I used to be (mildly) afraid of deep water. Scuba diving got rid of that.

I was terrified to fly. My fear was a combination of the unknown, claustrophobia and a slight fear of heights. I would have a racing heart and sweat throughout the entire flight and then I was close to having a panic attack when we landed and I couldn't get right off the plane.

Over the past 5-6 years, I have now learned exactly what to expect when flying, I always travel with Ambien so I can relax and fall asleep if need be on the plane-if not, I drink before the flight. I also learned that I need to be in the first row of the plane or very close, no further than the 3rd row window seat and if possible, I always travel first class. That extra space makes a huge difference and it lessens my chance of panicking when everyone stands up in the aisle at the end of the flight.

Knowing what to expect has made a HUGE difference. A little turbulence doesn't bother me much and I keep my eye on the FA to see their reaction. If they're ok, I'm ok.

over 20 years and i wouldnt fly, even going to drop someone off at an airport used to give me the willies. my fear wasnt to do with turbulence or crashing, more to do with how was i going to sit on an airplane without screaming, how would i breathe and what would happen when I felt sick.
I decided to cure myself and got on a 45 min flight to BRU, the trip out was reasonable but I was moments from hysterics on the return.
3 months later I decided to try again and took a TATL flight which I managed ok both ways.
I would say it took a couple of years not to worry about every little thing, to not wake up gasping for air, I had the odd panic like "how am I going to get back across the atlantic on my own" even after a few years.
The last 5 years I have been fine, I can get on a plane and fly and feel nothing

I'm not afraid of flying, apart from a general uneasiness at being in a situation I can't control. (Hi, my name is Celle and I'm a control freak! )

When I'm about to undertake a long flight, I "prepare" by watching as many episodes of "Air Crash Investigation" as I can, on the totally illogical assumption that the more crashes I watch, the less likely I am to be involved in one.

I'm with "TravelGal2779" in that I watch the FA's too. If they're OK, I'm OK. I also take one Lorizepam (generic Xanax?) 1 hour before I board the plane. Also, a few years ago, I discovered www.fearofflying.com. Captain Tom Bunn gives some good "tools" to help cope with various fears.

Wow, I don't know how watching "Air Crash Investigation" before a flight could help you, but more power to you.

When I see an article about flight incidents I can't help but click on it, even when I know I'll regret it later. Sometimes it helps... like when it's a story about severe turbulence where people in the cabin got tossed around. I think (as others have pointed out), well if *that* happened and the plane was still OK then I shouldn't worry about this "light chop."

Most other times I regret it though. When that Russian plane overshot the runway I watched the video on YouTube, and then got sucked in to watching a "related video"... about 15 minutes of airplane crashes. I was definitely a wreck for my next flight.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lorazepam


Lorazepam (trademarked as Ativan) is a high-potency, short- to intermediate-acting, 3-hydroxy benzodiazepine drug that has all six intrinsic benzodiazepine effects: anxiolytic, amnesic, sedative/hypnotic, anticonvulsant, antiemetic and muscle relaxant.[4][

short term. hits within 5-30 min. lasts about 3 hrs.

I know that fear of flying is very real for people. Being an engineer (not in avionics) but one that does compliance testing I find that most machines have a large amount of protection built in. While it may not help, take a look at some of the testing done on the 777. You won't have to worry about wing flexing after this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ai2HmvAXcU0

My dad is deathly afraid of flying and takes lorazepam. It works beautifully for him, but he doesn't remember a darn thing after the effects wear off. I once wasted an F upgrade on him...never again, as he didn't remember the difference in service. ;)

There's actually an app for fearful fliers I hear is decent. Heres the link
https://itunes.apple.com/it/app/flig...501475441?mt=8

As a kid, I never used to notice air-turbulence. The very fact that I was flying overshadowed everything else.

No sooner did I hit 30, I suddenly started getting anxiety attack every time the plane experienced turbulence. The fact that my wife would be sitting next to me, grabbing my arm and getting all nervous did not help one bit.

That is when I started to educate myself on the why and how of air turbulence. I started to book seats which were over the wings to mitigate any turbulence that we might encounter. And I got a prescription for Xanax, just in case.

My last few flights have been much more pleasurable since then and I hope it stays that way.

I think everyone reacts somewhat differently. I remember pretty much everything after taking a lorazepam - well, unless I've fallen asleep;).

Yup! My wife falls asleep immediately. I stay awake throughout the flight minus the anxiety attacks.

Oh yes, before I got used to flying this was my cure to mid-flight turbulence.

I don't have a fear of flying but still get a bit worried from time to time.
I had a flight PHX-SFO-NRT-BKK and it started with an aborted take off at PHX, over heard the 2nd chair saying to the GA "we are ready to try again" after a 2 hour delay, heavy turbulence into NRT and 2 hours waiting for take off at NRT in bad weather as the captain said there is a couple of planes waiting for an opening in the weather to land and they have priority before we are allowed to take off and every 15-20 minutes he updated us with a plane just landed and we moved up a spot in the que and the turbulence after take off were the worst I ever experienced.

I still have times where I grab on to anything and my knuckles turn white but over all for me, my peace of mind is that the people driving the bus are professionals they have practiced every possible scenario and are professionals and in the end if something were going to happen there is nothing I can do about. I think that were the key for me nothing I can do, I just lean back and enjoy the ride and if something happens it happens nothing I can do about it.
I live in BKK and I feel a lot safer going on a plane than getting into a taxi here.