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Lots of people are uncomfortable or just hate to fly. But does anyone else have a phobia? I have a true phobia and it drives me nuts. I'm flying home on Thursday from college and even though it's 3 days away, I had a MAJOR panic attack today during one of my finals. My professor knows about my health problems and thought it was related to that and pulled me out of class, and I just burst into tears!
I avoid going home for any break that the dorms don't close (so I stay here alone over Thanksgiving) and try to take trains as much as possible (even took a 2 day trip to Nebraska and 24 trip home to Georgia via Amtrak!).
I do all kinds of tricks when I'm on the plane- positive mental images, "willing" the plane in the air, repeating mantras (the plane wants to stay in the air, the plane is supposed to be making these noises, etc etc), stare at the horizon to lessen vertigo, and keep headphones or earplugs in to minimize the noise changes in the engine and I've even done on the ground flight training so I would know what's going on, but none of this helps.
Lots of people are uncomfortable or just hate to fly. But does anyone else have a phobia? I have a true phobia and it drives me nuts. I'm flying home on Thursday from college and even though it's 3 days away, I had a MAJOR panic attack today during one of my finals. My professor knows about my health problems and thought it was related to that and pulled me out of class, and I just burst into tears!
I avoid going home for any break that the dorms don't close (so I stay here alone over Thanksgiving) and try to take trains as much as possible (even took a 2 day trip to Nebraska and 24 trip home to Georgia via Amtrak!).
I do all kinds of tricks when I'm on the plane- positive mental images, "willing" the plane in the air, repeating mantras (the plane wants to stay in the air, the plane is supposed to be making these noises, etc etc), stare at the horizon to lessen vertigo, and keep headphones or earplugs in to minimize the noise changes in the engine and I've even done on the ground flight training so I would know what's going on, but none of this helps.
Anyone else suffer from this phobia?
I have a phobia about flying but I earned mine the hard way. I was involved in two near collisions in the air; three emergency landings, and one pretty hard landing (all civilian)...plus one emergency landing in a rice paddy in South Korea (Korean civilian plane).
During my last episode a lady sitting next to me died of a heart attack as the plane hard landed...and that upset me so much I swore off flying. If God really wanted me in the air he would have given me wings.
No one would fly with me during those times and I would never allow a family member to fly with me.
My experience wasn't as bad as yours, but on my first return flight home alone we had an aborted landing about 20 feet off the ground (I could see the runway below us) because a plane was in the runway. Our flight had been delayed 12 hours in the Miami airport which really stressed me out and made me upset (I was about 15), and then to have that happen was horrible. The plane pitched right back up into the air and make some really steep, scary turns and the engines were screaming.... and so were the people. For months afterwards, it gave me nightmares.
I had always been afraid and uncomfortable with planes before that, but now it's gone into a full blown phobia even though I've flown about 20 times in the 5 years since.
I really don't have a phobia, just a strong desire not to fly, if that makes sense. Besides I would rather drive and experience the country rather than flying over it, even if it takes much longer!
I have a phobia about flying but I earned mine the hard way. I was involved in two near collisions in the air; three emergency landings, and one pretty hard landing (all civilian)...plus one emergency landing in a rice paddy in South Korea (Korean civilian plane).
During my last episode a lady sitting next to me died of a heart attack as the plane hard landed...and that upset me so much I swore off flying. If God really wanted me in the air he would have given me wings.
Oh my God.. I think I wouldve had a heart attack by now if I'd been through all that.
Well since we're all sharing... I had never really had traumatic experiences while up in the air. The last time I flew was on Labor Day weekend this year. I had to take a connecting flight (which I'd never done) from Miami to Atlanta (to get to where I was going - Phoenix). And it was fine for all of Florida and most of Georgia.
