Nerves

[bobbob1313]

I'm sure this has been done before, but does anyone know any good ways of calming down prior to a flight on a plane? See, I get really nervous on flights, so much so that I usually have panic attacks during take off. Was wondering if anyone had any suggestions to calm my nerves prior to a flight, and make it as relaxing as possible?

 

VC usually has the answers for these things, so I figure I'll probably find some help, right?

[myboyblue]

Deep breathing is a good, non-medicinal method to calm nerves. Many enjoy a drink or two...you may be a bit young still. Don't drink any caffeine and get good rest.

 

Vibes

[fickerson]

just remember, planes want to be in the air.

[Elixir Sue]

Xanax works really well, too.

[bobbob1313]

The kicker is we've got a layover, so I get to do the whole thing 2 times tomorrow (and landing is no picnic for me either!)

[embiggen]

I usually get a xanax prescription before flying. not to mention a beer or two.

 

I try to fly on Jet Blue because they have tv and radio and you can usually listen while you're taking off and landing. that helps me as well.

[MattZ]

Depends what the nerves relate to... Are you worried about something going wrong on the flight? Or is it related to being in an enclosed small space? Or is it motion sickness?

 

If it's the standard fear of something going wrong, I'd say look at the odds. The odds of something going wrong in the car on the way to the airport are vastly higher than the odds of anything going wrong on your flight. And I bet you don't even think twice about getting into the car, right? Just try to be logical about it -- after all, you are a big stats guy when it comes to baseball. Those same stats may help you relax when it comes to flying.

 

I dont mean to diminish your fears -- I used to be the same way. I found that when I took a step back and looked at the data, that I realized that my fear was just not logical. And I pride myself as being a pretty logical guy. I think you do too. I convinced myself that my fear was irrational, and that somehow helped.

 

Good luck.

[aricandover]

2 diazepam per 6 hours of flight.

[Sir Stewart]

What's helped me is remembering a conversation I had with an engineer, when I said to him "I don't even know how those things get in the air!"

He calmly explained how wind resistance and the plane's wings communicate to lift it in the air, it was pretty cool. We were next to an airfield drinking a bottle of Maker's Mark at the time. So it's a nice memory for me. You can insert yourself if you want.

[Clouds of Fluff]

bobob, it's probably too late to get a script, but klonopin can also be helpful.

 

Kava Kava or Valerian Root may help with anxiety and you can get these in most health food stores or in the vitamin aisle. (Kava Kava should be used short term only, think there's a risk of liver toxicity.)

[Elixir Sue]

drinking a bottle of Maker's Mark

This will do the trick, too.

[bobbob1313]

Depends what the nerves relate to... Are you worried about something going wrong on the flight? Or is it related to being in an enclosed small space? Or is it motion sickness?

 

If it's the standard fear of something going wrong, I'd say look at the odds. The odds of something going wrong in the car on the way to the airport are vastly higher than the odds of anything going wrong on your flight. And I bet you don't even think twice about getting into the car, right? Just try to be logical about it -- after all, you are a big stats guy when it comes to baseball. Those same stats may help you relax when it comes to flying.

 

I dont mean to diminish your fears -- I used to be the same way. I found that when I took a step back and looked at the data, that I realized that my fear was just not logical. And I pride myself as being a pretty logical guy. I think you do too. I convinced myself that my fear was irrational, and that somehow helped.

 

Good luck.

 

It's a mix of fear and then fear leading to anxiety, which then makes me nervous about being in an enclosed space.

 

I'll try to keep all of that in mind, thanks!

[poppydawn]

If it's too late to get a prescription anxiety medication, you can take Benadryl. When I was pregnant and having panic attacks, I couldn't take things like Xanax and Klonopin. My doctor told me to take a slightly larger dose of Benadryl (what amounts to a prescription antihistimine) when I felt the anxiety coming on. It worked really well.

 

Good luck!

[Analogman]

It's a mix of fear and then fear leading to anxiety, which then makes me nervous about being in an enclosed space.

 

I'll try to keep all of that in mind, thanks!

 

 

I flew for the first time in 21 years last summer, and for only the 5th time in my life (I think). Although I was freaked out somewhat, I got through it. You don't need to take any drugs or booze or whatever. I just got something to read - and concentrated on that.

[bobbob1313]

Well, my thing is I don't really like prescription pills, as I find the side effects are often worse than the problem they fix (though I admit this is in very limited experience). I think I will try to give some of these a shot and let you know if they help.

[lamradio]

Depends what the nerves relate to... Are you worried about something going wrong on the flight? Or is it related to being in an enclosed small space? Or is it motion sickness?

 

If it's the standard fear of something going wrong, I'd say look at the odds. The odds of something going wrong in the car on the way to the airport are vastly higher than the odds of anything going wrong on your flight. And I bet you don't even think twice about getting into the car, right? Just try to be logical about it -- after all, you are a big stats guy when it comes to baseball. Those same stats may help you relax when it comes to flying.

 

I dint mean to diminish your fears -- I used to be the same way. I found that when I took a step back and looked at the data, that I realized that my fear was just not logical. And I pride myself as being a pretty logical guy. I think you do too. I convinced myself that my fear was irrational, and that somehow helped.

 

Good luck.

 

Great advice.. Thats how I feel as well, when you realize the stats. But if you are nervous for other reasons, have a few drinks.. I actually enjoy flying, but my wife gets a little nervous, so she has a couple vodka tonics before flight, and we end up talking, laughing, the whole way.. Fun stuff..

[quarter23cd]

I'm a bit amazed at the volume of xanax and klonopin endorsements here. Looks like we've got us more panic-attack vets on the board than I would have guessed. Add me to the club.(although flying, in itself, is less of a problem for me than the claustrophobia of being stuck in a tiny seat for a long amount of time) But,yes, those will definitely do the trick for ya...though I guess it would depend on the degree of panic that kicks in if I would recommend going that route. I'd start with some deep breaths and/or meditation. If that don't work for ya, then if a stiff drink before takeoff takes the edge off or a benadryl puts you to sleep, those might be better places to start if you're skittish on the prescription pills.

[JUDE]

Just a couple of things:

 

1. Don't look at the wings once the plane starts moving. Ever.

2. Statistically, once you are airborne you are safe, until it's time to land.

[IATTBYB]

If it's the standard fear of something going wrong, I'd say look at the odds. The odds of something going wrong in the car on the way to the airport are vastly higher than the odds of anything going wrong on your flight. And I bet you don't even think twice about getting into the car, right? Just try to be logical about it -- after all, you are a big stats guy when it comes to baseball. Those same stats may help you relax when it comes to flying.

I don't have a solution to bobbob's problem as I have never had an anxiety attack or a fear of flying. But now I am scared about the drive to the airport next week.

[jonbama]

Deaths on Planes Are Rare, Difficult

Published: 2/28/08, 3:46 PM EDT

By SAMANTHA GROSS

 

NEW YORK (AP) - When Rubina Husain's husband died aboard an airliner, she shielded her 10-year-old daughter's eyes so she wouldn't see her daddy's body carried through the cabin.

 

Then, with the corpse covered up and tucked away in a rear galley, the passengers who had stood around and stared after the man collapsed returned to eating and chatting. The Athens-to-New York jetliner continued on to its destination for eight or nine more hours. And the in-flight movie was shown as planned.

 

"It felt like a never-ending flight," says Husain, whose husband died in 1998 after an asthma attack. "I felt like: Why doesn't this plane just crash and kill me? Why don't I just die?"

 

Abid Husain, who couldn't be saved despite CPR and an epinephrine shot from a doctor friend who was aboard, was one of hundreds of people who have died on airplanes in recent years - a dreadful and often traumatizing experience for family members and fellow passengers who are forced to take a close-up look at frailty and death and share their journey in close quarters with a corpse.

 

"It's one of the most overwhelmingly emotional situations possible," said Heidi MacFarlane, a spokeswoman for MedAire, a company that has doctors available on the ground to advise flight crews in a medical emergency. "When you're the one sitting next to the remains, it can be shocking and upsetting."

 

The macabre phenomenon has received renewed attention since a 44-year-old woman died on a flight from Haiti to New York last week, drawing complaints from her family that the airline did not do enough to respond.

 

When a passenger is stricken aboard a plane, flight crews and travelers with medical training often pull out emergency medical supplies and rush to save the patient's life in full view of other passengers.

 

If the person dies, the crew often throws a blanket over the corpse or puts it in a body bag, an item routinely kept on some planes. The dead passenger is sometimes placed on the floor in a galley area, or kept buckled in his or her seat, since a corpse cannot be allowed to block certain emergency exits. Pilots may consider making an emergency landing, but often they keep going.

