I am flying over the pond in June, and I'm a bit anxious about it. Yes, my name is Izz, and I am afraid to fly. I'd much rather be Ireland bound on a ship called Titanic at this point....I almost think my chances would be better . But seriously, what do you do to get over such a thing? Or does this border on a medical type posting? I'm not asking for cures, just something to keep my mind off the fact that I'll be waaaaaaaaay up in the air, flying over a huuuuuuuuuuuuge body of water. Anyone?
Someday, everything is gonna be diff'rent
When I paint my masterpiece.
Knitting, crossword puzzles, loads of mp3s, books on tape, meditation, someone new to talk to, a silent whistle to practice with ... (I'm looking for similar distractions, a month earlier!)
anniemcu
--- "You are what you do, not what you claim to believe." -Gene A. Statler
--- "Olé to you, none-the-less!" - Elizabeth Gilbert
--- http://www.sassafrassgrove.com
Tell us something.: "Tell us something" hits me a bit like someone asking me to tell a joke. I can always think of a hundred of them until someone asks me for one. You know how it is. Right now, I can't think of "something" to tell you. But I have to use at least 100 characters to inform you of that.
Fyffer is on to something, though I might suggest a sleeping pill instead--kills fewer brain cells and leaves you feeling a bit better when you wake up. Probably cheaper, too.
I had this too, until a holiday to the Med in 2002. Before that I'd flown only the once, on my honeymoon in 1976. That was a very unfortunate experience, as my sinuses were blocked by a very heavy cold, I was seriously nervous anyway, and the flight was complicated by a diversion due to fog at the destination. But the 2002 flight was a cinch, and I've been OK on the few flights I've experienced ever since, even the long haul one to Australia.
Ignore advice about drinking. Just don't go near alcohol at all (not even Doom Bar! ). It will stress you out even more and will dehydrate you - a severe problem on flights of any length. You don't need travel pills or sleeping tablets either. You'll just feel rotten if you take these. Just make sure you're good and ready well in advance and avoid last-minute hassles like the plague. Get to the airport really early, do all the checking-in stuff promptly, get into the departure lounge and relax with cups of tea and a good read. Have a bottle of water and a pack of sweets for the flight. These days, flights almost never get into difficulties. The most unnerving bits are take-off and landing, but these are very transitory and they are absolutely routine for the flight crew. The actual flight is, well, quite boring, unless you're one of those people like me who loves to watch the view from the windows. So a good read, or your iPod, or just watch the inflight films. Get up for a stroll around about once every half-hour to stretch your legs a bit. The most annoying bits about flying are the stupid rituals at the airports at each end.
"Last night, among his fellow roughs,
He jested, quaff'd and swore."
They cut me down and I leapt up high
I am the life that'll never, never die.
I'll live in you if you'll live in me -
I am the lord of the dance, said he!
If it's a true phobia there are treatments. A friend of mind had a phobia of flying and sought professional help.
What I do is I make a lot of disturbing, inappropriate comments joking about crashing and my lifeless body descending to the depths of the sea and stuff like that. Then I get a window seat and try to enjoy the view and the clouds while there's anything to see. The I settle into the horrible torture that flying truly is. Why can't they make stacked tubes so you could at least lie down and stretch out? Why cram us all sitting up?
I used to be awed by the mystic of travel and then I flew a few times. The undignified, uncomfortable, un-democratic nature of it just puts me off.
~ Diane
Flutes: Tipple D and E flutes and a Casey Burns Boxwood Rudall D flute
Whistles: Jerry Freeman Tweaked D Blackbird
Don't let anyone even suggest that you have a phobia. It is perfectly OK to feel apprehensive about an experience that you may see as robbing you of control, but it isn't a phobia unless you have to be dragged kicking and screaming to the airport, which you won't have to be. Calm preparation and no last-minute rushes are the answer. A ton of fretting gets no-one anywhere. You will start off at one end and finish at the other a few scant hours later, however much or little you worry.
"Last night, among his fellow roughs,
He jested, quaff'd and swore."
They cut me down and I leapt up high
I am the life that'll never, never die.
I'll live in you if you'll live in me -
I am the lord of the dance, said he!
Tell us something.: "Tell us something" hits me a bit like someone asking me to tell a joke. I can always think of a hundred of them until someone asks me for one. You know how it is. Right now, I can't think of "something" to tell you. But I have to use at least 100 characters to inform you of that.
