Fear of flying

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>>1100934

>>1100943
this guy again.
For what it's worth, I have an intense fear of heights. So I look at my options like this:
I can visit all the places around the US, driving, and have a p-cool road trip a bunch of times, or I can fly there, minimize the time I have to take off work (and pay for gas, and possible car troubles), and spend the maximum amount of time in the destination I wanted to go to.

>>1100934
You don't have a fear of flying. You have a fear of dying from a flight. Two completely different things.

>>1100943
This guy knows what's up.

>>1100944
Don't self-diagnose. You have a fear of falling.

If you have a fear of crashing, then just learn how aviatics work. Learn how it's safer than literally any other mode of transport, and that includes you walking from your kitchen to your bedroom.

I don't have a fear of heights. I didn't have a fear of flying before my first flight. When I was on the plane for the first time I wasn't nervous or scared, but I was apprehensive and that was mixed with excitement. It was probably the most "dangerous" thing I'd ever done, in my mind at least.

When went down the runway I'd never travelled that fast, I'd never been that high off the ground and it was fantastic. It took two or three flights to get over the surreal nature of flying in a plane but aside from the odd bit of turbulence (dropping over 150ft coming in to Vegas being the worst) I never have any concerns.

The only way you can overcome any fear is to confront it. You can post here and try and convince yourself that it's helping. It isn't. Get on a fucking plane and fuck off, or stay at home stewing in your own self-pity. There is nothing we can say that will help. Short of being sedated like B.A. Baracus you will either have to resign yourself to never getting on a plane or suck it up and just fucking go.

>>1100961
This.
There are thousands of safety practices and protocols in place, hordes of people monitoring the travel of one plane, etc.

On average they worked out that you're more likely to be struck by lightning than to die in an airplane crash. Even then you would need to fly 5 times a day for 10 years straight.

Familiarize yourself with aviation, realize that turbulence is normal and no different than speed bumps on the road and that you are more likely to die on the way to the airport than on the plane.

>>1100934
Flying is safe. Im more scared of riding the metro or amtrak

I don't enjoy flying either. Depending on my anxiety level on any given day, flying ranges from a small inconvenience (like having to wait at a supermarket counter) to a well-this-is-it moment where I have awful death fantasies for the entirety of the flight.

I love to travel, but I never look forward to the first day of my holiday, as it usually involves getting on a plane. I think mostly it is the loss of control. In my private life I'm a person who likes to plan meticulously and who's well ordered. But pure irrationality takes over when I'm seated. Being able to look out the window helps somewhat though.

The worst part of the flight for me is the take-off. I expect the engines to fail shortly after leaving the ground and basically drive into the earth a hundred meters behind the runaway. I'm always just waiting for some sort of ominous "KRRRRRRRRK"-sound that never comes, and for the sight of an engine going up in flames.

>b-but flying is safe

Do you clueless fucks even know how anxiety/phobias work?

Just make sure no big guys are called in.

>>1101025
Yes, of course we do. The point is that there is nothing we can SAY that will make it better.

I'm terrified of spiders but telling me not to be won't help. I need to hold them, be near them and overcome it. We can reassure OP, but we can do nothing beyond that.

>>1100934
There are books to help with this phobias like this. Generally, people work on management skills and eventually it stops being a problem. It's not an immediate thing, but in time it will sort of "go away".

Try "Overcoming Panic, Anxiety, & Phobias" by S. Baboir. It worked for me.

>>1101025
anxieties/phobias can be treated. I'd recommend manning the fuck up 3x/day until you're no longer a pussy

OP, I'm 24 years old. My phobia started when I was 17. Back then, it was horrific, I shook for days, had nightmares for weeks, and sometimes even started to cry like a little bitch.

Now, I have to take a flight at least every month (for job purpose mainly), and although it's still not perfect, I can control myself much better. I know statistics more than anybody, and yet, I am still a little nervous. But at least I don't shake, I can book, and hop on the plane by myself. Back then, my parents had to take me with them and force me so they can make sure I am on board.

A friend of mine who studies phobias told me roughly that my fear of dying in an air crash might have correlated with how shitty my life was when I was 17. Now that I am quite happy with my life, I am also much more positive about flights.

If you improve something quite important in your life, it will fade away. However, it might take years. Reasons for this phobia are almost infinite. Know thyself.

>>1101374
If you treat a phobia by de-sensitivisation it'll come back in another form later.

