Fear of flying solution?

[otomatoe]

So I travel a lot with my cousin and she has the flying phobia. In the next two days we'll be on a long flight, about 9 hrs of flying and today she came to me and said that she got very nervous already imagining the long haul. She always ask me to assure her and calm her everytime she gets groggy, but up until now I can't seem to comfort her

She never had any flight accident or something like that. She doesn't even afraid of heights. She just got this unexplainable nervous feeling when it came to travel with plane and after we landed, she always got a massive headache.

I tried to told her that she can close her eyes and imagining that we travel by car, that every turbulence is just a rocky road and it makes our car a little bit jumpy.
She tried to take the sleeping pill but it didn't work either :/
She can't concentrate to enjoy in flight movies or music too :/

I want to make every trip enjoyable for her because I really can't let her uneasy feeling corrupt her mind during the holiday trip that supposed to be all fun

I'll try to help her as much as I can, so any tips and information will be appreciated. Thanks everyone!

 

[Miii]

In my opinion, knowledge is the solution to just about everything. In the case of having a fear of flying, try reminding her that you are incredibly unlikely to ever be in a plane crash. You're SO much more likely to be in a car accident, and there is little to no traffic way up in the air.

I used to be incredibly afraid of flying too, but my dad is an aircraft mechanic, and explained to me, numerous times, the rigorous testing an airplane has to go through to be ready for flight. Every part of the plane that plays a role in flight has to be tested over and over. Anyone involved in repairing a plane (or testing it) is regularly drug tested to make sure they're not doing something that would make them incapable of doing their job. To test if an the engine is working correctly, they throw a whole chicken (the already dead ones you get from the store, don't worry) into the engine to assure that any birds that get happen to get sucked into the engine won't stop it from functioning properly. On some small parts, they use aircraft tape, which is so strong, that it'll peel your skin off if you stick it to yourself (it's many, many times stronger than duct tape).

In short, she really has nothing to worry about. Planes are tested rigorously, quite often, to assure that they're working properly. Let her read all this if you want to xD It might help her out.

 

[otomatoe]

In my opinion, knowledge is the solution to just about everything. In the case of having a fear of flying, try remind her that you are incredibly unlikely to ever be in a plane crash. You're SO much more likely to be in a car accident, and there is little to no traffic way up in the air.

I used to be incredibly afraid of flying too, but my dad is an aircraft mechanic, and explained to me, numerous times, the rigorous testing an airplane has to go through to be ready for flight. Every part of the plane that plays a role in flight has to be tested over and over. Anyone involved in repairing a plane (or testing it) is regularly drug tested to make sure they're not doing something that would make them incapable of doing their job. To test if an the engine is working correctly, they throw a whole chicken (the already dead ones you get from the store, don't worry) into the engine to assure that any birds that get happen to get sucked into the engine won't stop it from functioning properly. On some small parts, they use aircraft tape, which is so strong, that it'll peel your skin off if you stick it to yourself (it's many, many times stronger than duct tape).

In short, she really has nothing to worry about. Planes are tested rigorously, quite often, to assure that they're working properly. Let her read all this if you want to xD It might help her out.

THANK YOU SO MUCH MIII !!!! Definitely will let her read this directly since she needs lots of assurance. Thanks again to you and your dad too

 

[Miii]

THANK YOU SO MUCH MIII !!!! Definitely will let her read this directly since she needs lots of assurance. Thanks again to you and your dad too

No prob ^.^

 

[SilkSpectre]

I've flown my whole life. Looong flights every few months including flying for hours internationally over the ocean and here I am. It's wicked boring and uneventful. 9 hour flights you get food and not just movies but a big selection of TV shows and games- not to mention playing AC on the plane. ;D Fears like that the only way to overcome is to face them. I had a driving phobia so I get being scared of these contraptions you hear about people dying on all the time. You keep going on them til you can get over it because what are you going to do? Never go anywhere and see anything and let fear sabotage you? Nuh-uh!

 

[promised freedom]

I think Miii's advice is perfect honestly! Knowledge is one of the best ways to deal with fear.

My dad travels for a living and he still sometimes gets very nervous on planes, so his doctor prescribed him a short acting anti-anxiety medication (not a sleeping pill). He only takes it for flights and it's the lowest dose possible. That might be an option for your cousin if nothing else works, but I think it should be a last resort; why take a medicine if you don't truly need it, you know? But it's something to think about if all else fails.

Good luck and I hope you guys have lots of fun!

 

[guardgirl]

my junior year of high school, our marching band went to disney world to march in a parade, and my best friend had never been on a plane before and she was terrified. i had her do all the precautionary things like put her belt on and such, and going there, i plugged a headphone splitter jack into my ipad, plugged in both of our headphones, and started a movie. she had hers up so loud that she didnt even realize the plane took off, and by the time she did realize we were in the air, it had been long enough that she realized she wasnt in any real danger. having a music jam session works too. note* aisle seating might be beneficial.

 

[dizzy bone]

I think Miii's advice is perfect honestly! Knowledge is one of the best ways to deal with fear.

My dad travels for a living and he still sometimes gets very nervous on planes, so his doctor prescribed him a short acting anti-anxiety medication (not a sleeping pill). He only takes it for flights and it's the lowest dose possible. That might be an option for your cousin if nothing else works, but I think it should be a last resort; why take a medicine if you don't truly need it, you know? But it's something to think about if all else fails.

Good luck and I hope you guys have lots of fun!

I used to take medication for claustrophobia that just went nuts in planes (because I'm not scared of flying itself) for years that would put me straight to sleep. I now just try breathing exercises and try to fall asleep as soon as possible on my own (it helps that now a days I never fly more than 8 hours. I've slept for 15 hours straight once haha). I definitely can't make it through a plane ride without sleeping though.