Drugs or Therapy - Fear Of Flying
Discussion
I was never a big fan of flying so for the last ten years I have chosen boats, trains, or driving everywhere just so I dont have to get on the plane.
I feel I really need to get back in the game and be like everyone else who will happily jump on a 3 hour flight to spain for the weekend rather than the 2 day cross country drive i'm currently doing
Since my last flight I was diagnosed with a mild heart condition and take bisoprolol to keep my heart rate down but am worried being stuck in a plane combined with my newly found fear of hights and inability to escape might just make me freak out more.
I have thought about booking one of the BA or Virgin fear of flying courses but tbh Im not really sure that would do much more than explain how an aircraft flys as opposed to calming my fears.
I know that in reality thousands of planes fly around every day without incident and i know its a safe form of travel but something inside still makes me terrified.
I'm wondering if the best thing would be to try and get the doc to give me some kind of sedation medication and if so has it worked for you?
I feel I really need to get back in the game and be like everyone else who will happily jump on a 3 hour flight to spain for the weekend rather than the 2 day cross country drive i'm currently doing
Since my last flight I was diagnosed with a mild heart condition and take bisoprolol to keep my heart rate down but am worried being stuck in a plane combined with my newly found fear of hights and inability to escape might just make me freak out more.
I have thought about booking one of the BA or Virgin fear of flying courses but tbh Im not really sure that would do much more than explain how an aircraft flys as opposed to calming my fears.
I know that in reality thousands of planes fly around every day without incident and i know its a safe form of travel but something inside still makes me terrified.
I'm wondering if the best thing would be to try and get the doc to give me some kind of sedation medication and if so has it worked for you?
Drugs 100% - anything ending in -pam, I take Diazepam as my drug of choice (aka Ativan)
I could explain the physics of flight, I could tell you what every little noise was on the plane - landing gear, flaps & slats being extended/retracted, hydraulic sounds and vibrations at different seating areas of the aircraft, air-con related noises etc but the moment I set foot on board an airliner I was overcome by a feeling of terror. Lived 10 years in the UK and pretty much never flew anywhere because of this.
I now travel 250,000 miles a year and it's all thanks to being forced too and Diazepam.
People can harp on all they like about safest form of travel etc, but for me the problem is you are completely out of any control of your life whilst onboard. And accidents do happen, technical failures happen that we don't even know will happen yet, terrorists will think of new ways to do attacks, pilots can become suicidal, other planes could stray into your path etc etc
I could explain the physics of flight, I could tell you what every little noise was on the plane - landing gear, flaps & slats being extended/retracted, hydraulic sounds and vibrations at different seating areas of the aircraft, air-con related noises etc but the moment I set foot on board an airliner I was overcome by a feeling of terror. Lived 10 years in the UK and pretty much never flew anywhere because of this.
I now travel 250,000 miles a year and it's all thanks to being forced too and Diazepam.
People can harp on all they like about safest form of travel etc, but for me the problem is you are completely out of any control of your life whilst onboard. And accidents do happen, technical failures happen that we don't even know will happen yet, terrorists will think of new ways to do attacks, pilots can become suicidal, other planes could stray into your path etc etc
uber said:
I was never a big fan of flying so for the last ten years I have chosen boats, trains, or driving everywhere just so I dont have to get on the plane.
I feel I really need to get back in the game and be like everyone else who will happily jump on a 3 hour flight to spain for the weekend rather than the 2 day cross country drive i'm currently doing
Since my last flight I was diagnosed with a mild heart condition and take bisoprolol to keep my heart rate down but am worried being stuck in a plane combined with my newly found fear of hights and inability to escape might just make me freak out more.
I have thought about booking one of the BA or Virgin fear of flying courses but tbh Im not really sure that would do much more than explain how an aircraft flys as opposed to calming my fears.
I know that in reality thousands of planes fly around every day without incident and i know its a safe form of travel but something inside still makes me terrified.
I'm wondering if the best thing would be to try and get the doc to give me some kind of sedation medication and if so has it worked for you?
I too hace a fear of flying, we'll not the flying part, but the part of being stuck in a situation where i can't get out of. Basically i get on a plane and as soon as i sit down i start looking for exits, heart rate rises, sweaty palms, getting very anxious and on edge. I think it stems back from my childhood, and it is something i have only developed in my early 20's, i am now 25. A similar situation is i hate going in lifts!!. I feel I really need to get back in the game and be like everyone else who will happily jump on a 3 hour flight to spain for the weekend rather than the 2 day cross country drive i'm currently doing
Since my last flight I was diagnosed with a mild heart condition and take bisoprolol to keep my heart rate down but am worried being stuck in a plane combined with my newly found fear of hights and inability to escape might just make me freak out more.
