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I wouldn't recommend doing the Grand Canyon thing right off the bat...
However, there's a great deal of merit in learning how an airplane flies. Private pilot ground school or AOPA's "Pinch Hitter" courses can give great insight into what, to most people, is a mysterious world of acronyms and misunderstood media presentations. Knowledge is power.
Eventually it can lead to the front seat of a discovery ride. That's how it started for me.
There probably isn't anything we can tell you that will help. A deep-seated fear or anxiety can shut you down, be completely irrational, and block out proof it's safe, advice, etc. You will have to just confront it and get it over with using whatever courage you can muster. You'll be fine.
You could take the Queen Mary 2 ocean liner across...although ships do sink on occasion. Trains also crash by the way, so I'm not sure why you had such a pleasant experience on Amtrack.
Because the darn things crash so rarely it's actually very funny.
And when they do, 3 people or so die out of so many.
If you happen to be one of those - you really were an unlucky bastard.
Never mind the lack of crowds and stress, no security checks, great food, going to the restaurant, being able to sleep all lying down, etc.
I LOVED every minute of it. People don't know what they are missing when they opt instead for those horrible aluminum tubes speeding like crazy in the air - only so they can cover large distances in a very small amount of time (usually to satisfy the needs of some corporation).
You could take the Queen Mary 2 ocean liner across...although ships do sink on occasion. Trains also crash by the way, so I'm not sure why you had such a pleasant experience on Amtrack.
I thought about it - but it doesn't have a return option that would be within my time-frame.
After 3 years of not seeing my parents, I need to make myself get on a transatlantic plane somehow. I have suffered from severe aerophobia for over 2 decades and it has gotten worse over time. I take ground transportation whenever humanly possible or simply don't go.
Unfortunately I cannot do this to cover the US ( east coast) -Europe distance.
I have heard there are some small choices one can do to reduce the risk of problems associated with flying, including the biggest one of all, which would be busting into pieces.
For example, I remember reading that flying at. Night vs. during the day can affect how much turbulence the plane will experience. Or time of the year for avoiding storms. Or the airline company in terms of safety record. Etc.
I would appreciate ANY kind of tips that you could give me for booking a transatlantic flight to Eastern Europe.
Anything that would at least give me the knowledge that I did the maximum possible to reduce the risk for potential problems (or disaster) even by an incredibly small fraction. Even if the flight is perfectly successful, going through turbulence ages me by 5 years in 5 minutes.
What I fear:
- turbulence
- problems with the aircraft (older, manufacturing, poor maintenance, etc)
- the human factor (inexperienced, emotive or downright deranged pilots)
- ...all of these boiling down to fearing "the worst".
I do not care about inconveniences related to airport security, bad food, rude flight attendants or any other whims like this. I am fine with any of the above. If an airline could offer some magical flight that would somehow be 100% guaranteed to land safely but in exchange I would have to suffer the worst imaginable conditions in the plane - no food regardless of how long the flight, no water, no AC, crammed between very fat people, smelly beyond belief...heck, even taking a beating all the way to the destination - I would take it in a second. As long as this flight would be 100% impossible to crash.
I am simply terrified of a plane accident.
I know it is a mental disorder but I have it and nothing will cure it. I learned as much in 20 years.
Any tips for booking the flight would be tremendously appreciated.
I also have a phobia of flying - at one point so bad that I took Amtrak 36 hours to get to my destination and then when Amtrak was delayed on the way back, ended up on a Greyhound bus for more than 24 hours rather than letting Amtrak pay for an hour and a half long flight. When I flew to Israel this past summer, it was a minor miracle that I got up on the plane to go to the bathroom (because clearly I was steering the plane through my armrests :P). I had previously made cross-Atlantic trips while holding it.
There is nothing you can do to make flying safer - it is already the safest form of travel. Turbulence happens. It's not something you can control - but sitting closer to the front helps make the feeling of turbulence less dramatic. I also like to sit near the jump seats so I can look at the flight attendants' faces. That makes me feel calmer. Are you too afraid to look outside? Do you get disoriented on planes? I HAVE to sit in a window seat because my inner ear goes crazy on planes and makes it feel like we're somersaulting. If I can look outside, I feel calmer.
Get some kind of sedative (I take klonopin and xanax) and start taking it a few days before flying. Part of my fear of flying stemmed from the anxiety I felt for days before the flight. Even seeing a plane in the air could send me into a full on panic attack. Since getting xanax for flying a few years ago, a lot of my fear has subsided because I know I won't HAVE to feel horrendous for a few days before my flight, often ruining vacations.
Also work on positive thinking. I have a mantra: The plane wants to stay in the air. And it's true! I've also gone up in a prop plane with a friend who was getting flying lessons while the flying instructor explained to me what all the noises were.
The sounds are a big part of my problem. I wear either headphones or earplugs. If I can't hear the subtle changes in engine noise, I can't convince myself that something bad is about to happen.
Good luck! It's still something I struggle with despite knowing logically that I'm in MUCH more danger driving to the airport than getting on a plane. I've even gone through cancer and would still rather go through chemo than sit on a plane. Traveling and seeing the world are everything to me so I have learned to overcome.
All of the above - probably multiplied by 10.
I too cross the Atlantic squeezing (not holding) the armrests. Every minute is torture.
I take medication but it helps little to none. Sounds are horrible, I tried watching videos, etc - didn't help much.
I am very close to my parents but I somehow went 3 years without visiting.
Also since you will be flying with another adult, you can take something stronger and just sleep through it. The fear of the upcoming flight would be the biggest issue. Is it just on the plane or is it over the weeks or months before too?
Anyways, therapy and meds might help. An SSRI might even help.
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Just Get On A Ship:
