r/fearofflying

I’m on a flight to MSY and I’m nervous. The weather isn’t great. Words of encouragement would help

ITS ONLY A SHORT FLIGHT. NOT EVEN 2 HOURS.

But its my first time ever flying by myself, I'm 32. & I am petrified.

My first trip away from my child, ever. First time flying alone. First time travelling alone at all really.

I'm borderline considering just not turning up at the airport in the morning, but my bestfriend is waiting on me so we can go see our favourite band. far. out.

HATE feeling like such a baby. :c

hi guys, Im about to take off from SFO to LAS. I haven’t flown in a few months and have been afraid and dreading it. my insurance company didn’t approve the medication that my doctor prescribed me to help me relax :( I’m feeling afraid because last time I flew I had a panic attack in the air for the first time. thanks for listening

I have had a major international travel trip planned and I have been dreading the flight. I have been lurking here for weeks to try to remind myself that flying is safe.

My first flight out had the worst turbulence I have ever experienced when we were coming in to land. People were screaming and praying, and most were gripping the headrest in front of them. It legit felt like a roller coaster.

My body definitely had a visceral reaction to the sensation, but thanks to this sub, I was able to keep my brain calm. I watched the flight attendant in a jump seat a few rows ahead of me. She seemed fine. I reminded myself that the pilots are trained for this and know how to handle it. I never doubted that we would be ok.

Thank you to those who post and comment here. A situation that could have sent me into a panic spiral was instead just a crazy experience!

Hello everyoneee!!

Flying back to Madrid from Zurich!

As per usual I’m feeling a little uneasy specially about takeoff, I’m hoping it’s smooth sailing for takeoff, it's super nicee this morning tho here in Zurich!

If anybody has any takeoff information I would appreciate it so I can prepare! Like are we taking of straight or taking some turns?

This is the tracking link https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/IBE628

Your tracking helps a lot! Thanks!

I fly a week from today and the nerves are trying to creep back in!

So I’m deciding what song I should try and play at take off. I like something that’s 3-4 minutes so by the time it’s done, we should be around 10k feet.

For my last trip, I did Nanobots by they might be giants, and for the one before that I did Dani California by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

This time I’m thinking of Mr. Mastodon Farm by Cake. Its about a guy watching birds fall and then fly back up and how he has to watch them fly up because it comforts him because he views it as symbolic and that’s exactly how I feel everytime I see a plane watching it ascend past my apartment comforts me.

What are yours? Do you have any suggestions for me?

Edit to add: “bring me to life”, evanescence. IYKYK

On flight AS202. I have been following the posts in this subreddit and trying to understand the suggestions.
Everything makes sense logically but I cant seem to think logically when i am in flight.
I wasn’t this way a few years ago, developed this fear over the past few years.
When I am in the flight and starting to feel anxious, I feel so weak mentally.
I do remember seeing posts saying flights are built to deal with turbulence, but what about some failures. I guess the probability is negligible but my mind keeps catastrophizing.
I feel so helpless whenever I fly, even now I am feeling this way, what do i do? 🙁

I know all the flying tips and tricks for us scaredy cats and am literally even a plane enthusiast but it doesn’t help with the anxiety so instead I’m trying to just distract myself and ask a question!

Pilots (particularly commercial since that’s what I fly on and am therefore scared of, but any pilots feel free to weigh in because I’m still curious!), what’s your favorite route to fly and why? Is it a longer one, shorter? Do you prefer doing the same routes back to back (do you have a choice)?

Despite being a plane enthusiast, I don’t know much about the pilots or crew so I want to learn! Plus for anxiety sake, it helps to remind myself that y’all are real people too ;)

I'm so so SO sick of this phobia.

It has gotten so bad that just reading this subreddit makes me sick to my stomach. I have visited the airport for exposure therapy, walking around and watching planes take off, and that was honestly pretty enjoyable, but I think it's because I knew I wasn't actually getting on the plane. I'm not sure if I could bear to set my foot in the airport otherwise.

My last flight was around 10 years ago, and it was pretty smooth. I've also had people in my life reassure me that turbulence isn't that bad. But then I see posts here of turbulence that feels like a rollercoaster, like the plane is dropping out of the sky, and where people are sweating, puking, and gripping their seats. The fear of experiencing this and not knowing when it'd start, how bad it'll get, and when it stop is too much for me. Even if my flight is statistically more likely to be smooth, I'm unsure if I'll be able to overcome my own physical reaction to the fear when boarding in the chance I might experience that type of flight. I feel like there's nothing I can do but give up, and I feel like I've hit a wall.

Also some encouraging comments would be greatly appreciated

flight DL0783

This a relatively new fear for me, its mostly the fear of being trapped. The most recent flights I've had, I've felt panicked and anxious, sometimes nauseous, I can't eat so that makes me worse. But some flights I'm okay.

I'm flying to Phoenix from Newark tonight, we've been delayed about 3 hours because of storms, planes have been waiting for leave on the tarmac for hours. We might be boarding soon but we're going to join that line. I just feel so anxious and panicked. What if I get sick in the air from the nausea? And I woke up congested this morning from pollen allergies. I just don't know if I can do this, I just want to go home.

I'm just screaming into the void at this point, any nice words would be welcomed!

First time flying with two toddlers and I am terrified. Please track WN2783.
Thank you! 🙏🏼

Yes this is anxiety speaking, can the pilots + the software, both, fuck up the speed of take off calculations?

Need some support flying back from guadalajara to Tijuana and boarding in a few minutes

Just need some reassurance and tracking if possible

I have leaned on this community before. I travel very frequently and have anxiety, OCD and intrusive thoughts around flying. I felt pretty good for my flight here to San Juan mostly because I was in a rush and didn’t have much time to panic but now I’m obsessively checking weather in both locations (SJU and Newark) and worried about the storms and feel like we’ll be flying over rough air and I just cannot handle turbulence for that long or.. worse. I don’t know.

Anyway. If anyone has down a similar route today or if any pilots have the energy to explain to me why wind or storms are not an issue… I’d really appreciate it.

Thank you, friends.