I have thought about booking one of the BA or Virgin fear of flying courses but tbh Im not really sure that would do much more than explain how an aircraft flys as opposed to calming my fears.
I know that in reality thousands of planes fly around every day without incident and i know its a safe form of travel but something inside still makes me terrified.
I'm wondering if the best thing would be to try and get the doc to give me some kind of sedation medication and if so has it worked for you?
I take Diazepam 1 hour before a flight, (2mg), they come in 2mg or 5mg. It takes the edge of it and relaxes you. As said above, drugs is the way foreward.
pffft...
I have a fear of heights and flying, but I just MTFU...
I would take drugs, as I really hate it when the plane banks left or right as I think that is it, but I don't like the idea of relying on a drug like I did with zopiclone for a while when I couldn't sleep, I got into the mind set of if I didn't take one I wouldn't sleep, therefore if I ran out I was anxious and panicky...
Took months to realise the body would sleep when it needs it and if I don't sleep a few nights then so what.
So I get the sweaty hands and such, but a technique of breathing and meditating means I can focus on something else and drop it.
I have a fear of heights and flying, but I just MTFU...
I would take drugs, as I really hate it when the plane banks left or right as I think that is it, but I don't like the idea of relying on a drug like I did with zopiclone for a while when I couldn't sleep, I got into the mind set of if I didn't take one I wouldn't sleep, therefore if I ran out I was anxious and panicky...
Took months to realise the body would sleep when it needs it and if I don't sleep a few nights then so what.
So I get the sweaty hands and such, but a technique of breathing and meditating means I can focus on something else and drop it.
thehawk said:
People can harp on all they like about safest form of travel etc, but for me the problem is you are completely out of any control of your life whilst onboard. And accidents do happen, technical failures happen that we don't even know will happen yet, terrorists will think of new ways to do attacks, pilots can become suicidal, other planes could stray into your path etc etc
How much control do you have when some scumbag drops a paving slab off a motorway bridge taking your head clean off, or when you're in a queue of traffic and a petrol tanker hits you at 50mph, setting off a hideous fireball and you have to be identified by your dental records.Of course accidents happen, but ffs look at the stats. Yes, you can die going on holiday, but having made it by road to the airport, you're over the most dangerous part of your journey.....apart from the taxi ride at the other end from the ariport to your hotel.
Do you know anyone whose been in a plane crash? Do you know anyone who knows anyone who has been in a plane crash? But I bet you know someone whose been killed in a car crash.
Irattional fears are ....irrational. Keep telling yourself that.
As other, I have developed a fear of flying, anxiety, sweaty palms etc. in the last few years, despite the fact I've been flying for >15 years!
Flying tomorrow and won't have time to see a GP to get a prescription.
There -pam drugs that you mention, are they available over the counter?
If not, what's the next best thing?
I have a 2.30hrs flight tomorrow and then need to collect a hire car and drive about 1hr.
Would I be ok to do that if taking any kind of meds?
Can I mix with alcohol?
(I usually sip a few G&Ts in the lounge before a flight to calm the nerves, but not ideal if I'm driving afterwards!)
Flying tomorrow and won't have time to see a GP to get a prescription.
There -pam drugs that you mention, are they available over the counter?
If not, what's the next best thing?
I have a 2.30hrs flight tomorrow and then need to collect a hire car and drive about 1hr.
Would I be ok to do that if taking any kind of meds?
Can I mix with alcohol?
(I usually sip a few G&Ts in the lounge before a flight to calm the nerves, but not ideal if I'm driving afterwards!)
I used to have to dose up on diazepam just to be able to get on the plane, now it does not really bother me if I'm honest.
I can't say that I truly enjoy flying like some, but I can at least relax a little now.
What worked for me was doing more of it, until it almost became routine, and watching the videos of how the plane operates, what the noises are, what the vibrations are etc.
I also imagined everything car like, so when bouncing along the runway on takeoff I'd picture the Pilot going through the gears as though it was a car. Turbulence - just a bit of bumpy road, nothing more.
Flying back into Heathrow from New York a few years ago, we were held in an early morning holding stack & over the next 40 minutes or so had some fairly steep banking as we descended. Previously I'd have had my eyes shut & fingers burrowing deep into the arm rests, but it really was fantastic to see & feel a 747 doing what it does, I just wish my brain would have let me open my eyes years earlier.
