I will be flying from CA to FL. Any tips on how i can get over my fear of flying?

Question

I was thinking of either

a. getting drunk
or
b. taking a xanax to calm me down.

I'm serious about both of the answers so please help me out with other constructive ways for me to deal with it.

Answer 1

Well, my first piece of advice is to get over your fear of flying. Embrace it, enjoy it, know the facts - far more people die in cars or walking across the street than in airplanes.

However, if you are not able or willing to overcome your fear of flying, then I have some more good advice for you.

Since you're doing west to east travel, you are in luck. The flight should be about 6 hours. Maybe it's 4 hours to the connecting flight and then another 2 or 3, something like that. In any case, you have a TIME CHANGE working with you, so that gives you some interesting options on how to approach these flights. Anyway, this is what I do when I don't want to sit through a East coast to west coast flight and be bored -

FROM WEST TO EAST - Take a RED-EYE flight. That means a flight which leaves very late at night from the West Coast, and arrives very early in the morning on the East Coast. This is an EXCELLENT plan for two reasons:
1. You can show up for your flight tired and exhausted and this pretty much guarantees you'll sleep the whole flight, making a 6 hour flight feel like less than an hour!!!
2. You aren't spending money on a hotel for a partial day, but instead you're using your plane ride as the first night's "hotel", and then you're getting a full day as your first day in your destination, so you're saving money.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you do a red-eye flight, I always do this when I travel back home to NY/NJ from CA or Vegas, it always is the best plan.

For your return trip from FL to CA:
There are no red-eye flights available, so what I recommend for this flight is something I do when I fly out to the West and don't want to be awake for the flight. The night before your flight, only sleep for 2 or 3 hours. Go out, have fun, party late, wake up early and have breakfast, but only sleep for 2 or 3 hours. You will be dead tired going to get your flight, but you will fall asleep on the plane and not wake up until you're closer to home. Again, the 6 hour flight will feel more like 1 or 2 hours. It's almost like a Red-eye, but a little harder. Chances are you'll be so tired from having fun anyway you'll want to sleep.

I strongly discourage your two choices of getting drunk or taking a xanax for the following reasons:
1. GETTING DRUNK - they can throw you off the plane if they think you are drunk, or if you get drunk en route they can actually arrest you when you land. As a business traveler who flies a lot, I have seen this happen more times than you would think. Sometimes I think the person got a bum deal, but no matter what, if you get drunk you risk ruining your trip. Also, if you plan on driving when you get off the plane you may be too drunk still to do it. This is especially bad if you're going to go rent a car, because they will not rent it to you (I have seen that happen too).

2. XANAX - Xanax requires a FULL 8 HOURS sleep. Your flight will not be 8 hours. That means that at some point when you have to wake up, you will be VERY groggy. You will not be able to wake yourself up no matter how hard you try. The drug will force you to be groggy. This will make you a prime candidate for either getting mugged/robbed, or for losing important things like ID, money, keys, tickets, etc. that you don't want to lose while traveling. NOT worth it. It is not good to be somewhere foreign to you and have no control over your senses, you are prime for experiencing a disaster that could ruin your entire trip, or worse, get you hurt.

Anyway, I hope you find my advice to be helpful. Being tired will allow you to sleep easily on the plane, but it will also allow you to wake up and be in control when you need to, like if you are switching to a connecting flight, or if you are driving when you get to your destination. Alcohol or drugs, even "legally", can cause you big problems.

Final advice - take a couple GOOD books or magazines or anything else you've meant to read, invest in a PlayStation Portable (PSP) which will let you play games as well as take music and even videos/movies to watch. The PSP will last the length of the flight on one charge. I have one and it keeps me busy the whole time, I usually listen to some tunes first, then play a game, then watch a movie, and then after a nap or reading a book, I usually play a game or two when we are close to the destination. I hardly notice the flights anymore, it's great.

A less expensive option would be a portable DVD player, you can get those for less than $100 bucks now, and you probably have some DVD's you'd want to watch, or else buy them at Best Buy they should be less than 15 or 10 bucks each. You can also listen to music CD's on your portable DVD Player...

Good luck, and have a good trip, it should be fun - FL is a great place to visit!!!

Answer 2

I had this problem too, so much so when we drove up to the airport and saw the planes I puked in the car! Ring the airline and ask them to send you some stuff to read,it explains what the different noises etc are, and tell the stewardess you are a nervous flyer, they will look after you and are used to it. I took a camera and took hundreds of photos, sounds mental I know but when you are behind the lens of a camera you feel invincible, I have no idea why though! Once you've done it once you'll be laughing your head off, I was so scared I cried when it lined up on the runway, but when you feel the awesome power of the jets fire up you feel pretty safe. Don't forget, we have the strictest flight safety laws in the world, a plane flying from Britain will not go down because of mechanical failure, Heathrow is the busiest airport in the world and how many accidents you heard about there? As for terrorism if that's the fear, then rest assured, I couldn't even get a tiny tube of vaseline of a plane to ALBANIA! So don't worry about that, it's not going to happen. Plus you know, the view is amazing up there, and the fact that hundreds of tonnes can soar through the sky incredible. Just get a camera and relax!!!

Answer 3

I love to fly. I get the absolute biggest charge when we are taking off. The roar of the plane, the sheer power--just an amazing experience.
I would be careful about taking pills or drinking if you are not accustomed to it. You may end up getting sick (how embarrassing that would be).
Buy a portable dvd player and some noise canceling headphones. Take along some great DVDs and CDs. This will keep you mind occupied and focused on something other than your fears.

Answer 4

I used to fly NY to CA all the time. My fear of flying is not as bad as my motion sickness. I used to take dramamine 30 minutes before the flight and then have a glass of wine when airborne. I'd be out the rest of the flight.
However, my cousin who is a naturopathist suggested ER 911 by N.E.T. (Neuro Emotional Technique), a homeopathic preparation, to combat fear of flying. I think this is a better remedy because it has no side effects. To find an N.E.T. practitioner, here's the link: http://www.netmindbody.com/index_2.html
Good luck!

Answer 5

I too suffer from fear of flying and though I have flown many times I still am on edge the whole time we are in the air.

One thing I have found that helps is to find someone who likes to chat. It's tough though because many people who don't suffer from fear of flying just like to kick back and relax.

Reading sometimes helps and as someone else said keep in mind how rare accidents are for planes. Everytime I pass by an airport I count the number of planes I see landing and taking off. This helps to reassure my mind that many people are flying and making it safely to their destinations.

Good Luck!!!

Answer 6

Getting drunk might be a mistake, you will end up with a headache or puking or making a total fool of yourself dancing on the seats and stripping.
The xanax is ok but it can have an after effect like later anxiety. If it doesnt then I guess xanax is ok although I prefer valium
However you might think about fantasy as a diversion. Sex fantasies or other kinds. Things you can do with your husband. By the time you land you'll be horny as hell.

Answer 7

you prob won't want to get a window seat. on the other hand, maybe you might because once you see how beautiful the earth looks from the sky, you might forget about your fear.

distract yourself - read a book or listen to music.

the other thing i'd recommend is taking a sleeping pill. you can't very well be overcome by fear if you're sleeping, can you?

lastly i think the only way to get rid of your fear is to fly. a lot. once you've done it a lot you won't give it a second thought.

plz don't get drunk unless you're a sleepy/calm drunk...you certainly wouldn't want to freak out even more...

Answer 8

One way to do it is to think about how rare plane crashes are. I can tell you that I myself have taken many plane rides and nothing ever happened except turbulence (which is pretty normal).

But the only way to know this is to experience it. It's perfectly natural to be nervous about a lot of things where something can potentially go wrong (such as surgery, for example), and the only way to go about it is to get through it.

Answer 9

I used to take booze on the plane, before, when you could take liquids, and get fit shaced, but i dont recommend it, because you are guarranteed to barf all over the guy sitting next to you.

try the xanax, or get one of those breathing control books, and read how to relax yourself....straight, no chaser

Answer 10

Oh, you better stay near the window where you can see the clouds. Also bring with you some candies... menthos, life saver... any candy that you can put in your mouth while flying so as to prevent you from feeling dizzy. Always see to it to swallow your saliva once you feel something in your ears. Because of the pressure in going up.
Well, happy landing ;)