But then I noticed we were about 10 minutes past the scheduled landing time, and I though Oh my God, somethings wrong. And another long 10 minutes pass before the Pilot annouces that there was a delay in Atlanta due to heavy rain and we would have to keep circling the plane until it was safe to land. It was about another 15 minutes before we landed. That was probably the longest half hour of my life. There was no turbulance or anything, but I was terrified. And I was alone on the plane, so I had no one to turn to. It was terrible. I just kept thinking about those poor people on 9/11.
After I came back home, I read up on all the plane crashes that have happened over the years. It just terrifies me even more. I dont want to fly for a very long time to come. I think the only place I'm willing to fly to now is Australia, because I've wanted to go there all my life, but I wouldnt want to do it any time soon.
So no, you are not alone, Charol my dear. But hang in there. You'll be ok. Take a sleeping pill, knock yourself out for a couple of hours. I slept through most of my flight home, and I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to sleep. It does go by that much quicker if you do.
Circling bothers me because of the turn angles. Flying so much, I've been in lots of cases where I had to circle and while it bothers me because I want to be off the plane ASAP, it doesn't necessarily scare me any more than the rest of the whole flying experience. If you've never done it before though, it can freak you out.
I wish pilots would explain more as it's happening on the plane. Like during the aborted landing, the pilot didn't say anything for 10 minutes after the fact and by that time I seriously saw my life flashing before my eyes.
I hate flying too. I used to be real bad. One time I took a Grey Hound for two days, rather than fly for four hours. That was about the time i realized, you know what.. DEATH would be better than another 2 day grey hound trip. The thought of plunging 5 miles to my death is utterly terrifying. Although the thought of having to hear another crack head/red neck/ run away's life story was much more terrifying. Id suggest taking a grey hound. It might open your eyes.
I wish pilots would explain more as it's happening on the plane. Like during the aborted landing, the pilot didn't say anything for 10 minutes after the fact and by that time I seriously saw my life flashing before my eyes.
Pilots are extremely busy during those ten minutes following a go-around. They actually aren't supposed to do anything non-duty related as a matter of law under 10,000 feet, which includes talking to passengers, flight attendants, etc... it's called a "sterile cockpit." It'd be like talking on a cell phone while merging onto a highway at rush hour. Times a hundred degrees of complexity.
...not to mention that even when they do talk to the pax during times that are free (like cruise), they then have a lot of people wishing they'd just be quiet and let them sleep, so they try a balancing act.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Don Vito
The thought of plunging 5 miles to my death is utterly terrifying.
Due to the altitude and thin air, you might be happy to hear that you'll be completely incapacitated for those 5 miles and won't notice a thing
While I don't have a phobia about planes, the last flight I was on (15 years ago) had so much turbulence, I was praying that the plane would land in one piece. After I got out, I swore I would never fly again - and I haven't.
While I did fly a few times before that, it always made me nervous. I was always checking the wings to make sure that the engines were still there. I just don't need that stress anymore. I will never fly on business. My company knows that and lets me rent a car to drive to the destination - very nice of them. In fact, last February I had to attend a conference in San Francisco. My company let me rent a 4-wheel drive Suburban to make the trip. That time of year can be unpredictable out in Nebraska and Wyoming. Sure enough, I hit heavy snow in Nebraska and white-out conditions in Wyoming. But they wanted me to be safe and told me to rent a 4x4 that was big and heavy.
In fact, I worked at one place where the department manager would not fly. He turned down invitations to be a speaker at events in Switzerland. I didn't feel so bad when I heard that.
In fact, I worked at one place where the department manager would not fly. He turned down invitations to be a speaker at events in Switzerland. I didn't feel so bad when I heard that.
You know, I'm terrified to fly. But I'm willing to risk it for ceratain places/things. The main reason I flew to Arizona in the summer was because I was going to have the chance to drive out to California again. That was enough reason for me to get on a plane. I think in certain situations you do have to put your fear aside and just do it. A free trip to Switzerland? Hell yeah, I'm there.
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Terrible phobia
