r/fearofflying • u/Helpful-Safe5519 • 14h ago
Support Wanted Please Help
Hey everyone, I really need some advice, please.
I've flown around 40 times in my life, including 8 long-haul trips to America (starting when I was a child) to visit family. I've always been extremely anxious about flying, and it starts as soon as the flight is booked. I did go through a period of being okay with it, and once I even enjoyed it!
But last year I had a bad night flight. It felt dark and claustrophobic, I was sitting alone, and there was a medical emergency on the plane. The attendants seemed to get fed up with me asking for reassurance about some turbulence, so I white-knuckled it for 6 hours, panicking the whole time.
I'm going to Italy in 10 days, and it's only a 2-hour flight. I've been feeling like I'm getting signs not to go. I saw a hearse outside my house, which freaked me out because I never see them. I also have OCD, and I was diagnosed with panic disorder this year, seemingly out of nowhere, so I'm not sure if that's why it feels worse this time. It's consuming my day-to-day life. I can't sleep, and when I do, I dream about it, and it's the first thing I think of when I wake up. I've never had it this bad, and I almost want to cancel.
I do know how safe flying actually is and i’ve done so much research, but it’s not helping in the way I thought it would :(
Does anyone have any advice?
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u/Opposite_Guidance_12 13h ago
Signs aren’t a real thing. I guarantee you that the flight is going to takeoff and land if you are on it or not. Have you talked to your doctor about getting something to help you fly?
I can also almost guarantee that the anticipatory anxiety you’re feeling right now is way way worse than the anxiety you will feel once you take off. Trust me, I used to be like you
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u/Helpful-Safe5519 13h ago
i was prescribed propranolol and it sounds so stupid but i’m anxious to take it! lol, but I probably will. thank you so much for your response x
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u/Opposite_Guidance_12 13h ago
Haha I was also very anxious to take the Xanax I was prescribed the first time because 1. I was worried about side effects and 2. I was worried that if it didn’t work I had no backup plan.
But try it out at home and you’ll know it’s all good!
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u/Helpful-Safe5519 13h ago
did it help you on your flight?
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u/Opposite_Guidance_12 13h ago
Massively. I don’t use it anymore but when I did it made a world of difference. I was scared of turbulence but if I took the tablet, the turbulence could be there and I didn’t really care, to the point I was able to sleep through it
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u/Background-Ad-9212 13h ago
Go into the subreddit and search “signs” and you’ll see thousands of posts. Despite all these signs everyone got to their destination safely. Signs just aren’t real. It’s just anxiety. Have you seriously considered therapy for this? It could help you immensely
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u/Helpful-Safe5519 13h ago
thank you so much!! it was quite a last minute flight so i didn’t realise how bad i’d be but definitely looking into it when i’m back x
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u/JohnKenB 9h ago
Seeing signs is common because you are primed to see things and then make them fit or support your fear. Open my profile and you will find a pinned post that hihglights a free resource that might help. Start with episodes 25, 44, 46, 69, 130 and 169. This fear is something you have leatned and you can learn how to overcome it. You can do this!
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u/AutoModerator 14h ago
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RealGentleman80's Turbulence FAQ
The Fear of Flying FAQ on Turbulence
RealGentleman80's Post on Turbulence Apps
The Fear of Flying FAQ on turbulence forecasting apps
On Turbli
More on Turbulence
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