first time flyer.... TERRIFIED

[oitnb]

So I won an amazing contest at my school (I go to a very popular cosmetology school in the states) and this February I get to go to a HUGE hair show in Vegas, all expenses paid by my school. I'm so excited.

 

The only issue... I have to fly there. I've never flown and up until now, I've sworn I'd never fly anywhere. I'd drive. But I have to fly to vegas because 1 - my school will pay for the ticket so it will be a heck of a lot cheaper than going early and paYing for a ton of gas for my car, and 2 - to drive from my state to vegas, it would probably take like a week. I live in the midwest.

 

But I'm sooooo scared. It's months away and I already internally freak out about it like once a day... I'm so scared the plane will crash, there will be mechanical problems when we're 20,000 feet in the air, we'll hit horrible turbulence... all of it.

 

I know all the facts, you're more likely to die in a car wreck, by cow attack, you'd have to fly everyday for thousands of years to statistically get into a plane accident, ect ect but I'm still freaking the f out.

 

Any tips for this nervous first time flyer?

[mhowe]

Get an anti anxiety med from your doctor and take before the flight.

[oitnb]

Get an anti anxiety med from your doctor and take before the flight.

 

That's what my dad does, he hates flying... but I don't want to be so loopy I don't even make it on the plane. Im worried id be so out of it it wouldn't be worth the trouble..

[mhowe]

Your dr will prescribe the right dosage for your weight. You take it on the flight, you take a nap, and you wake up in Vegas.

 

Ask your dad.

[oitnb]

tsa wouldnt take it from me? I wasn't aware you were allowed to take meds on to the flight!

[BigKK]

Honestly, I would say don't go the med route and just try it... You've never flown so it's a new experience, for some people there always scared but going in doped up into something you never experienced is a little premature. Why not get the medication, fly the first time sober. If it's not that bad, then you'll be fine...if it's the worst experience of your life...get doped up for the return flight.

 

I was super scared of flying as a kid...and the older I get the less I care. Yeah of course things can go wrong, but lately the flights I've taken have been remarkably smooth... I think that domestic flights... they know where the turbulence is at so well that they usually just avoid it. My domestic flights have been so smooth I've been impressed. I remember flights in the early 90s where I'd watch the wings bouncing hoping they wouldn't snap off.

[Cheetarah]

I had crippling anxiety when I first flew. I didn't even think of meds as an option, and I'm going to recommend you don't, either(unless you find this flight completely unbearable and for flights in the future).

 

I actually love to fly now. God I would love it even more now because I really need some alone time up in the sky, looking out the little window at the clouds and the mountains. Once you get used to it, it's quite peaceful.

 

So what I did the first time - I made sure I had some really good headphones, because it can be kinda noisy. Noise filtering ones. Good music, and also some grounding/relaxation meditations on there. And I brought gum, because your ears will probably pop during take off and landing(or maybe not, if you have an awesome pilot). The gum helps with that. I talked incessantly to the poor woman in the aisle accross from me. Like talked to her until she fell asleep.

[mhowe]

TSA is not going to take a prescription medication from you!

[Batya33]

I think there are natural remedies to help anxiety (just try them in advance of the trip) -even if it's just a placebo effect. Also find some good deep breathing techniques - one of my favorite is inhale for 4 then, through pursed lips, exhale for 8-10 seconds -i.e. very slowly -and have a soothing image in your head. Square breathing -in for 4, hold for 4, out for 4, works great too.

[bulletproof]

...I've sworn I'd never fly anywhere.

 

No matter whether you decide to use meds or not, this line of thinking is so limiting. Don't you ever want to go out of the country? It's good that this came up now, because it would be terrible for you to miss out on traveling later on.

 

I personally don't see anything so bad about taking a one-time med for anxiety. They won't take it from you because it's prescription- you just have to have it in the bottle with the actual prescription on it. And it shouldn't make you so out of it, if it's prescribed correctly.

 

But if you don't want to take anything, everyone's offered good advice: natural relaxants (chamomile, valerian root, breathing), headphones, gum, something to read, etc.

 

You could also look into hypnosis, either in person or via an app. I think the apps are only a couple of dollars, and you can listen to them before you go to sleep every night before the trip, and on the flight as well.

[DancingFool]

Kind of have to agree with the posters who say try it without getting doped up. First of all, feeling anxious about something new is normal. Second, learning how to control and handle your anxieties without getting doped up is a good skill to have. So maybe start by stopping the obsessive thought process that's winding you up into a frenzy. Every time you get going in that direction, literally interrupt yourself forcefully and direct your thoughts elsewhere. If you keep telling yourself that you are scared or that it's scary, then it most certainly will be. You are basically setting yourself up to freak for no good reason. On the other hand if you tell yourself how amazing and exciting it's going to be, then it will be. You do control your state of mind and you can very much overcome fear and phobias by simply refusing to focus on them and instead focusing on something else that's positive.

[amipushy]

Get yourself a good book because trust me being on a plane is not the exciting or terrifying experience you picture in your mind...It is as BORING as hell.

[Iggy5129]

You do know that your chances of dying in a car are much greater than dying in a plane crash, right? How many people do you know that have been in car accidents? Ad how many in plane crashes? I'm guessing the answer to the latter is 0. Control your mind, don't let it control you.

[oitnb]

Good advice thanks everyone

[oitnb]

I think for the first time I'll skip any anxiety meds. Just try it, use all the tips you've given, and if I absolutely can't handle it, I'll know for future times I should probably get some help from a doctor before a flight. Thanks all!

[ParisPaulette]

Well, one of the things you should do is this: take time now and start going to the airport to just hang out. Watch the planes come and go, watch the people come and go. This will make it a familiar place, a good place even. You can watch and see that people come and go and life goes on, that planes take off and land every day. And nothing bad happens. When something is a part of your life everyday it's harder to be afraid of it.

 

And right now, before you have to go, start learning some sort of calming techniques like meditation or yoga or other relaxation tactics you can use to help sooth yourself while you're on the flight. Calming music and a sleep mask on a flight are also great assistances. I used to fly sometimes cross-country and I'd be tense, not from the idea of flying, but because of my work. That helped me a ton and I'd usually find myself almost feeling like I'd spent time at a spa by the end of the flight. And treat yourself--if you love to read or watch movies start stocking up now on a method to transport them and give yourself several movies or books or other things you always wanted to read or watch, but never had time to do. You can sit back and pull out that book and enjoy or pop on headphones once the light goes on to do so and watch that movie you'd never dare play in your house, because everyone would make fun of you for example.

 

You have time right now to start acclimating yourself to flying and the idea of flying, take advantage of it. Plenty of people have phobias of flying and yet they do and it is something you should just work on, because there will be times in your life when flying is just much faster and more convenient.