<p>I’ve known a number of people who didn’t like to fly, for a variety of reasons. For some, like me, it actually involves anxiety, or even fear. And even within that group, there are different reasons. Some don’t like being closed in inside a metal tube, some don’t like the feeling of loss of control, some don’t like being high above the ground.</p>
<p>For me, I just have a visceral fear response to take-off and turbulence (mostly). It is totally unrelated to any type of logic. I know flying is safe. I simply can’t control my body’s response.</p>
<p>Somewhat, but not enough to keep me from flying. My hands sweat… ex-H used to laugh at me if I grabbed his hand during turbulence, because my hand was always wet. I don’t look out the window when we are turning (usually try to get an aisle seat). Like you, I know perfectly rationally that it is statistically safer than driving. But if something goes wrong, it is completely out of my control.</p>
<p>I had a few bad experiences early in my flying experiences that didn’t help. Flight that blew a tire on takeoff, and we had to circle our destination airport to use up fuel, then land on a foamed runway with firetrucks along side, assuming the crash position… Another time was on a flight that had to do a touch-and-go because there was another plane on the runway we were landing on… another time we were accelerating down the runway, then the pilot stepped on the brakes because a light was on that shouldn’t have been (light saying a door was ajar :eek:). And I really don’t fly that much (have never been a big business traveler). So early “bad luck” probably contributes to my sweaty palms.</p>
<p>I get nervous on take-off and particularly landing but the turbulence does me in. I do fly as I refuse to let my anxiety get the best of me. One technique that I use during turbulence has been very helpful. I imagine that I am in a car going down a bumpy road. For some reason this calms me a lot. Of course I know that I am in the air but, since I know logically that I am safe, the visualizing gives me something to focus on and a way to “explain” the bumping to the primitive part of my brain.</p>
<p>I really love to fly, especially taking off and landing, which is kind of weird because I am very afraid of heights. I will not ride a roller coaster or even a Ferris wheel, but flying does not bother me. And I only fly once or twice a year, so I’m not exactly accustomed to it.</p>
<p>I hate to fly, but do it when necessary. I despise take offs and landings because I hate hearing all kinds of noises when I haven’t a clue as to whether they are “scary” or not.
I can deal with flying if there’s no turbulence. Turbulence is the end of me. I don’t use the “special” bags or anything, but I literally start shaking and promise myself that I’ll never fly again if I live through this flight.</p>
<p>Yes, EPTR, I used to do something similar. I would imagine myself in a speedboat, in choppy water. It did help, especially if the turbulence wasn’t too extreme.</p>
<p>And intparent, my hands perspire on airplanes, too! It is weird, because I cannot think of any other instance where my palms drip with sweat. Just on airplanes.</p>
<p>I am terrified. Haven’t flown in 20 years. I’m a control freak, scared of heights, and have a ‘gut’ feeling that I should not be in the air, no matter how irrational. Luckily I don’t need to fly anywhere.</p>
<p>I hope none of you were at Lambert Field in St. Louis tonight! A tornado touch down might forever traumatize you from going to any airport. :eek:</p>
<p>Flying in a commercial plane doesn’t bother me at all, except for the time we were on an American Eagle flight in Miami and had to sit for almost two hours while a big thunderstorm rolled through. I am extremely claustrophobic and that just really got to me. </p>
<p>My FIL owned a small plane (4 person, including the pilot) and once, when he was taking my DD back to school after the weekend, he asked DH and me to go along. I really didn’t want to because I’m so stinkin’ claustrophobic, but I felt pressured to go, so I did. We were already at the airport when he asked us to go and, luckily, my MIL had some Xanax in her purse. I cried for about the first 20 minutes of the flight but the Xanax finally kicked in and I was okay for the rest of the trip. </p>
<p>Never again will I ride in a four-person plane, go in the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids tree house at MGM (Disney), go up in the St. Louis Arch, or have an MRI or bone scan without heavy sedation. These have all been triggers for panic attacks for me due to claustrophobia.</p>
<p>There are some things that I have just decided I don’t need to do as I don’t enjoy them, they freak me out and they don’t add any quality to my life. These are the things I will never do again and won’t miss:</p>
<p>Roller coasters
Caves of any kind
Zip Lining (don’t get it, don’t like it)
