to be absolutely petrified of turbulence ?!

[optimisticpessimist01]

It panics me to the point where I start crying and feel sick, and I convince myself that the plane is going to crash and we are going to die. It doesn't even have to be severe turbulence, just a quick shake of the plane convinces me we are flying to our death. Dramatic, I know.

I also worry so much about it for months leading up to taking a flight. We are doing 5 hours to Cyprus soon and I am terrified in case we get turbulence

I'm at my wits end and I'm worried I'm going to get to the point where I don't even want to fly anywhere anymore

AIBU to ask how I can stop this silly feeling that I have and make flying enjoyable again?

I knew a pilot who also flew the Concorde and asked him about it and he said it wasn’t dangerous. I also look at the crew. I think if it was such a dangerous job would they be doing it day in day out? If they are calm and joking I figure everything is hunky dory.

Just think of it like a car driving over cobblestones.

Also get Xanax and you won't care. Good luck.

I am a frequent flyer and I hate taking off and landing.
Turbulence are very scary but it’s Just the plane moving over the ‘bumps in the road’
I bloody hate those bounces but I will agree with another poster, sit as forward as you can and relax.
Remember the pilot wants to get to their destination as much as you do,.
I look at the cabin crew, if they are relaxed then I’m relaxed.

RightYesButNo
'I think (could be totally off) it’s because pilots used to be allowed to use their judgment and the fuel to fly around rough pockets, but now they’re forced to just fly straight through it because airlines don’t want to spend a single extra pence on the fuel just for “comfort.”'

I disagree with this. As an airline pilot I am not forced to fly through turbulence to keep costs down. I deviate around cumulonimbus clouds responsible for convective air currents (every pilot I know would do this,) and climb or descend if turbulence gets too bad. There are lots of cues that tell us if air is going to be bumpy. What does restrict us more these days is the sheer amount of other traffic in the air. I also don't think turbulence is worse now than it used to be. I've noticed no difference in frequency, however turbulence is worse in certain parts of the globe and at certain times of year. Sometimes we do seek out the jet streams, the channels of high speed wind that help us travel faster and more efficiently, and it is bumpy getting into them because we are basically trying to get into the core of a stream of wind blowing up to 200mph, but it is usually smooth once we reach the core. We are prepared to accept a certain amount of turbulence in order to achieve this.

Turbulence is not dangerous to the aircraft - they are designed to be in the air. Air is not a stationary thing, it moves constantly. Sometimes smoothly, sometimes less so. I describe it as waves in the sea and an aircraft riding the waves like a little boat. It's designed to do it. The difference between the air and the sea is that you cannot see the air but you can see the waves. When you can see something it is easier to anticipate and understand.

I would agree with PPs who say you should keep your seatbelt on when you can though. Every now and again something takes us by surprise - a bit of clear air turbulence, a cumulonimbus cloud at night which didn't show on the radar, wake vortex when another aircraft has passed ahead of us on the same route. If you have your seatbelt on you are better placed to remain in your seat if we hit one of these unexpected bumps - they can be very uncomfortable indeed, and are not dangerous to the aircraft but can throw passengers about.

I look at turbulence as driving down a bumpy road which technically you are

I hate it too OP. Coming back from Sweden we had turbulence so bad it caused injury to both crew and passengers. I mean cuts, bruises and blood. I sat there with my sunglasses on silently crying I hated it. The plane kept feeling like it was dropping miles out of the air each time.

Are you for real as a pilot? You can’t even spell your clouds correctly, what airline do you fly with? I would like to avoid you..

I absolutely hate turbulence, but what reassured me was reading that pilots flying FedEx planes and the like, don’t bother to avoid turbulence. There are no passengers to bother about, so no need.

Well we all feel like this a bit. Turbulence does feel quite frightening. But it really isn't dangerous.

I listened to a podcast recently where they interviewed 2 airline pilots with many flying years experience.

They said the scariest thing on a plane is the tray and the arm rest because there is never enough time to wipe those fuckers down when they clean a plane. Hence why I always take anti-bac wipes and wipe down everything

I am much more worried about germs than turbulence. Like PPs have said, I think of it like a bumpy road. I mostly worry about it interrupting the drink service (not for alcohol, I don't drink.)

Op, as someone who has suffered from years of fear of flying and had to rely on diazepam for flights, let me tell you, you CAN get over this.
Mindfulness apps such as Calm work well but the biggest bit is realising it's not under your control, so your fear serves no purpose as you cannot do anything about the turbulence - and the pilots are trained to deal with it. If it helps, consider turbulence as a bumpy road. Uncomfortable, but entirely normal on some journeys - if you'd like to know more about how I got myself over my fear I'd be happy to share!

How does one get xanax in the UK please?

@ZootSuit I'm pretty sure the having kids thing is a BIG connection. I was a great flier before I had kids. Then after I had them I couldn't fly without medication. Luckily, I'm over it now and back to enjoying it.
But sadly, my brother has never flown since his son was born. He too used to be a great flier.

@ShirleyPhallus I was going to suggest that book too. It’s really great. I’d definitely recommend reading.

I'm another one that quite enjoys it. Like being rocked to sleep.

The only problem is that hot drinks aren't served.

Diazapam.

I feel for you. I never actually think the plane is going to crash I just hate the sensation. Used to fly solo loads when I was younger and working abroad etc and it didn't bother me. Makes me super anxious now.....beta blockers have helped a bit.

Turbulence is really really normal. It's just differences in air pressure - the same differences that bring us rain or sun, warm fronts or cold fronts.

Taking off and landing on the other hand - they're the dangerous bits of flying....

@winenottea how rude are you??!

Have more tea, less wine and mind your manners

@Winenottea - are you talking to me?

"Are you for real as a pilot? You can’t even spell your clouds correctly, what airline do you fly with? I would like to avoid you.."

Which cloud did I spell incorrectly? I only mention cumulonimbus clouds and I spell that the same way as the Met Office (and every other meteorological agency) does. I absolutely am for real as a pilot, a very experienced one.

@Winenottea How do you spell it then? And what job do you do? I think I want to avoid you..

titchy "Taking off and landing on the other hand - they're the dangerous complicated bits of flying...."

Fixed it for you. I don't like to think that any part of my job is dangerous (ignoring the fact that I have flown over or around 2 countries on 2 occasions recently that made me sit there vigilantly taking note of the political situations developing in them!) Certainly the take off and landing have many variables that make the processes complicated. Steering a 300 ton airborne tube with wings onto a 45m wide piece of tarmac at nearly 160mph in all types of weather requires a good level of concentration!

A pilot friend of mine told me to try to think of it as going over some bumps in the road, nothing more dangerous.

“British Airways captain Steve Allright, and Patrick Smith, a US pilot and author of Cockpit Confidential, a book on air travel, explain.

What causes turbulence?

Steve Allright: Many different things may cause turbulence, but each and every one of them is known and understood by pilots. Every day I fly, I expect a small amount of turbulence, just as I’d expect the odd bump in the road on the drive to work. Turbulence is uncomfortable but not dangerous. It is part of flying, and is not to be feared.”

To those who take Xanax, does it put you to sleep? I’m taking an eight-hour red eye in a couple of weeks, and a combination of being an insomniac/fearful flyer means I don’t sleep a wink on night flights, which I’ve managed to avoid the last three years.

I’m okay with it as long as everything carries on as normal but once, flying from JFK, we hit turbulence off the NE coast of the US and everything stopped. The trollies were wheeled back to the galley, even the entertainment system went off and the crew were strapped into their seats. It was pretty scary and people were crying.