SteveShaw wrote:Just make sure you're good and ready well in advance and avoid last-minute hassles like the plague. Get to the airport really early, do all the checking-in stuff promptly, get into the departure lounge and relax with cups of tea and a good read. Have a bottle of water and a pack of sweets for the flight. These days, flights almost never get into difficulties... So a good read, or your iPod, or just watch the inflight films. Get up for a stroll around about once every half-hour to stretch your legs a bit.
That's the best advice here. I would add sleep, and sit next to someone interesting if you have any say in the matter. Nothing passes the miles like sleep, except a good conversation.
My mother-in-law phrases her pre-flight checklist thusly:
"Do I want to take a sleeping pill so I wouldn't know if the
plane were crashing, or a tranquilizer so I wouldn't care?"
It's amazing how, on a thread about getting over the worry of flying, we get all this about getting pissed, tranquillisers, sleeping pills, plane crashes and phobias. Don't listen, Izz. Just act normal, drink water and cups of tea and avoid getting into a rush. That's all there is to it, honest, and I'm speaking as someone who had to get over it.
"Last night, among his fellow roughs,
He jested, quaff'd and swore."
They cut me down and I leapt up high
I am the life that'll never, never die.
I'll live in you if you'll live in me -
I am the lord of the dance, said he!
I once heard the late great Isaac Asimov speak and confessed that he could not bring himself to fly. Here was one of the best all around knowledgeable people in the world who could explain to you in great detail exactly how a plane flys, and could quote the safety statistics of flying vs any other mode of transportation, and yet he would not set foot in a plane. He freely admitted that this was totally irrational, so don't feel bad: you're in very good company
Don't drink alcohol on the flight. If the cabin depressurizes, you'll be a drooling idiot.
Is your flight direct or do you need to fly in from where you live to New York or somwhere and connect for your overseas flight? If the latter, I hope you don't have one of those cheap on-line fares that divides the trip up into two itineraries on different airlines. It's nigh on to impossible to get your bags checked through, so you have to go get them and drag them to the other airline and re-check them. If that is the case, consider just doing carry-on, unless you have a huge layover. If you are bringing children, remember -- each one is entitled to a carry-on, even if it is your stuff in it.
If bringing a laptop, do not use it during the flight. The dumbass in front of you will lean his seat back, and it will catch on your screen and snap it in two. I've seen this happen. It is very sad.
Do allow lots and lots of time before your flight. Crap always happens -- the tram breaks down or it's "Hire the Stupid Day" at the TSA -- and you'll be much less anxious if you're not worried about being late. (And you will be worried about being late.)
Try to get a window seat. That way you only have to get up when you have to go pee, and not when everyone else in the row has to. Plus, you have something to lean on when they put you next to Jaba the Hutt, who should really be forced to pay for two seats.
Those little motion sickness arm bands really work. Get one if you've never flown; you never know whether you'll need it.
Forget that stuff about having a nice conversation with the person next to you. Everyone on the airplane is either pissed or crazy, and anyone who wants to chat is not someone you would want to chat with.
When the stewar . . . sorry . . . flight attendant is giving the emergency exit instructions, it is considered bad form to ring your call button and ask if in the event of an incident and you survive, is it OK to leave through the gaping hole in the side of the fuselage, or do you have to use the exits.
Do not bring your dog.
Last edited by gonzo914 on Fri Mar 28, 2008 5:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
Crazy for the blue white and red
Crazy for the blue white and red
And yellow fringe
Crazy for the blue white red and yellow
. But seriously, what do you do to get over such a thing? Or does this border on a medical type posting? I'm not asking for cures, just something to keep my mind off the fact that I'll be waaaaaaaaay up in the air, flying over a huuuuuuuuuuuuge body of water. 
Anyone?
). It will stress you out even more and will dehydrate you - a severe problem on flights of any length. You don't need travel pills or sleeping tablets either. You'll just feel rotten if you take these. Just make sure you're good and ready well in advance and avoid last-minute hassles like the plague. Get to the airport really early, do all the checking-in stuff promptly, get into the departure lounge and relax with cups of tea and a good read. Have a bottle of water and a pack of sweets for the flight. These days, flights almost never get into difficulties. The most unnerving bits are take-off and landing, but these are very transitory and they are absolutely routine for the flight crew. The actual flight is, well, quite boring, unless you're one of those people like me who loves to watch the view from the windows. So a good read, or your iPod, or just watch the inflight films. Get up for a stroll around about once every half-hour to stretch your legs a bit. The most annoying bits about flying are the stupid rituals at the airports at each end.