riding in small planes, helicopters or hot air balloons (have never done any of these and see no good reason to unless I am being rescued from something bad. If that’s the case, I’ll pray for a Xanax).</p>
<p>Flying though?..I’ll keep sucking it up so I can go to fun and exciting places.</p>
<p>One of my associates is sporadically petrified. She just returned from visiting two (accepted) colleges with her HS senior son and all he could talk about afterwards was how he had to deal with agitated mom on the plane, never mind the schools :D</p>
<p>I am pretty afraid at take off and landing, because I believe that is when most problems occur… at least in the movies. I HATE that part, but I hate taking a long time to get somewhere even more.</p>
<p>I still remember my moms paralyzing terror on the tram to Roosevelt in New York, at least 35 years ago. I am still in awe, that she went on it, for me.</p>
<p>shrinkrap - someone I met once who has a horrible fear of flying told me that she has educated herself on all the reasons flying is safe, with hope that it would minimize her fears. One of the things she learned was that the majority of crashes at take off occur within 25 seconds of flight. She said whenever her family flies, they have to all get seats in the same row, hold hands during take off, and if there’s an aisle between any family members (but they’re all in the same row), she makes them reach across the aisle to hold the other family member’s hand. Once the plane takes off, she looks at the second hand on her watch, starts saying Our Fathers, and stops when the second hand hits 25. Then she’s generally OK the rest of the flight (oh, and they can release hands then, too).</p>
<p>My family (prior to xanax) refused to hold my hand during takeoff, flying time or landing. You see, I had this little problem…I could cut off their circulation or draw blood as my fingers dug into their arms.</p>
<p>But we do sit together…near the exit. </p>
<p>Don’t do ziplines, caves, mountaintops either. Life is good. Live longer.</p>
<p>Hmmm…wonder if my family would prefer 25 seconds of hand holding, to me, on xanax…but seriously…I think the right music WOULD work well enough for me…too bad they won’t let you use THAT during take off and landing!</p>
<p>I had to have a breast biopsy this week (no biggie… results are normal) that required a lidocaine injection to numb the area. My absolute greatest fear was the stinging from the shot, not the biopsy itself. They placed me on a table with one of my hands back behind my head and the nurse went back there to hold my hand during the procedure (earlier in the day the nurse and I had been talking weight lifting when she told me I had to avoid lifting with upper body at the gym for five days; so she knew I had gotten into some serious weight lifting). When she grabbed my hand, just before the radiologist was ready to numb me up, I said to her, “You sure you know what you’re doing back there? If you hold my hand, I’m going to squeeze VERY HARD!” She sort of laughed and said rather I squeeze her hand than my hand go flying somewhere to look for something to squeeze on, and bump the doc. So the needle went in and as the medicine started to go in, I clamped down on her hand viciously until the sting started to subside (will someone please explain to me why they won’t prescribe Emla for adults???), then slowly relaxed it. The doc asked if the stinging was subsiding and I said yes. The nurse said she knew that too, due to the circulation coming back to her hand.</p>
<p>So I told her she now knew what my husband went through when I was in labor with both my kids and she quickly retorted, “But yea, were you lifting weights then? Geesh!”</p>
<p>Flying was alot easier for me 20 years ago, when I was still drinking! </p>
<p>The only scary thing that’s ever happened to me was on a flight from Seattle to Sacramento. About 25 minutes in, the pilot told us we were diverting to Portland because of a problem with the plane. I’ve been on planes with minor mechanical issues, but this seemed really different: Sacramento was less than an hour away; was it so dire that he thought we couldn’t stay in the air another hour? And if so, could we stay in the air long enough to get to Portland? Also, after the pilot’s announcement, the flight attendant came on to give us instructions, and her voice was shaking; I’ve never heard/seen a flight attendant displaying fear before. And then we were met at Portland by the runway fire engine squad who accompanied us all the way to the gate. </p>
<p>Once in the terminal, I thought very seriously about renting a car and driving the rest of the way. The only thing that stopped me was that I knew if I didn’t finish this trip, I’d never set foot on a plane again.</p>
or anything, but I literally start shaking and promise myself that I’ll never fly again if I live through this flight.</p>