Tips for a nervous flyer

Haz23

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jun 28, 2015
Hello all,

Heading to WDW on Wednesday, very excited however I'm already feeling a bit anxious and wound-up about turbulence and the long-haul flight.

I've done the flight once before and hated it, I used to be quite a good flyer but have become increasingly nervous over the years, even on short-haul flights. Does anyone have any tips/advice/reassurance for coping with the nerves?

Thank you kindly!
 
Just think about the statistics. The fatality rate per mile is 160 times greater travelling by car than by plane. So if you have travelled to the airport by car, you have already got the most dangerous leg of your journey over with!
 


I’m not keen on turbulence either and I HATE landings.
For any turbulence I close my eyes and try to visualise being on my favourite ride and I play music that I can hum quietly along to. Sometimes if they have a Disney movie on I can play that and it helps set the mood. I know that sounds odd but it’s really helped me. I take travel sickness meds as well that help me to relax (the ones that cause drowsiness) usually Kwells but boots own brand are pretty good to. That way I also sleep.
Landings I just grip my DH hand and close my eyes. Poor DH has been left with some spectacular nail marks
 
I do not look at the TV screen as I feel it makes the issue worse, I tend to turn off the screen and try to listen to some relaxing music, turbulence is the worst thing and wish there was a way to avoid it but unfortunately not and I guess like others your have to do you best to put up with it so you can at least visit the magical places in the world like Disney.

Good luck.
 
I find it easier to cope by immersing myself in a good movie or a fantastic book or audiobook. Plug in the headphones to watch or read if you have a book (e-reader) I prefer to listen to my kindle or listen to my favourite music on my phone. That helps to get the chilled out endorphins going and put me into holiday mode. Remember flights are only the preliminary and final sections of your holiday. It’s the bits in the middle where you make memories and have fun.
All the flight crew know exactly what they are doing and so do the baggage handlers. I know it seems to be a huge thing but trust those mechanics at the airports they’ve been servicing planes for ages. All of them are well trained especially for turbulence. Take some ginger biscuits for nausea if you do hit a rough patch but that’s not as frequent a thing as it feels. In over 20 years of flying across the water we’ve only had a couple of flights where it’s happened (I hate heights too) and you soon find the crew try to find a height where they can avoid it further like they did for us. In fact I try to think of it as preparing for the rollercoaster rides if we experience any turbulence.
See your pharmacist if you think you could benefit from travel sickness meds that help you relax but remember to drink water during the flight. They can leave you with that awful cotton mouth feeling.
 


OP, I can definitely sympathize with you! I was terribly afraid of flying for years. I got physically sick weeks before the flight. I had to get a drink and take Dramamine just to make the 3 hour flight. Your long flight is definitely a challenge.
I was completely cured when I was hypnotized. It was done by a certified hypnotist who is a good friend.
I could not believe that I had absolutely no fear on flights. It's wonderful not to have the irrational fear I had.
Even turbulence doesn't bother me anymore.
I think it's worth a try if you can. Who knows, it might help you? Good luck:)
 
  • Watch the flight crew, they continue with their routines during most turbulence. Drinks and meals get served, tidying up gets done, answering call bells, and all the other jobs that they do during the flight.
  • I think of turbulence like a train changing tracks. Trains rock and roll, and clink and clank so I just put myself in that same frame of mind
  • I watch continuous films, but I also have a sleep mask and neck pillow, so that I can get some rest.
 
Those planes are well put together. I saw a documentary about the development of the 747. Boeing tested the flexibility of the wings and how much they could take by bending them almost 90 degrees in both directions hundreds of times before they failed. Under any normal circumstance, they only bend only a degree or two.

Also, think about the crew. How many plane flights have they made it through. Likely thousands.

Lastly, if it get really rough, I just close my eyes, try to relax and think that I'm in a car going over a dirt road.

Good luck.
 
Just think about the statistics. The fatality rate per mile is 160 times greater travelling by car than by plane. So if you have travelled to the airport by car, you have already got the most dangerous leg of your journey over with!

so i won't share with you what my commercial pilot friends have to say on the subject :rolleyes1

as for the OP, perhaps valium would help?
or you could go for broke as one of my friends who has to fly to the US every other week does.
he takes a sleeping pill, ostensibly so that he can hit the ground running when he gets to the states (on business).
I once asked him if he isn't worried about being asleep in the event of an emergency.
His answer? "if something happens to the plane for which i need to be awake, i don't want to be awake."
he probably has something there...

as for me, i too am afraid of flying (more accurately, afraid of crashing).
But what can you do? It's the only way to get to florida mickey.
I'm not yet willing to give him up, so i face my fears and fly.

.
 
I’m also not the greatest flyer, and agree with the comments of the flight attendants. The only reason they have the seat belt sign on is to stop us hurting ourselves if there is a jolt!

Lastly, turbulence always used to strike fear in me, but after a particularly bad flights, I started reading up about it (the reasons, the likelihood of dangers, etc) and since then have been pretty at ease with it!
 
so i won't share with you what my commercial pilot friends have to say on the subject :rolleyes1

as for the OP, perhaps valium would help?
or you could go for broke as one of my friends who has to fly to the US every other week does.
he takes a sleeping pill, ostensibly so that he can hit the ground running when he gets to the states (on business).
I once asked him if he isn't worried about being asleep in the event of an emergency.
His answer? "if something happens to the plane for which i need to be awake, i don't want to be awake."
he probably has something there...

as for me, i too am afraid of flying (more accurately, afraid of crashing).
But what can you do? It's the only way to get to florida mickey.
I'm not yet willing to give him up, so i face my fears and fly.

