Fear of flying

[Stig]

I have a powerful & irrational fear of flying. Unfortunately the need is more often now (with work - I wouldn't even consider a flight for leisure!) & I've got to get a grip on it. Does anyone have any experience of hypnotherapy, or any other therapy for that matter, in dealing with phobias?

Other than this phobia I'm pretty rational about everything else in life! Not overly fond of spiders, but planes send me into an absolute panic & I've no idea why. I managed 2 flights last year which I hoped would help me deal with future ones. But I'm due another one on Monday & the phobia seems just as strong. I'm into the sleepless nights phase at the moment which'll last until it's over. The hardest part is the drive to the airport & up to getting on board. I usually calm down a bit once I'm on the plane!

[kate egg]

Oh how I know how you feel - if you go to the 'holidays and leisure' thread in members section of the forum you can see how I coped with the Virgin Flying Without Fear course. I have no concious fear now, but still had a minor panic as the plane took off. I don't actually need to fly but think I could get used to it after this course, but DH says its not worth trying.....

[dv8i]

hi, im just new here but i suffer from the same fear of flying, this might not suit you but i take 2 diaspian ( spelling may be wrong ) and i could sit happily on the wing for the next 3 hours, ive never tried alonger flight but this gets me most places.The last time i flew i checked my bag with tablets in before takin them, i was a nervous wreck even before i got on the plane.

cheers Gary

[Grannyof4]

I think you mean Diazapam. This sort of action is not recommended by airlines, the same as taking a sleeping tablet because IF there was an emergency you may not be in a state to cope with it and if the plane had to be evacuated you could cause a hindrance.

[dv8i]

i always stay awake but really chilled out, which is much better than running up and down the aisle shouting " were all going to crash " ;)

cheers Gary

[manda]

As your flight is pretty soon for this one..have you thought about trying some of the herbal remedies that deal with motion sickness Stig?
In addition these can help with the anxiety but aren't necessarily going to sedate you out of your eyeballs, you can use herbal sprays to reduce stress or something like rescue remedy.
I think if you were going to use something like Diazepam you would need to see your GP as they are prescription only meds (benzodiazpines, of which Diazepam is one, are commonly used to deal with anxiety - you would need to take them before hand to see what sort of effect they had on you).
For some they do as Gary says they just chill you out (when you are in a state of high anxiety they would have less sedative effect than when you are calm).

For future flights if you want to be able to manage the anxiety rather than fend it off in the short term - I know that hypnosis can be very useful for some people (not just for fear of flying but all sorts of issues).
Bottom line is that the fear of flying is all about managing anxiety regardless of where the fear comes from. So hypnosis has it's place in treatment options along with other relaxation / distraction techniques - managing breathing, relaxation exercises, meditation exercises, using something like an IPod and listening to music to distract yourself - things you could all do sitting in the car as you leave home.
In the longer term and if you are going to have to fly more regularly then personally I would be looking down the hypnosis / anxiety management route first as a longer term management strategy.

As Kate said there are also courses run by the airlines as they recognise it is a big problem (somewhere between 30 - 40% of people have anxiety to one degree or another about flying.
VIRGIN
BRITISH AIRWAYS

[Steve the Gas]

Wifey no.2 - just used to have a few drinks,hic, before/during /after - applied to boats too.

[Stig]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I'm back now, having flown to & from Germany yesterday.

I think I did alright - but 4 nights with disturbed sleep - Sunday night no sleep! Driving to the airport & all the airport faffing around I was totally stressed, but once the plane was up in the air, I was able to start to relax.

dr-ugs & alcohol are my usual coping strategy (that sounds bad - I don't mean in combination or to excess!) but as I was presenting yesterday, this time had to be sober. At least worrying about flying stopped me worrying about the presentations! I was rather badly prepared as it happened, but by that stage I was already fretting about flying home!

Hope I never have to do that again.