mitchellclr,

We have a Fear of Flying thread on the flights forum. He's not on his own.

Darren

I really don't see that it's anything to laugh at.

Its really nothing to laugh at, and you should hope that you never feel like that or travel with anyone that has a fear. I dont like flying but never let it stop me from going anywhere. I feel physically sick seeing a plane in the sky knowing that i have to get on one , i keep watching my departure and arrival airports to make sure the plane is leaving and arriving on time . Your mates hubby needs support about his fear not to be laughed at .

my husband hates flying, it took him 10 years to pluck up the courage to agree to go on a plane.....for about 2 days before we hardly talk to him, as he gets in a state, and has been told, if he cant get on the plane, we go without him and he goes home, and thats fine.....but he is almost pysically sick.

its not nice to laugh, as your friend is now on holiday without her husband, he should see his gp as he may be given some tablets to calm him down a bit

An ex colleague of mine found hypnotism to be very successful. She would never let it stop her travelling but it caused her a lot of distress. A few sessions with a therapist in the weeks before travelling calmed her down a lot.

GP could refer this chap to one as it seems his fear is totally overwhelming and I suspect that it will be worse the next time as he recalls what happened to him before, increasing his anxiety.

Must be awful for him and his wife. I hope he can summon the courage to try and alleviate his fears so he can try again.

i get Diazepam from my GP & i have a massive fear of flying.

A phobia is an awful condition and the symptoms are like a panic attack. He would have felt anxious before boarding the plane and then the fear took over. Your friends husband would have felt sweaty, his heart racing and symptoms which to him, may have mimicked a heart attack.

I do hope that in the future he can conquer this fear and get the holiday he deserves. Give him our best wishes.

Might also be worth contacting your local airport, as I know some do run "fear of flying" courses which people find very helpful. The only way to overcome any kind of fear or phobia is to face up to it - that may sound simplistic, but it's true.

It's a horrible feeling and I feel for anyone who is nervous of flying.

I was fine from the first flight I took in 1982, I only flew once a year on holiday until 1994 then I started flying weekly, in 1995 something happened that scared me during a flight and since then I have not been the best of flyers although I have never had the need not to get on the plane, my symptoms are sweaty hands and rapid breathing, I have found that for me the best method is as follows:-

As soon as I take my seat I sit back close my eyes and concentrate on slowing down my breathing, this sorts me out after a couple of minutes, I then do the same during the take off, once the seat belt sign has gone off I no longer have an issue and enjoy the rest of the flight, in fact I like a bit of turbulance as it helps me sleep, I must have like being rocked to sleep when I was a baby.

I'm still flying every two or three weeks if not more regularly, it is after all the safest way to travel.

Dave

I hate flying and feel dreadfully sick for the few days leading up to a holiday. I find that I can cope well enough with some diazepam from my GP and a couple of still drinks, this makes me feel relaxed throughout the flight and although I still grip my poor hubby's hand like mad for take-off and landing, am far more pleasurable to be around.

I really feel for him, before I had the diazepam I was awful, sobbing and snapping at anyone near, it's certainly worked for me and in fact I'm getting better each time I fly now.

this topic would be better discussed in the flights forum fear of flying thread it may be a long thread but its full of usefull information in overcoming or controlling the problem

we at ht do not recommend the use of any drugs unless prescribed by your GP

wizard

I don't think the poster was being malicious, my husband hates flying and whatever time of day we fly he needs a double southern comfort or three. So good luck to all

I personally feel that if I (or my husband) dreaded flying that much I would not have holidays that involved flying. The problem is that even if you manage to get to your destination you still have to make the return journey. I can imagine some people must spend the whole holiday worrying about the fact they have to fly home - that would I am sure take some of the enjoyment of the holiday away.

There are so many nice places you can go without having to fly - ok so maybe not far away places but cruising is very popular and reasonably priced nowadays if you stick with Europe. Some lovely places in this country too!!

I do wonder if the poor person concerned in the original posting would have been better if he could have boarded the plane via an airbridge rather than using steps. Just a thought anyway.

Pippa

This topic has presumably been transferred from another forum. However, as has been mentioned a couple of times, we already have a Fear of Flying topic in this forum and so I will close this thread now to prevent further repetition.

Please feel free to continue discussion in the existing topic, or have a browse there for some useful advice.

David