fear of flying with anxiety help

[gypsywomen]

:ohmy:hi all as you may know my daughter is ill so my son wants her to fly out to marbelle .she has two children so i said i would go with her to help, the problem is i dont like flying..at best of times the last time was gambia in 1999..it was 6 hours but i didnt have this rotten anxiety then ,,the thought of it is making me feel bad,, my anxiety hasnt raised its head for a time,but knowing i am flying on sunday well i am .........myself .so i wonder has anyone o you flown since you have had anxiety and how did you cope any ideas gratefully recieved thank you ,,,,,:blush::blush::ohmy::ohmy::ohmy::ohmy::ohmy:: ohmy::ohmy:

[MidnightCalm]

I haven't flown since I've had anxiety, just the thought of it scares me, it's always been something that has really scared me though :/
I've even had nightmares about flying, I don't see how I'll ever fly again, wish I could though there're so many places I'd love to visit.
Maybe when the anxiety hasn't got so much of a hold on me I'll fly again, here there and everywhere.
You'll be fine, you know that, I know I'd be fine if I did, it's just the stupid anxiety that's holding me back.

[Adam22]

Hello !!

I have a fear of flying .. when I was younger we were off on holiday to majorca.. back then I had no fears.. but my mum and dad did.. we were just about to board when my dad went missing.... he had locked himself in the airport toilet and refused to come out.. after a telling off from my mum he eventually came and we had a great holiday..

my fear of flying has always been there .. mainly because a fear of heights and a fear of death I guess.

just recently however was my girlfriends 21st birthday in which her parents had paid for a trip to gran canaria .. lol as you can probably guess it ment I had to fly... bad times... i was quite literally s***ing myself lol..

but never the less I did it and I had a fantastic time .. and when I got back my problems ... my tension headache started !!

but as for your situation I think you should def go.. remember flight is the safest form of transport and you have experienced it before and made it back lol... there are some things you can take .. speak to your g.p and im sure he will give some muscle relaxants of advise on suitable medication to take for flying..

I hope this helps a bit ...

[MidnightCalm]

I'd suggest you take an mp3 player, a book, try to enjoy the inflight movie if you have one?
Put your head down and just breathe properly if you start to feel really anxious, go with it but don't freak out about anything, don't let your mind keep thinking this and that, I know it's hard but just focus on the simplicity of what you're doing, sitting in a chair, travelling, few hours and it's over.
With anxiety we usually make it something massive.

[Adam22]

yeh i took my gameboy and at the time i thought it was the best thing ever made.. it took my mind off flying ... you just need to focus on something like that... music .. film ... all these factors deter the mind from your fear.. you need to go and you will a great time with your family.

[gypsywomen]

thank you both i will take it onboard excuse the pun lol,hope your head better soon

[Adam22]

lol no worries.. just take it easy.. get on the plane .. deter your mind.. crosswords ... whatever u enjoy doing.. take loads of things to do in your hand luggage..and the time will fly :D

[paulaf]

I ask the gp for valium when I have to fly. You could speak to your gp, even just having them in your purse sometimes helps and you don't even need to take them. I did take them last year when I flew to lanzerote, had a total panic attack in this really small plane when the sign went on that you couldn't go to the toilet, I had to ask for a sick bag and sit up the front in some empty seats and was hyperventilating, then took some valium and felt soooo much better for the rest of the flight. Don't know if I can take it now Im on fluoxetine though.

[gypsywomen]

I ask the gp for valium when I have to fly. You could speak to your gp, even just having them in your purse sometimes helps and you don't even need to take them. I did take them last year when I flew to lanzerote, had a total panic attack in this really small plane when the sign went on that you couldn't go to the toilet, I had to ask for a sick bag and sit up the front in some empty seats and was hyperventilating, then took some valium and felt soooo much better for the rest of the flight. Don't know if I can take it now Im on fluoxetine though.thank you yes i do have some.would you take them in departure ,before i get on the plane all ,i am doing is imagin,myself onboard thats making it worse ,,:doh::doh::doh::doh:

[gypsywomen]

thanks for your advice anyone else

[Worrier]

Hi Gypsy,

You always give people on here great advice so maybe you just need to talk to yourself, tell yourself all will be okay, you are doing this for your daughter and the kids and just do it. We all know that the worrying is the worst part, and that the doing is usually nowhere near as difficult as we imagine.

I personally love to fly but I do try and distract myself to make the time pass. I really enjoy talking to people, finding out where they are going, what they are doing, just general chit chat and it really helps. I also do a lot of crosswords, word searches and stuff like that.

Just tell yourself, this is the beginning of the next step in your anxiety journey. Almost being forced to do something is sometimes what we need to take that step, conquer it and then look forward to the next time. Just think, if you do this and you are fine (which you will be), then who knows what possibilities lie ahead.

At the end of the day, even if you have some anxiety on the plane, you won't be the first or last person that has happened to. Believe me, my mum flew for the first time at 58 years old (had always been terrified all her life) and she flew to the States to see me. She flew 10 hours in bad weather, bless her and now she had done it 14 times. She still doesn't like it, but the payoff is worth it to her. She has the normal anxiety, not sleeping, feeling sick, headaches, upset stomach all that around 2 weeks before, but she still does it. I am so proud of her, I really am.

So you can do it, it will be okay. Go and have some fun and relaxation and enjoy being with your grandkids.

Let us know how you get on.

Natalie x