I can't say that I truly enjoy flying like some, but I can at least relax a little now.
What worked for me was doing more of it, until it almost became routine, and watching the videos of how the plane operates, what the noises are, what the vibrations are etc.
I also imagined everything car like, so when bouncing along the runway on takeoff I'd picture the Pilot going through the gears as though it was a car. Turbulence - just a bit of bumpy road, nothing more.
Flying back into Heathrow from New York a few years ago, we were held in an early morning holding stack & over the next 40 minutes or so had some fairly steep banking as we descended. Previously I'd have had my eyes shut & fingers burrowing deep into the arm rests, but it really was fantastic to see & feel a 747 doing what it does, I just wish my brain would have let me open my eyes years earlier.
thehawk said:
Drugs 100% - anything ending in -pam, I take Diazepam as my drug of choice (aka Ativan)
I could explain the physics of flight, I could tell you what every little noise was on the plane - landing gear, flaps & slats being extended/retracted, hydraulic sounds and vibrations at different seating areas of the aircraft, air-con related noises etc but the moment I set foot on board an airliner I was overcome by a feeling of terror. Lived 10 years in the UK and pretty much never flew anywhere because of this.
I now travel 250,000 miles a year and it's all thanks to being forced too and Diazepam.
People can harp on all they like about safest form of travel etc, but for me the problem is you are completely out of any control of your life whilst onboard. And accidents do happen, technical failures happen that we don't even know will happen yet, terrorists will think of new ways to do attacks, pilots can become suicidal, other planes could stray into your path etc etc
Ativan !!! don't think its avail now so addictive and coming off is a night mare fantastic drug tho diazepam does the job washed down with a voddi or two not recommended o paper with any alcholol my fear is not flying its being in a space that I CANT GET OUT OF IF I WANTED ALL IN THE MIND BUT MIND is a strong piece of kitI could explain the physics of flight, I could tell you what every little noise was on the plane - landing gear, flaps & slats being extended/retracted, hydraulic sounds and vibrations at different seating areas of the aircraft, air-con related noises etc but the moment I set foot on board an airliner I was overcome by a feeling of terror. Lived 10 years in the UK and pretty much never flew anywhere because of this.
I now travel 250,000 miles a year and it's all thanks to being forced too and Diazepam.
People can harp on all they like about safest form of travel etc, but for me the problem is you are completely out of any control of your life whilst onboard. And accidents do happen, technical failures happen that we don't even know will happen yet, terrorists will think of new ways to do attacks, pilots can become suicidal, other planes could stray into your path etc etc
So, was just prescribed some Diazepam.
Flying Friday morning to Miami, 10hr flight.
Strategy is to sleep very little tomorrow night so that I'm knackered when I get on the plane.
What dose Diazepam do I need to be knocked unconscious for the whole duration of flight?
When to take? Should I avoid food and caffeine beforehand?
Flying Friday morning to Miami, 10hr flight.
Strategy is to sleep very little tomorrow night so that I'm knackered when I get on the plane.
What dose Diazepam do I need to be knocked unconscious for the whole duration of flight?
When to take? Should I avoid food and caffeine beforehand?
matrignano said:
So, was just prescribed some Diazepam.
Flying Friday morning to Miami, 10hr flight.
Strategy is to sleep very little tomorrow night so that I'm knackered when I get on the plane.
What dose Diazepam do I need to be knocked unconscious for the whole duration of flight?
When to take? Should I avoid food and caffeine beforehand?
After a couple of horror African flights (and one circling INSIDE a full-on storm over Gatwick for 40 minutes when A/p shut and other planes overhead - ya fFlying Friday morning to Miami, 10hr flight.
Strategy is to sleep very little tomorrow night so that I'm knackered when I get on the plane.
What dose Diazepam do I need to be knocked unconscious for the whole duration of flight?
When to take? Should I avoid food and caffeine beforehand?
ker!) I was taking 5mg Dia for a while with a couple of G&T's, but as has been said: stay away from caffeine, sugars and carbs as they do lessen the effects. Once I was used to it again I dropped the Dia and now fly at least twice a week across the North Sea with little concerns.matrignano said:
I have 2mg tablets, doctor recommended I take 1 or 2 tabs, but the leaflet reckons I need 5-30mg per day. Will 2 tablets be enough?
I'm 101kg and I wouldn't take anywhere near 30mg! 5mg on a fairly empty stomache kept me calmish, 5mg with a couple of G&T's made me think: 'Ooooh, look at the wings flex, coooool!' 2mg I couldn't feel at all.Gassing Station | Health Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff