Fear of flying advice

M

mumto2

Registered User
I used to love flying. LOVE it! And then I had kids. I feel like a completely different person - its ridiculous. Intellectually I can rationalise and understand statistics but...

Obviously my current anxiety attack is because we are flying Air France in 2.5 weeks but regardless of the sad event yesterday, I still have been getting more and more anxious the closer we get to leaving.

Its just getting ridiculous to be frank - has anyone who suffered from fear of flying managed to master it? Could you please share any advice to help me from freaking out?
 
I completely understand how you feel. I couldn't talk before flight, would have to be there hours earlier, and SERIOUSLY rationalize renting a car and driving or finding alternative transportation. For a long time I would take anti-anxiety pills before flight. Then, I got pregnant and was unable to take them so I turned to therapy. Specifically, I went to a behavior therapist who specailized in fear of flying. I went to four sessions and it worked wonders! I was able to address my fears properly. I am a much better flying because of it. Hope that helps.
 
i'm not afraid of flying... i respect it. we have a tradition, our family(including kids) always holds hands on take off and landing. i add a little prayer and then i'm ok.

the thing i worry about most is passing any anxiety on to my kids. i don't want them to be afraid. that's why we hold hands. i just tell them that it's something special that our family can do together to start the trip in a nice way and end it in the same way.
 
thanks Megan, that might actually be something to consider, I will look into it.

Yes I always say a prayer and a thanks on landing...my kids wouldn't have a clue that I'm anxious about the flight, I'm always laughing and being extra excited for them on the plane...its inside I'm jelly!
 
I think the fear comes from our strong love for someone close. I had this fear of flying when I first fell in love. ;p
Now that I have my baby, the fear of flying gets stronger than ever. I am getting more cautious about my physical health as well, I will seek for medical advice whenever I have the slightest doubt, and I am getting more careful with driving, etc. I need to make sure that I will be in good condition so that I can spend the next 70 years :p with my baby.
sorry, no advice here, I am also suffering from this. but I think we just have to deal with it with a positive attitude.
cheers
 
Yes I agree with cheerfulmama - if you were flying by yourself, perhaps your anxiety may be less? I was the same when I first started to travel with my little one. I now ask my Dr. for a mild sedative - Xanax .25mg. Take it 15 mins before take off and you should be fine.
 
oh yes if I didn't have the kids with me, my anxiety would definitely be less...unfortunately I can't take any anxiety meds at the moment but have had lots of reassurance today and actually feel a bit better...for instance my flight attendant friend said that there are 75,000 flights every single day and pointed out that he loves life and wouldn't have his job if it was unsafe etc...sometimes a little tidbit of info can make you feel better.
 
I was especially afraid of flying once I became pregnant--it was just as weird as how you described. I never, ever disliked flying before then--in fact, I loved flying--aside from jet lag and long flights to North America, I did like to fly. And it wasn't anything logical either--like I was afraid that something bad was going to happen or even that I was physically uncomfortable either. I just started to get weird things like feeling chlostrophbic (sp?)--even when I wasn't even through my first trimester and wasn't even showing yet! Nothing to do with size! I just had to tough it out until my brain returned to normal which was about when my son was 6-months-old--then the fear went away. I have traveled with him a few times since then on long flights with no problems!
 
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