I have a severe peanut allergy so the anxiety from people bringing their own food on board that can trigger a reaction or the uncleaned cabins that people have been eating peanuts on in earlier flights pretty much rules flying out for me. It sucks because I don't want to impose my problems on others. I felt terrible the one time I flew because they had to announce in the cabin that they wouldn't be serving nuts due to my condition.

>>1102098
Having someone eating peanuts besides you can cause an allergy reaction on you?
What kind of allergy is that?

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>>1101374
>manning the fuck up

>>1101025
Yes, and educating yourself on what happens in and around a plane helps putting certain events into place. Trust me, I'm used to working with phobias.

>>1101025
Fear of flying is usually a fear of the unknown rather than an ACTUAL PHOBIA.

>>1102112
If dust touches skin it can react, really bad. You don't have to eat an actual fucking bag of peanuts to have a reaction.

>>1102112
It's true. I know someone with a severe peanut allergy and they don't have to directly eat peanuts to have a reaction. I've seen it happen firsthand multiple times.

>>1101374
I remember when I was an edgy 17 year old like you.
Good times, life was simple back then.

>>1100934
> visit your regular doctor
> explain you have small panic attacks
> get a prescription for valium or other happy peal or sleeping pill if you don't want happy pills
> get legaly high before entering the plane or get to sleep the minute you get you ass in the plane

watch air crash documentaries. and learn how much air travel has advanced. besides the ongoing Muslim problem but that's about it

>>1100934
A friend of mine used to be terrified until he went on one of those flight sim machines and now he seems to be right as rain. May not work for everyone but could be an option

>>1100943
Driving: 5 million accidents.

Flying: 20 million accidents.

Totally safe

>>1100934
Did you know? The real reason airplane seats have seatbelts is so that bodies can be identified using their seat number after a crash.

May also save you injury in a minor accident like crashlanding from failed takeoff.

>>1101025
OP just asked to be honest and realistic.

>>1100934
I have a slight fear of flying, and I usually keep this in mind:
In the days leading up to your flight, if you get nervous, just imagine how many planes that takes off from your local airport during the course of the day. Probably thousands, and not a single one will suffer an accident.
Why would the day of your flight be any different? Now, apply this to a global scale - tens of thousands of flights without accident, even in shitty countries.

Or imagine this:
When was your last flight? A few month ago? How many planes have been taking off from your local airport since then? Have there been any accidents?
Now, yet again, apply it to a global scale.

>>1100961
Do the math. Take the amount of money you paid for your ticket, then multiply it by the number of passengers on the plane, then add that to the cost of the plane. That's how much the airline loses if the plane crashes.

>>1102981
Not to mention the absolute pr disaster a crash would cause

>>1102098
Very few airlines serve peanuts nowadays. United doesn't. US Air didn't when I was on there, and American doesn't (as a merged airline). I think Delta still serves peanuts.

I'm allergic to hazelnuts, pecans, eggs, and all seafood, and I just get over it. I usually clean a tray table with a wipe to sanitize it (e.g. one you would put in a lunchbox so you can clean your hands without running water).

All you have to do is make it past take-off. Once you're actually flying you're locked in - no way out. So don't worry about flying and just focus on getting on the plane, finding your seat, sitting down, and staying there until the runway roll. Once those engines spool up you're golden. No matter how ball-shatteringly terrifying the flight is you aren't getting off it.

Haven't flown in nearly nine years. It's not a fear of anything bad particularly happening, take off is just horrendous to me. I can deal with the middle to a point and the end is fine, it's the take off that just does for me.

>>1103059
>it's the take off that just does for me.

I am curious now -- can you explain what about it bothers you?

>>1103078
It's the suddenness of it, the sudden upward motion and increase in speed, the noise...it's strange because the rest of the flight I'm fine and landing is fine for me, but take off just leaves me a complete gibbering wreck, that not even travel sickness pills and/or booze can rectify.

>>1103059
>>1103082
That's funny, as a frequent traveler takeoff is my favorite part. I see the aircraft getting on the runway in a straight line and feel myself get pressed slightly back in my seat and I know my trip is underway.

>>1103059
On a scale of 50-1000 how many times a day do you curl up into an inconsolable ball of tears? Not even that long ago people like you wouldn't have lived past age 10.

>>1103096
I can deal with other transport fine (I travel by train abroad) but...I don't know.

I don't curl up into tears any time of the day, for what it's worth.

>>1103089
I can see that and understand it, but I just get that sudden feeling and for a few minutes it's horrible. The rest is fine, but that few minutes just puts me off. I wish I could change it, I know there are courses that you can go on.

>>1100934
Most people with fear of flying don't help themselves because they're focused on the wrong things.

