also depending on the time of year you go try to get an early morning or evening flight, normally there's less turbulence.

 

[seabass]

In the past I would have scoffed at anxiety because I never understood it. However recently I was forced to sit in the 3rd row of seats in a small SUV where the ceiling height was only a few inches above my head and the floor was too high so that my knees were slightly above my waist. In addition, the seat in front of me was really close such that it was touching my whole leg. The only way to get out of the seat was for the people in front to get out and for the whole second row of seats to be flipped forward. Immediately after getting in this position I started to get severe anxiety and claustrophobia because I could not stretch out my back or my legs. I had to stop the SUV after 30 minutes ( of a 2 hour ride) and switch into the second row of seats. The reaction was so strong that I can still "feel" it when I think about the situation. I am not sure my mental discipline would ever be strong enough to let me overcome a similar situation.

A few days before this I had scoffed at a girl who was walking across a suspension bridge holding two both sides of the bridge and taking about 2 seconds for each step (very slow). Now that I understand what real anxiety is I can definitely sympathize.

I have used dramamine for motion sickness, but it also works as a really effective knockout pill for me for about 4 hours. Staying up the night before and two of those could do the trick and keep you sleeping the whole time.

Of course I would really recommend that you call around and find a doctor that has seen this often enough to know what works. If they give you medication, I would test it out at home first so you can get a feel for it. Otherwise it might add to your anxiety.