get over my fear of flying

I have had a phobia of flying for about 10 years (from when I took my last flight aged 13). Lots of people claim to have a phobia of flying but still get on planes…I couldn’t look at a plane without panicking. I was sure that any plane I got on would crash. This held me back and meant that any holiday involved 30 hour coach trips with elderly people or a serious amount of sea sickness! My fiancé proposed and of course we wanted a great honeymoon (Cornwall wouldn’t really cut it!!) so I decided to tackle this head on. I started hypnosis in feb 09….I enjoyed this and saw results quickly. I booked a flight in may so I could fly in september on a short inland flight. I lost a lot of sleep and had many a tantrum in the build up but as the day came, I was calm, collected and I coped with it. I didn’t even worry and even enjoyed the peacefulness of it all! I would highly recomend conquering this fear as I am now, literally, on top of the world!!

Well, I’ve just done my latest stint – Been to India & back again – 4 flights and I’m still here!
I’ve flown long distances since childhood … never had any problems until i was in my 20’s and then one holiday, coming back from Greece, something just snapped – dunno … I’ve never been so petrified in my life!
Anyway … I keep on going – I wouldn’t say i’m over my fear yet – no way – but i don’t let it stop me from going places and weirdly enough i’ve realised that I’m actually “calmer” when I fly on my own … don’t know why that is …

Oh well, now feeling ok … until the next time!... Thinking about visiting the States over Christmas … but the thought of flying there is not something I can handle right now …

I had diazepam in my bag but couldn’t take it because I had to drive home from the airport.
Usually this would mean tears and panic on the plane. But I kept it together. It was tough, but I coped.
Usually I try and stop the fear. This time I said to myself, “you’re scared. This is the worst thing in life for for you” (being in a plane, esp at takeoff). So I put my feet on the shaking floor, relaxed my body and felt the terror – telling myself that if I feel it I can get through it. I kept feeling my pulse to see how it changed whe the fear had me, this helped me look at it objectively.
And it helped. The ride was bumpy, which would usually have me almost hysterical, but I mellowed to a kind of weary despair. An improvement I think.
A long way to go, but I’ll get there.

Seriously its a complete pain in the arse … I’ve really got to deal with this … Life’s hard enough without having this kinda shit to deal with!

When I was a teenager, my family and I were on a small plane heading to Ft. Lauderdale. The tower directed the pilot of our plane into the path of a commercial flight. Realizing the mistake, the traffic controller frantically redirected us into a terrible storm. The plane was tossed like a toy in the wind. We lost and regained altitude repeatedly while spinning like a top. I thought we would all die. I flew several times after that with no fear, but in the last few years I have developed a claustrophobia on planes that sends me into panic attacks. This keeps me from traveling to far off places. I’ve conquered my claustrophobia in other closed-in places, but just the thought of boarding a plane makes my hands sweat. Not only getting on an airplane again is a goal, but I would like to enjoy the flight as well.

...I’m just terrified of crashing.

I think this sort of sums up my issue. I’m not really scared by the act of flying or even dying. I’m scared of the possible ways of dying as a result of flying. Make sense?

This phobia is one that has taken root in me sometime in the last 6 years or so. There was a time that flying never bothered me, actually I looked forward to it. And then I snapped.

It first hit me when I wanted to fly to visit family in South Carolina from Vermont, where I lived at the time. I got the time off of work, booked my flight, and let everyone know I was coming. Then, a week before I was supposed to go, it hit me… oh shit I’m getting on an airplane.

I went through with the trip, and when I’d landed in Philadelphia after the first leg from Burlington, VT I actually felt a bit silly about losing sleep for week about it. However, instead of it being a one time freak out it has just gotten worse at time goes on.

The last time I flew was about 4 years ago to a conference in Boston for work. I couldn’t sleep for weeks leading up to the day, literally drank my face off before boarding here locally and during a stopover in Charlotte. By the time we were ready to leave Charlotte for Boston I would have flown on a winged unicorn…

Now I avoid air travel at all costs. Two years ago when I had to take a business trip to Chicago I rented a car and drove 11 hours instead of flying. Last summer when my brother got married in New Jersey I rented a car and drove over 13 hours.

However, this summer, I have an event that I must fly to. As in there is no physical way to drive a car to it. So here I go… trying to attempt to figure out some way around this fear.

I’ve been flying since I was a baby, and was fine up until my early 20s. I don’t know why it hit me then, but for some reason I’ve gotten tense during the weeks building up to a flight. For someone who has successfully flown to places as far as Japan and Greece, it sucks to be dealing with this now. Since developing my fear, I’ve flown several times, but I want to get over the severe case of nerves I feel before and during so that I can learn to enjoy flying again.

took a trip to San Francisco asked for a non windows seat got a windows seat had a layover in Las Vegas for a hour both ways

i did it hated it and hope to god i never have to do it again

so yes i still have the fear but i did it hated it but still i well stick to the ground maybe a cruse that sounds enjoyable but would have to cruse both ways that cost a lot more soo oh well

as a kid and early teen, i flew a lot and had no issues. i was never scared until maybe age 13 or 14. i remember hearing about a plane crash (maybe twa 800?) and i began thinking what it must have been like on that plane, or any plane crash.

now i have mini panic attacks when i have to fly (which i hate, because i LOVE to travel), and am nervous for loved ones to fly. even though logically know that the chances of anything happening are sooo minute, and that air travel is safer than car travel, it still freaks me out.

i tend to be against the quick jump to meds that doctors seem to do these days, but i would definitely consider an anti-anxiety pill if it would help me calm down.

this spring i plan to look into it! good luck everyone.

ahh!such a relief!!!i’ve finally flown in an airplane!!!it was actually pretty enjoyable!the only parts that were a LITTLE scary were take off and the few turbulance instances we had.i also didn’t like the wide turns when the plane seemed to go to one side.but the view from the planes were a whole other worl and totally worth it and my trip to st louis was awesome!good luck!