Anyone else here have a problem with flying?

Lysander said:
I feel a bit odd for making this thread but at the same time I want to share. For years I never had any problems with getting in a plane and went to various countries - Italy, France, Spain, Poland, USA etc with no problems at all. Then in 2005, after regular travel to and back from Holland, I started to gradually develop a fear of flying to the point where I was taking the ferry to places rather than a plane [which takes a LOT longer].

Since then I have been on planes once or twice - to Holland again, and back over to the USA - but I don't find it enjoyable at all. I'm off to Portugal tomorrow and wondered if anyone here had tips for getting through the flight.
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Just try not to think about the fact you are moving at 600 mph; that there is 5 miles of clear blue sky just under your feet, that the temperature outside is way below zero, that the planes wings are full of highly explosive fuel, that the plane is probably controlled by a computer, that you have no parachute, that your luggage is probably going to get lost, that you might have accidentally got on the wrong plane, that the man sitting next to you is probably a terrorist, and that you will probably get diverted to an airport 100 miles from the one you intended.

:)
 
I've made just under 200 flights so far this year (granted, I landed on less than 10% of them), and I used to have a fear of flying.

Look at the stats, realise how safe it is, and take your iPod and a good book. Try to enjoy it.
 
Again if anyone feels that having anything clarified will help their fear of flying feel free to ask and I'll happy try and put your mind at ease. Flying really is as safe as we can make it. Is there a risk, well yes of course there is, there is risk in everything! But flying is far far safer then walking or driving etc.
 
I enjoy taking off and landing, the rest of it is a little boring.

I'd trust any airline over a National Express driver.
 
To the OP: I completely understand how you're feeling. I've recently had the onset of virtually the same feelings. I was due to go on a mate's stag do to Tallinn in Estonia at the end of March. Almost without warning about 10 days before the flight I started getting nervous and negative thoughts which grew & grew to the point where I wasn't sleeping, hardly eating & couldn't concentrate on anything at work or at home.

I went to the doctor's the day before the flight to talk about it & he gave me some Valium, including one to 'try' on that day to see if it helped at all, which it did a little - but only to the point of getting 2hrs sleep. I ended up calling my mate the night before the flight (flight was at 6am) and telling him that I couldn't bring myself to do it.

Just some of the thoughts that went through my mind were pretty horrible. For example, I had the feeling that if I got on the plane it would crash & it'd somehow be 'my' fault (killing my mates etc.), that it'd be 'just my luck' after 1000s of safe flights by the Worlds' airlines that it'd happen on my flight etc.

The weird thing is that I have flown previously - flights to Spain, Majorca, Canaries, a Transatlantic trip to DC and most recently to Munich in 2006, just not very often (once every 2 years or so) & I've never been what you'd call a 'great' flyer. Also, I'm a pretty big aviation enthusiast - I go to airshows/displays and enjouy reading about (mostly military) aviation. I'm not sure if it is a case of too much knowledge about aircraft & their systems is a dangerous thing - knowing all the things that can potentially go wrong.

I guess at the nub of it are several things: a fear of being in an enclosed space (like claustrophobia), a feeling of not being in control and having to sit there and stew about things in my mind (I'm not very good at all at not thinking about things and have a hard time relaxing), a lack of trust in others' abilities (ground engineers, designers, pilots etc), and ultimately being in an aluminium tin can stuffed with fuel at 31,000 feet..

I'll be honest and say I still think about it quite often, like most things there are good days when I don't think about it & bad days when it's hard to shake. It can be hard to have the 'flying's great, I love it' fraternity not understanding where you're coming from & that somehow you're a leper for not willingly jumping on a plane every 5 mins :(

Sorry to ramble on, just my 2p's worth :(
 
JonnyT said:
To the OP: I completely understand how you're feeling. I've recently had the onset of virtually the same feelings. I was due to go on a mate's stag do to Tallinn in Estonia at the end of March. Almost without warning about 10 days before the flight I started getting nervous and negative thoughts which grew & grew to the point where I wasn't sleeping, hardly eating & couldn't concentrate on anything at work or at home.