Don't try to stop being afraid of flying, instead try to focus on not letting the fear stop you from doing the things you want to do. It's actually pretty easy because you know what you have to do (get on a plane) and all you have to do is keep yourself calm and wait however many hours until you're done.

>>1101028

Me too. I want to travel around the world now, but most of the world outside of Europe and North America have huge ones.

>>1103097
same here, haven't flown for 5 years.
i'm usually ok on the flight back but starting the trip makes me fully panic

The trick to overcoming any phobia is to embrace the fear OP.

Sure, it's absolutely terrifying at first, but if you accept that at that moment, you feel more alive than at practically any other, it's extremely exhilarating. It's one of the ways people become adrenaline junkies.

I used to have anxiety when flying (especially over any large body of water) but after accepting that it could actually feel pretty damned liberating, I feel in love with flying.

I just wish I had the time and money to get my pilots license now.

It's the claustrophobia that gets me. It's like a really long elevator ride 30000 feet in the air at 600 mph.

No I don't have a solution.

>>1103285
Same. I don't give a shit about being high up in the air or anything, the problem is being packed into this tiny tin can where I can't get out until we've landed.

>>1100943
That's because we spend much more time driving then flying

I was never afraid of flying, but I'm rather afraid of airports. The high security and surveillance, the border controls, the idea that if I fuck up somehow I could be stranded or at least waste a ton of money.

>>1100934
i was really scared of flying last december before i got on my first flight as an adult. the take off was horrific because i was tensing up, landing was better. but by the time i flew back home i became used to it. it also helped that i had three flights home so i got a lot of practice in a short amount of time

My dad is an airline pilot and I flew many, many times growing up and loved it every time (as I'm an aviationboo)

Then I met my gf of a few years who is terrified of flying, who by eating away at me with every flight actually managed to make me scared of flying. Now, with every flight, even if I'm not with her, I'm a petrified mess on takeoff, ascent and turbulence. I don't understand this shit !

>>1100934
stop being a fucking pussy

>>1100943
this

also I have a pretty extreme fear of heights and I've flown hundreds of times, it's not a big deal in the slightest

>>1100934
Don't fly just drive, if the engines stop working on a plane you're going to plummet into the earth, if your engine stops working in your car it will gently roll to a stop.

And remember suicide bombers board planes and busses they don't try and catch a lift to blow your car up mid journey.

>>1103866
>you're going to plummet into the earth
You're thinking of helicopters, dailymail enthusiast

>>1103867

Actually, engine failure in a helicopter is scarcely as catastrophic as it is in a fixed wing aircraft.

If the engine fails in a chopper, you can pretty much descend straight down and land with relative safety. I forget the actual explanation, the inherent design of rotor aircraft allows them to gently lower themselves straight down without power. May or not be some bone breaking involved but generally survivable in most cases.

If the engines fail in a plane, you are fine - until you lose too much speed to drag and lose lift, at which point you drop from the sky and die. You have to point the plane downward to regain speed and maintain control, but doing so makes you lose altitude and shortens your timeframe drastically. You basically have to glide to the nearest open area and hope you have enough room to crash land, all in an extremely short period of time.

All said and done, fuck dealing with either scenario. Theres a reason why kim jung-il refused to fly and only traveled via armored train.

>>1103873
>engine failure in a helicopter is scarcely as catastrophic as it is in a fixed wing aircraft.

[citation needed]

>>1103858
That's bizarre. Flying isn't less safe than when you were oblivious when you were a kid, or when your dad got up in a plane daily. The only difference is that some airlines have underskilled pilots, but the planes are safer. Stick to the highest paid/most competitive for pilots airlines, and you'll end up with the better skilled decisionmakers in the air who can fly by wire, not just instruments.

>>1103873
>Actually, engine failure in a helicopter is scarcely as catastrophic as it is in a fixed wing aircraft.
Just. not. true. My doctor is the aviation medical examiner, and he and I talk about it frequently. He has experimental aircraft but would never get in a helicopter. Ever. You are correct about gliding, engine failure isn't the big killer in planes with a skilled pilot. It's statistically shear on takeoff, and human error/air traffic control mistakes. So, OP, go ahead and grip the armrests on takeoff when your pilot has the least recovery controls, and you're in that dense airspace with planes circling everywhere :P Other than that, you just pick the better airlines. New planes != best safety, just the military trained old dude flying Captain.

I'm fine with pretty much every part of flying apart from the turbulence. Never used to be an issue until flying from Hamburg during thunderstorms over much of Germany, which caused my first ever panic attack. Since then I've tried a bunch of things to cope with severe anxiety when flying, here's what works for me:

1) Do a ton of research into how a plane flies, how the weather affects it, and how comparatively tame anything you will experience is. (specifically check out the people who fly into hurricanes for a living)

2) In your hand luggage, bring an 'anchor' of some kind - something to remind you of either your home or your destination, which you can imagine vividly (using this anchor). This helps me to get away from the "oh shit trapped in a tin can that's going to crash" bullshit panic, and more towards "god dam I can't wait to get where I'm going" (may be less effective on longer flights)

3) DO. NOT. DRINK. ALCOHOL. Drink a ton of water instead. Alcohol simply makes it easier for the irrational thoughts in your mind to overpower the rational thoughts, and means you're more likely to panic.

4) I see a lot of people say "bring something you can focus on", but I'd say more like "bring something to distract" is effective for me. Usually I buy one of those stupid Sudoku puzzle books, and when turbulence hits, fill out as many of them as quickly as possible. Sometimes I time myself to add to the required focus. Again, this keeps the brain fairly rational and should stop you panicking/losing control of your thoughts.

5) Speak to people. Not always a good idea, not always possible, but if you bring yourself out of your head and speak to someone - even if it's just to explain how much you're shitting yourself - it's much healthier than just letting yourself stew.

6) Find a favourite seat/position on the plane, and sit there as often as possible. This is hugely beneficial for your subconscious mind and can even make it easier to sleep.

>>1103020
>>1102098
In British Airways flights, if you have a severe nut allergy you let them know prior to the flight and they don't serve any nuts whatsoever on that particular flight. Best way to handle it than a blanket ban on nuts for all flights IMO.

Just have a fucking laugh while flying and get some drinks etc.

I have to fly about 6 times a year thesedays so there isn't any point being scared for me, however i used to have a period of not liking it from about 14-18 although i've probably flown about 50 times over my life now.

I had a fun as fuck flight this year in a small embraer in the dark, stormy weather bouncing about for a few hours was great.

1# Book yourself with one of the top safety airlines, one that doesn't have too many crashes etc. Anything from Western-Europe/U.S/Canada/Japan/Korea are safe and gulf ones are okay really.

#2 I usually go BA and i just think, they haven't had a fatal crash since 1976. I could ride a BA flight every day of my life since i was born and i'd be alive still 100%. I could spend my entire life +12 years on BA flights and have never been in a crash

#3 Pilots retire don't they, they don't die in crashes

#4 Usually you fly in a good boeing or airbus look at the crash rates for those things, it just doesn't happen. You could live in those planes for 30 years of service and they'd more likely make it through okay than some peoples houses and certainly more than cars.

#5 Places like big airports are huge in travel, heathrow took 75 million people in 2015 and all of them arrived safe.


Remember also that planes are just big engines with wings they go fast and take off and fly, they aren't delicate machines they are the toughest and some of the most meticulously designed things in the world, they can do loops, take off with one engine, they can dive and re-take off, they can do whatever they want no problem.

Its a phobia i understand so rational things aren't great but i just bombarded myself with this shit till i couldn't believe my own fear.

>>1100934

Stare straight ahead down the cabin & pretend I am in a large high speed train. Reading a book (preferably fiction) also helps, as your mind's eye is imagining the scenes as you read.

747 and its updated variants are the safest planes in the world

the smaller the plane, the most unsafe it is

>>1103873
>>1103874
it's called autorotation and bill burr talks about it on his podcast all the time

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>mfw playing starfox 3ds on my plane ride a few days ago
>fucking massive turblance going through area 6
>Fuck this makes it so much more realistic

>>1102970
>this
I was thinking the exact thing on a return trip from Dubai. And shortly after takeoff there was a fuel leak which made the plane land again. Fortunately it wasn't something too serious

I'm an air traffic controller who has personally dealt with thousands of flights. You have nothing to worry about. There is so much saftey redundancy it will make your head spin.

>>1105712
How many ATC personnel would you say smoke or take anxiety meds? I've always wondered how stressed ATC workers are.

I'm fascinated with passenger jets and I've flown in a few Cessnas in my life. I'm still terrified of dying in a plane crash. I always imagine it like a rollercoaster drop off that goes on and on until the abrupt halt.

>>1105719
Anxiety meds make it extremely difficult to remain qualified. So if people take them they don't report it. Smoking probably stays within the national average. TONS of divorce though

>>1105719
Also unless the wings literally break off the crash won't go like that. You can glide to a stop in a grassy field or even a non busy road in most small planes if the engines fail. Even if the landing gear doesn't come down they can do alright depending on the surface