I’ve always dreamed of seeing the world, but the fear of flying holds me back. Even short flights leave me gripping the armrest, and the idea of a long-haul trip makes me sweat. All of my travel now is via car/train. I know I’m missing out on amazing experiences, but I can’t seem to shake the anxiety. For those of you who’ve overcome a fear of flying, how did you do it? Therapy, medication, flying more often? Stories like this make me not want to try. I’d love to hear what worked for you—and if the love of travel made it all worth it in the end.
My wife fears flying but is ok with a Xanax.
I turned to deep breathing and prayer when I was younger. Helped it become more natural.
I was a fearless flyer as an adolescent, but found myself a white-knuckle flyer after becoming a parent. Now in my grand-parenting years, I am completely calm again. What worked for me was a very low dose of a medication that is used for public speaking anxiety which prevents your heart from racing. No panicky feeling, no sweaty palms. I would begin dosing when packing and preparing and again at the airport. No excessive drowsiness and no side effects. If I recall the medication was Inderal. My friend who is a psychiatrist told me to ask my family doctor about it, and it was a game changer! Good luck!
I fly a considerable amount and prefer it over any other mode of transportation for anything beyond that 3 Hour drive or train ride, although I must admit I am enjoying train rides more and more. Trains just aren’t practical for me in most cases based on destinations of need/interest. I still experience a little uneasiness at every flight takeoff and landing although I would no longer consider it fear. Not flying would have been very limiting in my career, so that was one thing that helped me. Also, looking at the pure stats of plane crashes versus auto accidents and the lower probability of a plane crash happening. Of course they are also terrorist activities, but those happen in schools and malls and grocery stores, again, more frequently than on an airplane. F.E.A.R. = False Evidence Appearing Real. Like Nike, just do it. Then do it again. And again. This is just starting with a short flight under two hours on a large plane trying to avoid routes or weather conditions producing a lot of turbulence to the extent you have control over that. Do that until you start feeling less fearful, and then gradually increase the distances. You got this!