Flying with Anxiety?

[YommyMommy]

To any fellow anxiety sufferers,

A quick insight into my situation. Have had anxiety disorder since the birth of my DS1. Its so much better than it used to be and I can handle a lot more situations that I could at the beginning, but still have bad periods were it seems to flare up.

Anyway, we have just booked a family holiday which entails quite a long flight. I am really looking forward to getting away, but am a bit worried about the plane trip. A year or so ago a plane journey would have been an absoloute No, but in my mind the thought is bearable now :) Although can;t help but think - what if.

Anyone got any experience with anxiety and flying?? Good storys please :)

x x x

Hello Yommy

I totally understand your anxiety about flying. It's far more common than you think and according to one cabin crew member I spoke to, one of the main reasons why people stun themselves with alcohol - which is NOT the answer - you just feel shit and the effects of alcohol are doubled when you're in the air.

First off read the Virgin 'Flying without Fear' on www.flyingwithoutfear.info/

This addresses lots of the fears people have about flying - the technical side, the bumps and noises that terrify us. The course itself has received a lot of praise.

The other thing about anxiety is that it feeds off itself so the more you ruminate about it, the worse you feel. Unbelievably, I once spent a year travelling on tour and like an idiot I watched Aircrash Investigations!!!! What a berk.

This is what I do now and I promise, it helps:

1. I took a course on meditation and learned to calm myself. It's physically impossible to panic if you learn to the techniques of meditation.

1. I asked the doctor for a small quantity of sedatives (valium in my case) and would take one about half an hour before a flight.

1. You may prefer homeopathy but I never found alternative medicine helpful. It may on the other hand work for you.

1. This is weird - but I went skydiving! Somehow facing up to the visceral fear of flying and falling made me feel I would never be scared of anything again. This may seem a little extreme but it worked for me.

But basically, learn to breathe deeply, take a short course on dispelling your anxiety about flying and take a sedative. And don't drink on the flight - neck loads of water instead.

All the best
x

Try the book Mind over Mood (CBT). It helped me. Also, I went on a trip a few years ago as a challenge to myself (to NZ!) to see if i could, and I could! I got the GP to prescribe diazipam and this made me feel better psychologically. Sorry, not much help but you can do it, with the right support.