.
I'm a safety engineer in the offshore industry, where we use helicopters loads to get offshore, so know what I'm talking about - and when it comes to fatality statistics, the stats don't lie - flying is a number of orders of magnitude safer than travelling by car. So don't listen to your pilot friends - everybody tries to make out their industry is really bad!

Just take an iPad with a decent film to take your mind off it.

Some suggestions to watch - United 93, Airport, Snakes on a Plane.

On 2nd thoughts, maybe not!
 
I'm a safety engineer in the offshore industry, where we use helicopters loads to get offshore, so know what I'm talking about - and when it comes to fatality statistics, the stats don't lie - flying is a number of orders of magnitude safer than travelling by car. So don't listen to your pilot friends - everybody tries to make out their industry is really bad!

Just take an iPad with a decent film to take your mind off it.

Some suggestions to watch - United 93, Airport, Snakes on a Plane.

On 2nd thoughts, maybe not!


:rotfl: good movie choices....
i tend to go for the real thing - love watching air crash investigation (is it called mayday in the US?)...no joke...
kind of strange for someone who's truly terrified of flying..
but yet i still get on planes..
i'm also a basket case if i have to get on an elevator..
i've been known to climb 16 flights of stairs to avoid one....
to my mom's apartment to be specific- but finally had to give that up when my knees gave out....but i still walk down...

but there's no other way for me to get across a sea and an ocean to get to mickey...
theoretically i could take a ship, but the logistics are nightmarish....
so airplane it is..

and yes, you're safer in a plane than in a car...but when you have car trouble, at least you're not 6 miles up in the sky...

but then again, you fly in helicopters....
those things are totally unforgiving....
no gliding to a soft landing if your engine goes out...
nope, you're going to drop like a rock....
so let's see...what movies can you watch?
are there any horrifying helicopter crash movies? can't think of any...

and by the way, i'll be leaving on a jet plane in less than 3 weeks...
fortunately, i have so much to do, no time to think about how scared i am....LOL...

.
.
 
:rotfl: good movie choices....
i tend to go for the real thing - love watching air crash investigation (is it called mayday in the US?)...no joke...
kind of strange for someone who's truly terrified of flying..
but yet i still get on planes..
i'm also a basket case if i have to get on an elevator..
i've been known to climb 16 flights of stairs to avoid one....
to my mom's apartment to be specific- but finally had to give that up when my knees gave out....but i still walk down...

but there's no other way for me to get across a sea and an ocean to get to mickey...
theoretically i could take a ship, but the logistics are nightmarish....
so airplane it is..

and yes, you're safer in a plane than in a car...but when you have car trouble, at least you're not 6 miles up in the sky...

but then again, you fly in helicopters....
those things are totally unforgiving....
no gliding to a soft landing if your engine goes out...
nope, you're going to drop like a rock....
so let's see...what movies can you watch?
are there any horrifying helicopter crash movies? can't think of any...

and by the way, i'll be leaving on a jet plane in less than 3 weeks...
fortunately, i have so much to do, no time to think about how scared i am....LOL...

.
.
Unlike cars, though, virtually everything on aircraft has redundancy so that if one thing fails, there is another backup still. Even helicopters have 2 engines (not many people realise that), but the weakness with choppers is that those 2 engines feed into a single rotor via a gearbox, which is where most of the helicopter crash failures occur.

As for helicopter films - Black Hawk Down maybe? The firefight they drop into is reminiscent of Disney at rope drop for a new attraction.......
 
As for helicopter films - Black Hawk Down maybe? The firefight they drop into is reminiscent of Disney at rope drop for a new attraction.......

i have to find the picture taken in DHS, in toy story land...
as the rope drop crowd approached...
scary enough to make you think you're life is about to end...
i found it..
this is taken from the vantage point of being inside toy story land as the rope drop hordes approach...


409726
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As someone who is prescribed Diazepam and Beta Blockers for flying I can respectfully say that all this talk of it being one of the safest forms of travel will not make one jot of difference to the OP when they're on the flight - its an irrational fear not something you can reason with. Personally, It's not the thought of crashing that panics me (I doubt you'd remember much) its the thought of having to live through turbulence that makes me have a panic attack, wether there is actual turbulence or not.

OP - I always wear noise cancelling headphones with music blaring for take off and landing as I find not being able to hear the changing engine noises helps and I always sit forward of the wings, if there aren't seats available I don't book that flight and one of the best bits of advice I have been given is imagine the plane as a piece of pineapple in jelly being shaken, the jelly moves but the pineapple stays in the same place apparently this is a bit like the plane in turbulence.

Having said all of this I fly 6 or 7 times a year and I've learnt to manage it and even do some flights without any medication these days x
 
I'm not scared of flying but I have severe social phobia and a decent level of agoraphobia, first of all well done for doing something that makes you uncomfortable, it's no good not experiencing great things because you are frightened / uncomfortable.
My tricks...
1. Medication. I don't know if you have diazepam in the USA but a doctor advised (doctor advised!!) Medication may help
2. Wear comfortable clothes. If you feel constricted you will feel more anxious
3. Have a drink (by drink I mean alcoholic) if you want but don't over indulge because it won't help
4. It sounds silly but take some face wipes and moisturiser. An hour and a half before landing go to the bathroom, freshen up and you'll feel so much better
5. Buy the proper big headphones and take a tablet with something easily exciting / interesting. Don't rely on the airplane TVs.
6. Do you have a hobby? Is there a way to 'downsize' your hobby for the flight? For instance, I draw and paint. For my long haul next year I'll be taking a small sketchbook and some pencils. I'm sure whatever I draw on the flight will look like the ramblings of a mad woman but who cares? Even if I concentrate on colouring a whole page with a pencil I'm not thinking about negative thoughts.
Sorry for the essay but hope something helps!
 

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