Plane phobia - I refuse to be medicated

[duckyfuzzz]

What else can I do? I've done the course with BA, I've got a word search book to do, I don't drink and refuse to take diazepam but I'm still petrified. Anyone else who suffers, what helps you?

I take diazepam as I’m boarding the flight and it really does take the edge off my anxiety. It doesn’t make me feel bad later, it’s effects wear off reasonably quickly and it’s helped me travel to some great destinations. Try 5mg to start with and see how you get on.

Well I've just done a flight, just over 2hrs with deep breathing and ipad for distraction.

Well done! You should feel proud of yourself. How was it? I mentioned it earlier but hypnotherapy can be very effective for treating phobias.

Tried diazepam - didn't help and left me unable to go to the loo for three days.
Things that worked -

1. Alcohol - a large glass of wine or a large bloody mary before take off. But I fly a lot for work and can't drink on those flights so..
2. headphones on during take-off/landing (my worst times). I listen to favourite podcasts - people talking normally calms me down.
3. Download flightradar app or similar. Take a moment to see how many thousands of planes are in the sky safely going about their business. Set your phone to deliver emergency alerts then wonder at how few planes ever have any kind of issue.
4. Sit in a seat where you can see the cabin crew looking bored during take off and landing. Very calming.
5. Become addicted to an app/game on your phone and play it non-stop during the flight. Make sure it doesn't rely on WIFI.

Just seen your post saying you did the flight. Well done!

Oh - and someone on here said something very useful once. Specifically that planes are HAPPY in the sky - it's where they are meant to be. Think of them as boats in the sky - a boat doesn't just drop through the water and sink, it bobs along on the waves. That's what a plane does - bobs along on the clouds. Even if there's turbulance a plane is built to bob along like a sky-boat. Sounds mad but thinking about it during a flight really helps me.

We'll done OP! What got you through it?

And I love the advice that planes are happy in the sky. I have to take a flight tomorrow and despite doing twelve in the last year I'm now petrified of them because I had a "weather is shite, we're locking you all in on the tarmac" situation last time, but actually flying can be scary too, I know.

I was once seated with a former air hostess who had married two pilots. Talk about putting me at ease, she was brilliant! 😂

To be fair it was only just over 2 hours and I'm already worried about the impending flight home next week. It's without a doubt the wait to taxi out and then take off that I hate and I deep breathe to the point of hyperventilation until the seatbelt sign goes off. I don't mind landing at all - I'm coming down!!!

I don't drink so alcohol is never on the menu but wordsearches/ sudoku etc keep me occupied. Dh suffers near bruising from a squeezed hand too.

Read the I am an airline pilot ask me anything thread, here on mumsnet (in chat)