 

Airlines are not required to track or report the medical incidents they handle, so an exact tally of in-flight deaths is hard to find. But fatalities and serious illnesses on airplanes are rare when compared to the large number of people who fly.

 

MedAire is on call for about one-third of the world's commercial flights and counted 89 deaths in 2006. That means that if a similar death rate occurs on the other flights, the number of annual deaths exceeds 260.

 

MedAire says that each passenger boarding one of the flights monitored by the company in 2006 had at least a 1-in-7.6 million chance of dying on board in a medical incident.

 

People are far more likely to die in a plane crash. In 2007, 1 in 1.3 million travelers who boarded a commercial flight anywhere in the world died in an incident in which the plane was damaged, according to the International Air Transport Association. In 2006, the rate was 1 in 1.5 million.

 

The Federal Aviation Administration requires airlines stock certain emergency medical supplies, such as defibrillators, syringes and epinephrine, and train flight attendants in CPR and some first aid.

 

FAA spokesman Les Dorr said he was unaware of any policies that specifically address what should be done if someone dies in flight. The airlines make those decisions on their own.

 

When a passenger falls seriously ill, flight attendants often contact the pilot. The crew typically makes an announcement to the passengers, asking whether there is a doctor or other medical professional aboard. And in many cases, there is. But if there isn't, the crew can usually reach specialists on the ground for advice on such things on what treatment to give and whether to make an emergency landing.

 

The procedures for how to handle airplane deaths are less public. Northwest Airlines and JetBlue declined to release their policies on how crew members decide where to place the body and what they are supposed to say to family members and other passengers. Delta Air Lines did not return a call.

 

"When there is a death aboard a flight the general procedure is to move the deceased to an area of the cabin where they can be isolated to some extent and covered in as dignified a way as possible," said Tim Smith, a spokesman for American Airlines, which is under scrutiny over the death last week of Carine Desir.

 

MedAire advises crews not to place the body in a lavatory. In the past, that has made it difficult to remove the remains from the tiny space after rigor mortis has set in.

 

While the pilot has the option of diverting the plane after someone has died, often the flight continues on to its destination. If the flight lands in another location, the family of the dead passenger often has to make arrangements to transport the body.

 

In Desir's case, her body was covered with a blanket and placed on the floor in first class. Other passengers were moved to seats farther away. Friends and family of employees who were flying at a discounted rate were seated closest to the body, Smith said. The plane continued on to New York, even though it could have put down in Miami.

 

Decades ago, in the early days of commercial flight, all stewardesses were nurses. Now, the FAA mandates that flight attendants receive non-professional-level training in such methods as CPR, but they are not required to be able to use the syringes and intravenous drips in onboard medical kits.

 

Northwest said that doctors, nurses or paramedics are aboard an estimated 96 percent of its flights. MedAire said medical professionals stepped forward to help in 48 percent of the more than 17,000 medical situations it was called on to help with last year.

 

In Desir's case, a cousin who was with her claimed that she was initially refused access to oxygen tanks and that they weren't working. American Airlines said that she was helped swiftly and that the equipment worked.

 

Nevertheless, the oxygen tanks that the FAA requires aboard planes are not designed primarily for such medical emergencies. Instead, the tanks are meant to help people in case of sudden cabin decompression, according to the FAA. Oxygen at a hospital may be more concentrated and can be given directly through a nose tube.

 

Desir's husband and two children, ages 23 and 10, have hired a law firm to investigate the death of the Brooklyn nurse.

 

"My wife died on the plane," her husband, Mario Fontus, told The Associated Press. "And I want to know what happened on that plane."

[bjorn_skurj]

Before each takeoff and landing, I tell Jesus that I'm really sorry for being such an ass, and then hope for the best.

[OOO]

Take off your socks and shoes and then make "fists" with your toes.

 

And then kill an entire group of terrorist with the aid of a wacky young limo driver and Carl Winslow from Family Matters.

[LouisvilleGreg]

Watch the movie "Say Anything," for some valuable flying tips.

[Mr. Kinsley]

If you drink enough before leaving home, you won't make it out the door, therefore alieviating your fear of flying.

[Lammycat]

Download some meditation/New Age instrumental music to your iPod prior to the flight, close your eyes, and breath slow. That stuff transports me, it might work for you. I recommend anything by Medwyn Goodall, particularly Moon Goddess.