General Chat

my daughter is visiting America and Australia this year and is not too keen on the landing and take off. She has flown a few times before but says her fear is getting worse this time. She is thinking of a hypnotist but they are very expensive. Has anyone had any experience of a hypnotherapist or have aany ssuggestions?? Thanks

Hi Gillian Have you got an airport near you? Most of them do short courses for people who are nervous about flying. They are free I believe. Cheers - Chrissie

Hi thanks for that we live 10 miles from Manchester Airport so I will get her to ring them.

Hope it works - Cheers - Chrissie

Chrissie, She has just rang them and they understand and are going to send her an info pack. Thanks again xx

Ages ago, my husband and I were on a package holiday flight. Across the aisle from us were another couple with their son. The woman looked absolutely petrified before take-off, although she was sitting still, clutching her husband. After we'd taken off, the stewardess came along and took her and her son up to the cockpit. The little boy was obviously just thrilled, but she was v. apprehensive. When she came back she looked extremely relaxed and seemed to enjoy the rest of the flight. I often wondered whether she had her fears allayed by seeing how competent the pilots were, or the array of dials and knobs to make sure everything was OK, or whether the stewardess had given her a stiff drink! H.

If it had been me a stiff drink would probably have worked, well maybe after the 4th or fifth!!!

hi she could try taking calms, i also hate the take off and landing, i think most people do. if it gets too bad tell her i'll go in her place, for her i haven't had a holiday for 8 years. seriously i hope she overcomes it, and enjoys her trip lol sandra

My daugher is due to fly out to visit us here in Seattle from England in 3 weeks time with her family. Although she is used to making short trips to the continent, and made a 6 hour flight to Portugal few years ago, she is getting more and more nervous. Though she is very excited to be coming, we were 'instant messaging' yesterday, and she tells me that she is finding it more and more difficult to sleep, even though she knows her fear is irrational. I had suggested she contact the airport (she also flies from Manchester), and will tell her about the information pack. Many thanks for that. I hope your daughter has a wonderful time, Gillian.

Hi Gillian, My only previous experience of flying was a short flight to Spain in the 60's and the thought of flying since had absolutely terrified me to the point where I was getting nightmares. When my son emigrated to New Zealand - I had to conquer the terror and GO or not see him unless he came home. With the help of Valium I managed to get on the plane and made the 27 hour journey (2hr stopover in LA) unscathed. It wasn't half as bad as I thought it would be. While we were there we flew down to Queenstown (very hairy landing and take off between two mountain ranges !) and I did it without 'medical intervention'. I flew home again without valium - couldn't believe I had done it but I did. Hope your daughter has a pleasant flight - I found that a technique shown me by my sister in law helped with the 'anxious' bits - hold either index finger with all the fingers of the other hand quite tightly - you may feel a beat at which point you can stop - it's supposed to calm you down. Magsx

Gillian I am no fan of flying, I see it as necessary means of travel. I recently flew to Glasgow, have done it before it's just so much quicker than the train. The longest flight I have made is to South Africa, not not as long as a journey to Australia. I think it's the take off I'm really not keen on. Advice? well I guess depends on the level of fear that your daughter has.(as others have said if it's serious she should find out about help from the airline, or a course) I didn't have a drink(alcohol) before taking off In case it made me feel woosy, but a stiff drink before may help someone else. I did however take the Bach's Rescue Remedy (4 drops on the tongue) which I think did help. I try to listen to the Captain's welcome, they always sound so normal (confident!!!!) I did also chew some gum during take off on the return flight as my ears were affected and I felt a little disorientated which doesn't help. I hope that you pick up some good advice from here, and that your daughter overcomes most of her fears and even though it's a long and probably tedious trip, does actually come to enjoy it. Good luck Lynda

I love flying but hate waiting to get on the plane. I tried everything,,,Diacalm,,travel sickness stuff,,,Kalms...Then i went to see the dr and he gave me some Propanalol,,,,Wonderful...!!! I dont get uptight,,,im not doped up and i enjoy the flight even more,,

I have done a fair amount of flying and try not to think about what could or could not happen. The only thing that puts me off and makes me dizzy are the chartered flights which to me seem to be smaller and more compact. The worst place to be is under the wings which makes a horrible noise when landing and taking off. Somewhere in the middle should be fine as long as you don't look out of the windows. A few glasses of wine should help take the edge off. Lindy;-)) P.S. Going charter in in less then two weeks:-((( but looking forward to it;-)))))))))

Just on a serious note - all this talk of booze - I don't want to be a killjoy but too much to drink when flying isn't a good idea. Getting dehydrated can be a contributing factor in DVT's. Don't I sound an old goody goody!!!:)))))))))) Chrissie

Just a quick thank you to you all. Will let you know how it goes. xxx

Just a quick P.S. - might make your daughter laugh. Long haul flight so was wearing support tights as an alternative to flight socks (re:DVT). Coming home there hadn't been time for a wash and brush up at LA so decided to have one on the plane. Put clean drawers on ok but I'm so fat and the cubicle was so small - couldn't get my tights back on!

hi i havent got a fear of flying but dad has hes flown bout 4 times in the past 3 years but now he too scared to go a palne again weve tried to talk to him about it but he gets really nasty and says that no one can understand how he feels but hes just too terrified to fly again so he will know how your daughter feels i hope she goes on ok.

Another of my intrests is hypnotherepy. If you were to buy one of the books on the subject you could try and hypnotise your daughter yourself and your daughter could also be able to hypnotise herself. Not into a deep sleep state, just being relaxed enough to have her brain take in information.

My daughter got the pack from the airport but it costs over £200 but does inc the cost of a short flight. Not sure what shes going to do next.

My fear of flying is probably the worst. I cannot even bear to watch a plane take off with a loved one aboard, I tune in to ceefax flight arrivals to check that hubby, daughter etc has landed safely. I have reccurring nightmares that I am being forced on to an aeroplane and being strapped in. I have no interest in conquering my fear, just a determination that I will never have to fly. My family constantly berate me for spoiling their holidays by insisting that we go somewhere accesible by boat or car. The irony is that for most of my formative years I lived 3 miles from Gatwick airport and worked there for 6 months! Pam