Originally Posted By anjelah Hello, I will be flying to Disneyland with my soon to be five year old daughter for her birthday. It will just be the two of us. I am very scared to fly. I usually have my husband there to help me get on the plane. I would love to hear some advice on how to be brave and walk on the plane. I picked a familiar airline and airport so I know what to expect. I just really don't want to have a panic attack. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks so much!!
Originally Posted By BlueDevilSF I'm no therapist, but I'll try to be helpful as best as I can. I would say first to make sure you get a good night's sleep before your flight. I would think it helpful if you focused on your daughter. Think of the joy she will undoubtedly feel and the great time you'll both have. Bring things along with you to keep the both of you occupied on the plane: a travel game, books, etc. That may help keep your mind off the flight itself. My partner is a really nervous flyer, so I try to keep him distracted when we fly. I know that with the nature of the fear, nothing I've said above is going to take it away and make it better. The trick, though, is to keep your mind occupied on something else. Hope this makes sense. Have a nice trip!
Originally Posted By Mr X I don't know if it will work for you, but personally learning a lot about how airplanes work and what pilots do worked WONDERS for my anxiety. I had my first series of relatively fearless and relaxed flights a few months ago, after years of pretty much freaking out every time I had to fly. I checked out this site which helped a lot (if you DON'T want to learn a lot about flying, or think that would make you more nervous, then I would skip it if I were you)...the webmaster is a large aircraft pilot and talks a lot about how safe airplanes are and how the backup systems work in the event of emergencies etc... www.askcaptainlim.com
Originally Posted By Mr X <a href="http://www.askcaptainlim.com" target="_blank">http://www.askcaptainlim.com</a>
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub Another important thing to remember: your daughter will learn about life by observing you. Please try to "enjoy" this experience for your daughter. Also bring an apple or lollipops or bubblegum,raisins,tiny pretzels,granola bars,(Smuckers PB&J)in case your daughter has ear pain during takeoff or landing. Also bring books or DVDs, crayons, and a coloring book always seems to relax me,even! I am always amazed that parents travel with children and bring nothing! (Of course I am always prepared)Now if anybody can help getting over the fear of frogs and bugs...I need to prepare myself for the future of my grandson! I guess we all have phobias...
Originally Posted By jonvn "It will just be the two of us. I am very scared to fly. I usually have my husband there to help me get on the plane." have your doctor prescribe some prozac and take it for a few weeks before your flight (and no, this is not meant to be snotty, it can work). Go to the airport, and watch the planes take off and land for a few hours until you realize that not a blessed thing happens. If you are on United, you can listen in to the cockpit, that helps sometimes, because instead of just having the plane turn without you knowing, you will hear the explanation before it happens, which makes it more like you're watching the plane being driven, rather than just random things happening. Planes are made to fly. This is what they do. It's exactly like a boat skimming over the water. When you ride on a boat, if there are waves, they are bumpy. This happens in the air, as well. They call it turbulents, but it's not a big deal. Planes ride through them constantly. They also make noises. When they take off, you'll hear a clunk when the wheels go up into the undercarriage. When the flaps are extended, that makes a noise too. But, for god's sake, this is the most important, DO NOT SHOW FEAR TO YOUR CHILD. Under all circumstances, show the kid that it's fun, you're enjoying it, and stop jumping around like a banana trying to get away from a monkey. All this will do is terrify your child and give them the same complex you have. This is what my parents did to me, with their paranoia. It took many years for me to overcome, and I still have issues with it. But in my recent flight, I made for certain my kid felt like I thought it was the funnest thing in the world. While I drank. Worse comes to worse, drink. Once you get on the plane, have yourself a couple of whiskeys with sprite. The carbonation in the sprite will make the liquor more effective. Having liquor WILL calm you down. Don't bother with tranquilizers. Booze is the best thing. Don't drink too much if you get crazy because the altitude also makes it hit hard. Just enough to relax you. And really, stop being afraid already. What's the worst that could happen? A 2 minute death plunge from the sky while burning horribly and being dismembered into hamburger pulp after you slam into the ground? OK, that's bad, but at least it is relatively quick. Better than dying of cancer and less painful. Plus your survivors get a nice tidy sum as a settlement check. What could be better? Living, I suppose, but that's pretty likely anyway.
Originally Posted By anjelah Jonvn- You had me laughing so hard! That is all good advice. I'm not worried about the plane flying or crashing. For me it's all about being trapped in a small space and knowing I can't get out. It will be so worth it once we get there. We're going to have the time of our lives! I will be sure to bring lots to do to distact me and to occupy my daughter. Lots of Disney fun to focus on! Thank you so much! I really do appreciate all the help!
Originally Posted By Mr X Ah, the claustrophobia angle. That's a tough one. Thankfully I've never had an issue with that one. I understand that meditation, deep breathing, and imagining being outdoors in a nice environment can be helpful with that. The only real "advice" I could give about that would be that you should remember that if anything goes really wrong for you or another passenger medically, they WILL land the plane and get you out (at least, that's my understanding). Or, bring some cigarettes along and when you want to land, light up. That'll take you to an airport right quick! Although the claustrophobia in your jail cell might be equally disconcerting.
Originally Posted By jonvn Closed in? These things are probably bigger than your house. And you can always get out. Just open the door and jump. Bring one of those ever so comfy airline pillows to land on when you get close to the ground. Really, the only thing you need to concern yourself with is what you want to eat on the plane. They don't server food anymore, bring a snack on board. Get it at the airport after you check through security.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan Both of my parents worked for the airlines when I was a kid, so I flew many miles in my youth. Keep reminding yourself that aircraft have only gotten safer over the years. Remember the JetBlue plane a couple of years ago that had to land at LAX with its front landing gear stuck in a sideways position? That pilot made a perfect landing, just about dead center on the runway. These pilots are true pros. They have many, many hours in the air, many of them start their career in the military years before becoming commercial pilots. They truly know what they're doing. You'll be fine. Consider the plane ride the first "E" ticket part of the trip. But whatever you do, watch out on Star Tours. When I was there, they let some inexperienced robot fly the thing, and he nearly got us killed!!!! ; )
Originally Posted By anjelah Thanks Kar2oonMan! I'm going to think about your Star Tours comment and it will make me smile while I'm on the plane.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***"That'll take you to an airport right quick! " We are ever so helpful.***
Originally Posted By amazedncal2 Very familiar with panic attacks here. Four things that can help with the trapped feeling. 1)Visualize yourself and your daughter someplace relaxing and happy. Maybe sitting someplace in DLR Practice this so that it because automatic when you start to feel edgy. You can close your eyes, even for a few seconds to compose yourself. 2) Deep breaths in through your nose so you "fill your belly" and out through your mouth, again done very casually. 3) Figure out the amount of time you will be on the plane, think of something similarly timed. A TV show, a movie, the amount of time your daughter is in school? It's not really a long amount of time and you can hang on that long. 4)Bring a pack of gum or something that needs unwrapping, the more "steps" the better doing something physical will change your thought process. Drinking ice water or something cold will also change up your brain. All these suggestions can be done without anyone knowing you are doing anything "different." Remember that the the flight staff is used to nervous fliers and you won't do or say anything they haven't seen before. I used to have 2 index cards with calming ideas written on them, stuck in a side pocket of my purse. As soon as I'd feel that dizzy, clammy feeling coming on, they would be there for me as my reminders. I'm sure you'll be fine Have fun!
Originally Posted By jonvn I have an index card, too. It has one word on it. It says: Booze. And the thing is I don't even have to be on a plane to use it.
Originally Posted By Mr X Claustrophobia is one of the main issues in fear of flying, I've learned. When my aunt took a fear of flying course, one of the things they did was all get on a plane, sit down, and close the door. Then they got out. I'm not sure if booze was served.
Originally Posted By amazedncal2 Well then there is booze, often a good choice 5 year old may get a more magical mommy than she imagined
Originally Posted By anjelah I'm not a big drinker so I'm sure it wouldn't take much. I feel weird about drinking so early in the day but I might just give it a try. I've never had anything to drink around my daughter so she might just get a more magical mommy!
Originally Posted By Mr X Bloody Marys and Mimosas are good early in the day. Or you could try a shot of whiskey with a beer chaser.
