To want something to help me travel by plane

[TheLyingBitchintheWardrobe]

I am travelling to the med for Christmas for a family wedding, but scared of flying as not flown for 5 years. GP won't give me diazepam which I thought I could get. What else can I do? My anxiety is awful already. Can someone help me?

Bach rescue remedy? Alcohol?

How long is the flight? Can you take sleeping tablets?

Diazepam is no longer advised for flying, there are mindfulness apps that can help,

Search for "Mentour Pilot" they have an app aimed at helping nervous fliers by e.g. explaining noises/vibrations etc. so that you don't have to worry something has gone wrong.

I'm not sure I can help much but DH is terrified of flying. He had to do it a lot for work.

I think what helped him. Don't sit with anyone you know. You'll think it will be comforting but it isn't. They try and reassure you but you just want to be left alone. Find something to focus on during the flight. A book, even the in flight magazine. It sounds a cliché but deep breaths in and out

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If you can afford it you could try seeing a private GP.

Why? They still wont prescribe

OP, when are you flying? Do you have enough time between now and then to get booked onto one of the scared of flying sessions the airlines run?

I too was scared, so scared id be half dragged up the steps and would be sobbing , and I never even knew what I was scared off. For me what changed was moving and needing to fly a lot to see DH and family, so I now treat it as a commute. I get on, get into my seat, belt up, and close my eyes and just talk myself down, same as I do in the dentist - a foot wiggle really helps as well

Now I know what scares me are the noises , planes creak and rattle and the sound of the engines and the landing gears - scary cos you dont know. With time Ive learned and now I can settle pretty quickly. But definitely I dont want to sit next to nearest and dearest, we sit either side of an aisle or behind. Knowing Im next to a stranger helps with the stiff upper lip

I went to gp and was given propranolol. It helped calm me. But didn’t remove the thoughts. Only you can do that. Breathing and imagining you’re somewhere else. Imagine you’re flying the plane (im a control freak). Talk and watch the staff, they spend their lives in the air!

My doctor still prescribes it. I keep hearing they won’t any more though. I do have diagnosed GAD though so maybe it’s because I have a diagnosis.
I take cbd oil too, a high strength one from mindful extracts. It’s really good

Why is that?

Could you explain a bit more please?

I am very anti-meds generally but I have been prescribed it twice to help me go for an MRI and get on a plane for an important journey.

It was hugely effective.

And each time I used half a pill and left the rest of the pills untouched.

Why is it suddenly unavailable for responsible users?

Mindfulness apps are no good at all when physical anxiety symptoms are so overwhelming that you can’t concentrate on an app.

I used to love flying but now I'm terrified but once I'm in the air and can either read my book or watch downloads I feel a bit calmer. It's the take off that terrifies me.

I was talking to a member of cabin crew on the way to Spain last month and she said she understands as it happened after having children but also explained that it's a normal feeling so I was a bit calmer on way home. Going to Greece next year and already dreading the flight.

It's the NICE guidelines. It's been the case for some years now. I used to work in drug intervention services and there is now a very strict protocol around their prescription.

Could you find an engaging/ funny podcast to distract you?

Diazepan helped me enormously, a few panic free flights with a tiny 4mg dose totally cured me of my extreme phobia. Knowing I wasn't physically able to panic was the key. It wasn't a phobia about flying, it was a phobia about the panicking about flying if that makes sense?

Get yourself a private GP appointment and try again for the diazepam.

A plane? Sorry joking to lighten things up for you slightly. Doctors will prescribe something to help you. Ear plugs, an eye mask and deep breathing helps me… same as someone else, used to love flying.. then it just hit me one time. Pure panic.. but the above helped me a lot, especially the breathing.

I used to be scared of flying but I’m not anymore. Flying a lot by myself for work has really helped. As a PP said, it’s somehow easier if you’re sitting by yourself because you have to just get on with it.

I also downloaded comfort tv for my phone, things I’ve seen a million times and can just zone out to. For me, it’s 90s sitcoms.

I used to be prescribed Xanax for panic attacks so used to take one of those if there was bad turbulence midway across the Atlantic, which there sometimes is. That was prescribed by my psychiatrist though (via private insurance).

@MNHQ Why was my post immediately hidden, before anyone even had time to see it?

If you happen to need a filling in your tooth, you could go to a private dentist and they'll prescribe diazapam. If it's for dental anxiety obviously. Well, Mine does.
Try those antihistamines that make you drowsy. Or I think Nytol has the same stuff in it. If you take those and have some alcohol and a nice filling meal before you fly, you'll probably sleep right through.
But please don't worry. It's safer than travelling by car. Just look at the staff, they do it every day and look totally calm. Once you've done the first leg, the second will probably be much easier.

I used to be very frightened of flying and had to take diazepam. I bought a book called Flying without Fear by Captain Keith Godfrey and that helped me massively. I needed to understand what all the noises and bumps were.

I also too Bach rescue sweets, and downloaded some mindfulness apps. It all calmed me.

I don’t enjoy flying, but now I can do it without fear. It is possible.

Yep, I’m over the other side of the world and it’s also changed here because of change to guidelines and no longer meant to be prescribed for flying.

I’ve heard the nervous flyers course’s are very good. Ours culminates in a flight. God knows where, from where I am, I suspect to Brisbane/Melbourne then likely an hour or two and fly back. Supposedly it really helps people. Although, I reckon it may be that when having to listen to everyone else prattle on about their fears and do the whole flip chart list thing, it would make anyone keen to get on a plane just to escape that group setting🤣.

You could try hypnosis. Adam Cox is great and has some free and paid sessions.

I think that was me. I think what set if off was me, dh, our 2 dc and my parents were all on the same flight so my mind went into overdrive. I am in a state of panic over a 3/4hr flight but I've been to Mexico twice! I was totally fine. But now I worry but then like someone else said if cabin crew can do it every day then I can do it for my holidays.

I know it doesn't take away the anxiety but you can notify the airline in advance that you are a nervous passenger and the crew will look after you and check on you during the flight etc.

My DD had to fly to Amsterdam by herself last year and she suffers from anxiety. She flew with BA and contacted them beforehand and she was really well looked after. Now whenever she has to fly she contacts the airline beforehand and lets them know. I think there is a form under disabilities on the airlines websites.

The other thing she does is wears my Sunflower lanyard or Sunflower badge which tells them that she has a hidden disability which also seems to help. She also uses the Bach Rescue sweets which seem to help.

And so it should, it is not a sweet

I hate flying. Last summer I did 4 flights for a family holiday including two transatlantic trips and hated most of it. For the final one, we all got split up due to the ATC failure at the end of August and I sat next to a lovely elderly lady who was chatting to me the whole time. I don't think she knew I was scared and honestly, it was such a good distraction. I think getting next to dh made it worse! I know it's not an ideal solution though!