Drugs or Therapy - Fear Of Flying

[LoFiHamster2]

matrignano said:

I am fully aware that my fear is not rational, I'm an engineer so have a decent grasp of how flying works and am fully aware of how safe it is. Yet I can't help but st my pants at the mere idea of being on a plane.
I'm doing a safari in July which will involve flying in a Cessna type plane and I'm freaking about it already, to the point that I think I'll just bottle it!

So my flight to Miami went well, although I must admit 4mg of Diazepam complimented with a G&T before take off, along with several vodkas and wines on flight, didn't really have the strong effect I expected/hoped for.
Is it the Diazepam dose that was too weak, or should I have not mixed it with alcohol?

I'm like you - fairly strong grounding in physics etc, and probably more aware of the mechanics of flights and the safeguards and tolerances built into planes than most outside the aerospace industry. Doesn't stop me bricking it!

As I was going to the docs recently anyway, and had to take a couple of flights last week, I mentioned the possibility of getting some pills. He said he was much happier for me to neck a couple of pills than several pints, so wrote me a prescription. Like you, however, the recommended 4mg dose did absolutely nothing for me (I didn't mix it with booze, but if anything, doing so should compound the effect rather than reduce it). Friends with some experience of sedatives have since said "4mg won't do anything at all for someone your size", so I'm inclined to think the prescribed dose was far too small.

To address your light-aircraft point, the very few times I've been in them, I've actually been much more comfortable than on an airliner, even though the ride's a lot bumpier. This makes me think it's at least partially a control/visibility thing for me - knowing that X happened because I saw the pilot doing Y gave me much more comfort than X just happening when I'm sat 20 rows back. (And I know that, statistically, light aircraft are much more dangerous).

[Electronicpants]

br d said:

I stared maniacally at a Private Eye I'd bought with me and re-read the same sentence 500 times.

This made me laugh, I had a panic attack on the way back from Kos a few years ago, I must have read the same sentence on my magazine for over an hour, trying to keep my mind off the fact I wanted to shout.....

"STOP THE BLOODY PLANE I WANT OFF, ITS TOO HOT, THERE'S TOO MANY PEOPLE IN IT, I CAN'T FECKIN GET ANY AIR, ANY ONE OF THESE MOUNTAINS WILL DO, OHHH GOD WHAT I'D GIVE FOR THE FRESH AIR, SOLITUDE AND SPACE ONTOP OF A MOUNTAIN"

But I just sat there reading the same bit over and over again as each wave of adrenaline surged through my body.

I'm going to Perthshire for my holidays this year, by car, and I'm driving