I went to the doctor's the day before the flight to talk about it & he gave me some Valium, including one to 'try' on that day to see if it helped at all, which it did a little - but only to the point of getting 2hrs sleep. I ended up calling my mate the night before the flight (flight was at 6am) and telling him that I couldn't bring myself to do it.

Just some of the thoughts that went through my mind were pretty horrible. For example, I had the feeling that if I got on the plane it would crash & it'd somehow be 'my' fault (killing my mates etc.), that it'd be 'just my luck' after 1000s of safe flights by the Worlds' airlines that it'd happen on my flight etc.

The weird thing is that I have flown previously - flights to Spain, Majorca, Canaries, a Transatlantic trip to DC and most recently to Munich in 2006, just not very often (once every 2 years or so) & I've never been what you'd call a 'great' flyer. Also, I'm a pretty big aviation enthusiast - I go to airshows/displays and enjouy reading about (mostly military) aviation. I'm not sure if it is a case of too much knowledge about aircraft & their systems is a dangerous thing - knowing all the things that can potentially go wrong.

I guess at the nub of it are several things: a fear of being in an enclosed space (like claustrophobia), a feeling of not being in control and having to sit there and stew about things in my mind (I'm not very good at all at not thinking about things and have a hard time relaxing), a lack of trust in others' abilities (ground engineers, designers, pilots etc), and ultimately being in an aluminium tin can stuffed with fuel at 31,000 feet..

I'll be honest and say I still think about it quite often, like most things there are good days when I don't think about it & bad days when it's hard to shake. It can be hard to have the 'flying's great, I love it' fraternity not understanding where you're coming from & that somehow you're a leper for not willingly jumping on a plane every 5 mins :(

Sorry to ramble on, just my 2p's worth :(
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Very helpful post, thank you, and I'm glad that you were able to share that since it is very similar to me. I'd like to conquer this and maybe talking about it here will help me and others - I'm sorry you didn't make it to the stag do but I totally understand.

I'm back from Portugal now, and both flights went totally without incident: they couldn't have been smoother. That's not to say I didn't feel uncomfortable - I hated the flight back especially and couldn't wait for it to finish.

I have worked out, through these two flights, that my main concern is not really anything I talked about earlier in this thread but a mechanical or technical failure that jeapordises the aircraft, which is unprepared for and which the crew have no control over. Taking this into consideration, I don't know if any 'course' would allay my fears.

I find flying fasincating and love learning about it too. However, my natural macabre interests also mean I have seen a lot of air crash videos and heard many black box recordings, which of course haven't helped. I'm going to get through this nevertheless.
 
I've never actually flown before! I assume I don't have a fear but I suppose I can't be 100% sure until I actually need to fly in the near future. Oh well :p
 
I can't stand flying. It's a simple reason too, I'm not in control, i'm putting my life in a pilots hands which I don't like doing.

I will get on a plane if I have too (if the misses wants to go away) but i HATE it.

I went to amsterdam last year, I pooped my pants on that plane I can tell ya but the misses really wanted to go.

If I can help it I won't fly.
 
Wizzkidy said:
I can't stand flying. It's a simple reason too, I'm not in control, i'm putting my life in a pilots hands which I don't like doing.
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Fair enough reason for not liking it I suppose, but does that feeling of not being in control make you avoid getting in a taxi for example? There is lots of situations where your not in control.
 
xen_ said:
Fair enough reason for not liking it I suppose, but does that feeling of not being in control make you avoid getting in a taxi for example? There is lots of situations where your not in control.
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I can't remember the last time I took a taxi, I drive and don't drink so I don't use them.

But anyway I can get into a car with someone else driving but even then yes I do feel a little bit nervy.
 
I used to fly planes, I jumped out of them too. I've also been flying and travelling since I was 18 months old 4-5 times a year for the past 28 years, and in my last job took over 40 return flights a year. So no I have no problem with flying - it's about the only time I feel relaxed in fact, so much so I tend to fall asleep within minutes of boarding.
 
Flying doesn't bother me (I probably to 30 - 40 return flights a year) it's the airports that I have a problem with!
 
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