Just curious how everyone that is scared of flying and afraid of heights deals with it.  

I'm going to NYC in a few weeks and ever since I made the decision to go I have been having trouble sleeping and when I do sleep I wake up scared as hell thinking about the airplane ride.  

Why did I have to fall for a travel agent??  AGH!!!!1

How do you get over a fear of flying?? By Flying.

How do you get over any fear , by doing that fear.

You can diminish fears in any number of ways, but to conquer a fear you must do it.

Ben

I'm not afraid to fly and I've had a few 80,000+ mile years on business travel, but I always thought Crown Royal (second shot for a $1.00) made the whole process more fun.

Two weeks probably wont be enough time to have the shrink fix you. My suggesion is to
1)visit your MD, DO, PA, or NP and talk with them. A little Xanax goes a long way.
2) Read Proverbs
3) Ask yourself what event made you afraid or if there is no recall, what were you doing when you realized you had this fear?
hope it helps.............Lebrew

Drink JIMBEAM.

Just do it. I have never been afraid of flying I am however afraid of heights.  I rappel and rock climb which seems to help but I am still have some fear.  Fear can be a good thing since it helps you avoid danger but you  need to face your fears so that you can keep them in check.

Flying never bothered me.It was the crashing part I wasnt crazy about



Xannax would go a long way to curb your fears.Ask the doctor for a coupla and take it about an hour before takeoff.

Since I used to toss myself out of perfectly good airplanes for a living, I suppose my perspective is a little skewed...

Try this (it's a psychologial measure,) you should be able to buy "travel insurance" policies from a machine in the airport proper.  Get about a million dollars for the trip, make the beneficiary whoever in your family you trust to use it right, and relax.  This way, even if you beat the statistics and end up one, you will still leave something behind to take care of your family...

FFZ

The part about crashing doesn't help any.

read erica jong

Take a few flying lessons.

Take a few flying lessons.

Fear of heights doesn't come into it, you are too far up anyway, most of the time you just see clouds.  Another tip, get an aisle seat.

ROTFLMFAO!!!!

Try Valium [:)]

Crash.

There's nothing like the bracing impact of a planet to make you realize how much you really prefer flying.

Go Skydiving.

FOTBR

i know how you can get over it.  Go learn about it.  thats right, take flying lessons.  educate yourself on the things you fear.

Yup...  Air Travel is quite safe ! [:D]

[img]http://www.attrition.org/gallery/cartoons/airplane_crash.jpg[/img]




Just don't tell the BATF which plane you will be on ...  OR:   [;)]

[img]http://www.cnn.com/US/9908/18/las.vegas.crash/story.fire.klas.jpg[/img]

Check with the airline(s).  Some of them have classes, or they might have a video or web page devoted to these issues.

I've flown plenty.  
Expect changes in noise, cabin air, lighting (even a flicker or two) and inertia.

There will always be a little anxiety at takeoff (there will probably be a slight sinking illusion at liftoff, followed by hydraulic noise and thunking sounds as they retract the landing gear).  

Ditto for landing.  Changes in engine noise and decceleration as they intentionally drop altitude, extend flaps, and make unannounced turns -  they just don't have time to explain everything they are going to do.  More noise extending the gear.  Touchdown may be smooth or a bit clunky, and as soon as the nosewheel is down, they will activate thrust reversers which use engine power to brake the aircraft, followed by the disc brakes.

All this stuff is entirely normal and happens with hundreds of thousands of passengers every single day.

Your biggest chance of a problem on  your trip will be the drives to and from the airport especially if you're all medicated.  Or losing your temper at the poorly-educated non-citizen security people.

Try to keep your mind on your carry-on stuff as you go through security.  Very easy to get distracted while they're feeling you up, meanwhile somebody picks up your laptop, backpack, whatever.  Or you forget and leave it there on the conveyor.

Oh yeah, don't make any nervous jokes about drunk pilots or bombs or hijackers.

There is always a chance of a bumpy ride in spots, often they can tell you what to expect with this, because they can see conditions on radar.  Keep the seat belt on and take some bottled water.  Air travel dehydrates you due to the dry, poorly refreshed cabin air.  Also it's my belief that this causes increased chances of viral infections, so get plenty of sleep and take care of your health in advance.

Oh yeah, check ahead of time re your carry status if you intend to, regardless of any special consideration you may have.

Marry a flight attendant. Worked for me. When they start telling you stories about how they love turbulence so they can sit down and strap in so they can rest for awhile, your "fear" sorta turns into "aw, shucks, if this little girl isn't afraid, then what the hell am I worried about?"

Go parachuting. Flying will never be a problem again. I am absolutely serious.

does she strap and sit down on you during turbulence?  [sex]

I've flown hundreds and hundreds of thousands of miles and no matter how long or how much I fly, I absolutely hate it.  I know exactly how you feel----it's not so much the actual flight as it is the anticipation of having to do it that is the "problem". Wish I could be like John Madden---he just refuses to get on an airplane---takes his own tour bus all over the country!

Hop on the plane, sit back and relax with a
good book.
[img]http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0671028375.01.MZZZZZZZ.jpg[/img]

I've found that concentrating on the goal rather than the mechanics of getting there helps.  This is true of anything from training, to saving money, to dieting, to running, etc.  In other words, don't worry about the flight, think about what you're looking forward to in NYC.  It should make the stress of flying worth the effort.  Any effort without a reward seems more arduous than it should.  I always enjoy travelling some place new, so that isn't hard for me.  Of course, if you're dreading going to NYC, then that won't make the flight any better.z

I am pretty afraid of heights but flying in a commercial airliner does not bother me at all, in fact I enjoy it. I have never flown in a tiny plane, like a Cessna but I might be okay in one of those.  Best way to deal with these sorts of irrational fears is to confront them.  So I do ride the ferris wheel and I have done some rock climbing and rapelling.

GunLvr

LMAO!!

One word - [size=6]Tequila[/size=6]

J
If you have the sack to risk your life everyday in a patrol car, you definately got the sack to get on that flight man..! [:)]
Enjoy the trip!!!!

Try thinking of it this way - if you survive the automobile trip to the airport you'll be okay.

Hope this does not get you scared of driving!

That's what my girlfriend said too.  She's like you're a cop and you're not afraid to do that job but you are scared of a plane.  Then she laughs at me and calls me a wussy.  Isn't love great!!!

does she strap and sit down on you during turbulence?

Yeah, but that usually only happens when we're at home.

Northwest Airlines has a 2-3 day course for people who are afraid of flying, but I saw a blurb on this morning's AP newswire that they're supposedly suspending it again.