Tips to handle fear of flying

jamesrw

jamesrw

jamesrw

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Hi, I am flying on Thursday and I'm not a particularly great flyer. Can anyone give me tips on how to calm myself for this.

Short of spending most of the time before take off in the bar, is there anything else I can do?

I'm flying with BMI baby on a 737. I'm taking everything I need as hand luggage as I can't afford to lose anything.
 
jamesrw said:
Hi, I am flying on Thursday and I'm not a particularly great flyer. Can anyone give me tips on how to calm myself for this.

Short of spending most of the time before take off in the bar, is there anything else I can do?

I'm flying with BMI baby on a 737. I'm taking everything I need as hand luggage as I can't afford to lose anything.
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I hate flying as well, so I tend to not sleep the night before. Then I can't help but sleep on the plane and it's like time travel. Works for me!

Paul
 
Take a Nytol before you get on board?

Seriously you have more chance of being involved in an accident on the way to the airport than you do on board... just think how many flights there are going to/ from the UK every day from every airport and when was the last time an aircraft to/ from the UK was involved in any kind of major incident- let alone a crash? Years! You'll be fine :)
 
Get a pilot to fly instead and relax at the back :D

Seriously though, look at the statistics, and think that even right now, people are flying about over your head, so there is nothing to worry about.
 
find something to do, read a book,do some crossword book , get a gba/psp/ds etc, don't watch Lost,
do you get travel sickness? is so take some tablets for that, funny thing is I'm fine going somewhere on a plane, it's coming back that makes me sick, no joke! ;) on all the flights i've come back on i recent years when coming back i've nearly always been sick :confused: I don't understand how that works.
 
Just bite the bullet and deal with it, i can't see any other way of getting more used to it than actually flying.
 
jamesrw said:
Hi, I am flying on Thursday and I'm not a particularly great flyer. Can anyone give me tips on how to calm myself for this.

Short of spending most of the time before take off in the bar, is there anything else I can do?

I'm flying with BMI baby on a 737. I'm taking everything I need as hand luggage as I can't afford to lose anything.
Click to expand...


Take a few deep breaths and relax yourself, nothings gonna happen tbh. Been said that air travel is much more safer than travelling by car so dont worry too much about it. If it helps dont sit next to a window seat and have a few calming drinks before flying but not too many...dont want to get drunk before you fly.

Other than that just enjoy the flight, the only scary parts of the flight ive found in the past is the take off and landing bits but then i kinda enjoy them tbh...although landing in heavy turbulence is not fun at all :p.
 
Get yourself a book you cant put down, some music to last you the trip and read until you fall asleep. Works for me. If you finish your book, watch the TV until you fall asleep! Have one or two drinks before you get on, and one after takeoff. I wouldnt really recommend more though as it dehydrates you (and you'll be weeing nonstop on the flight). Drink lots of water on the flight too. The eye-blindfold things i guess would be useful to help you forget where you are.
 
Sp00n said:
Just bite the bullet and deal with it, i can't see any other way of getting more used to it than actually flying.
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Not very useful advice. I used to love flying but the more I did it, the more nervous it made me. I had a girlfriend in Holland and I used to see her 2-3 times a month. Even though the flight was only 30 mins from take-off to landing, doing the same flight over and over made me notice subtle differences and some of those made me wonder why they hadn't happened last time, what they could mean etc etc.

Last March I went on a 8-hour flight to the USA. If something's going to happen, it's going to happen and there's nothing you can do about it. Still, after I had had a couple of beers from the trolley I didn't care anymore anyway :p
 
Your doctor will give you a mild sedative if you want it, go for valium as it complements the beer nicely.
 
platypus said:
On a serious note, can I ask what it is you're scared of? Not having this phobia myself I can't understand it.
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I don't think it's a phobia, because a phobia is an irriational fear. If you're scared of flying, you're scared that something's going to go wrong and the aircraft is going to crash, which I don't think is totally irrational.
 
Lysander said:
Not very useful advice.
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...so why don't you suggest something more useful rather than post an old story of your own?

Its 4 days till thursday and as far as i'm aware there is going to be very little chance to sort yourself out before then bar making an 'emergency' hypnotherapy appointment.

Lysander said:
I don't think it's a phobia, because a phobia is an irriational fear. If you're scared of flying, you're scared that something's going to go wrong and the aircraft is going to crash, which I don't think is totally irrational.
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So a fear of spiders is irrational? The fear of the little bugger's biting you is perfectly rational in my eyes.
 
Lysander said:
I don't think it's a phobia, because a phobia is an irriational fear. If you're scared of flying, you're scared that something's going to go wrong and the aircraft is going to crash, which I don't think is totally irrational.
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Isn't it? Air travel is safer then driving, yet people think nothing of getting in a car.
 
Not being in control, not being able to get out at will, the fact you are travelling at speeds that if something happened it's likely you would not survive.
 
jamesrw said:
I'm flying with BMI baby on a 737. I'm taking everything I need as hand luggage as I can't afford to lose anything.
Click to expand...
Ahh the joys of BMI Baby, twice a week for a year really makes you understand why BA is more expensive. Baby aren't bad it's just a bit cramped and tired looking inside. Just watch the hand luggage though, you're still limited to a single bag and the plastic bag of small liquid containers.

Overcoming a fear or dislike of flying can be pretty easy, I didn't care for it at all then started getting sent here, there and everywhere with work so I had to fly. I'm now one of those folk who gets annoyed at people who dither and can't understand airports ;) The statistics bear out how safe flying is so there's nothing to worry about but it's understandable that people get nervous if they're not used to the noises and sensations. Just relax and go with the flow, have a drink before if you want but don't go nuts (the reduced pressure in the cabin makes for bad hangovers). Try and get a seat near to the front, I find that any turbulence etc is less pronounced so it's a bit more comfortable - I remember a hairy descent into Raleigh, NC in the very last row of a 767, I was still green round the edges when I got to immigration!
 
my g/f has similar issues, she's fine when its not landing or taking off.

she tends to close her eyes and squeezes my hand....



P.S:
I'm sorry. I'm not available for hire the day of your flight :D
 
rpstewart said:
Ahh the joys of BMI Baby, twice a week for a year really makes you understand why BA is more expensive. Baby aren't bad it's just a bit cramped and tired looking inside.
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Great, do they use knackered old planes as well?
 
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