re: Any recommendations for a fear of flying?

(no message)

quote:

---

I'm deathly afraid and I have to fly soon.

---

Man your anxiety is going to start going through the roof when they start the push back and you can feel and hear the engines powering up. It's going to be at an all time high when you feel the sudden G forces push you back into the seat during takeoff.

quote:

---

Watch Youtube videos from the inside of planes as they take off and land. That way you'll be familiar with all the sounds and have an idea of what to expect. I did that before I flew for the first time. Also listened to music as we took off. And Klonopin.

---

I honestly can't relate to this type of anxiety/phobia, not being critical, I just can't fathom it, commercial aviation, with regards to aircraft, crews, maintenance, and air traffic control is so highly regulated, monitored, and constantly updated, there's no other means of conveyance quite like it, I kind of scratch my head at someone who has qualms about the safety of riding on an airliner but has no problem driving on a four lane highway with a speed limit of 70mph and oncoming traffic with a closing speed of 140 mph and a lateral clearance of 4 or 5 feet, and maybe both drivers texting, drinking, not paying attention, etc.,

just remember when you half assed that day at work, there are thousands doing it to the plane you fly in. It's maintained by the lowest bidder......on that note chase a xanax with a stiff drink before you board

Doc gave me klonopin

Commercial airliners are retardely safe. The pilots are at the stick for a total of maybe 5 minutes each flight. All passenger planes can withstand losing an engine and still completing the flight. the odds of losing an engine are astronomical. The odds of losing both engines in the same flight at the same time are even more remote; and at that point, you're literally just the unluckiest person in the world if you're on a commercial airliner that loses both engines at the same time mid flight.

I was always terrified. Sat next to a pilot not too long ago, as he was catching a ride home. He talked me through everything that would need to go wrong to take down a commercial airliner. Feel 10x better about flying now. Also, the Zatarran's Kitchen in MSY terminal B serves a pretty filthy double Bloody Mary. Two of those and a wild turkey mid flight and you'll be fine.

If you're religious, say a prayer at take off- pray for your pilots and flight attendants, and all the others in the air that day. Pray for a smooth takeoff, flight and landing and pray for your friends and family that they all are safe for the day. I used to not mind flying, until I flew through a storm coming back from my honeymoon- we dropped out of the sky, it felt like 1,000 feet, but I'm sure was just bump in the road. I hope to never feel that again on a flight

quote:

---

Yeah. Go fly around in a Cessna on a windy day. Flying with the airlines after that will be a breeze.

---

Like the guy in the Skyhawk that recently went in on final to N.O. lakefront. He had never flown, so his girlfriend bought him a introduction flight in the Cessna.

quote:

---

, they are just afraid of dying.

I think it's not so much the fear of dying as it is the feeling that one loses all control of the situation when they close the door of the jet, I think that also causes people to be bigger douche bags on a plane than they normally are

---

^^^this. I have been in a few scary times on a plane and emergency landing. The feeling of NO CONTROL when you drop as fast as a whore that sees a sailor is the worst.

First thing to know is that planes can't fall out of the sky even if the pilot wanted to. Simple physics. Those bad boys have momentum, speed, and wings. How the hell do you think you go up there in the first place. The engines could all fall off mid flight (will not and never will happen) and your pilot will still be able to bring you down safely.

In fact, the higher you are the safer you are. If you're 37k ft in the air and some big douchebag ghost flips your plane upside down, your pilot is going to spend 1 minute being all discombobulated and the rest of the time bringing the plane down safely.

If you're in a plane then you're in one of the worlds safest spots. FACT. Look at your window, everyone you see is at a greater risk of dying than you. When a plane takes off, think of it as leaving the danger not entering it.

Also, if/when you make it past take off, you're golden. If anything happens (and nothing will ever happen to you) then that's where it would occur. You know you're finally good once the frumpy flight attendant pushes the cart down the aisle. And if you fly southwest there's a 50% chance they "forget" to charge you for your alcoholic beverage

And be forewarned, yes it could feel like the engines are slowing down unexpectedly or there are weird exhaust smells before takeoff or there are lots of random pings or the turbulence seems "extra" bad on your flight, or maybe the wing seems extra worn down or whatever.....

Trust me - you didn't notice anything that ppl a million times more experienced than yo didn't already notice and did not bat an eye. It is VERY HARD for a plane to get cleared to get off the ground with all the passengers (government refs IN ADDITION to the airline companies own internal policies - they certainly don't want a crash). So if you're cleared for takeoff, don't think for a second some sleepy dude just gave the OK.

Finally, remember this - planes never crash due to turbulence. Ever. Not saying it is fun, it it is not putting you more in danger.