Big Leap Forward...I'm flying

[Dairyfreelife]

So, it has been settled. The bf and I are flying to DC in two weeks. I have said this is a massive leap for me due to plunging head first with three big fears of mine. Honestly, emet is the least of my worries on the flight. The height is my biggest fear. And crashing too. It's going to be an express plane, so it will be small, and is a propeller plane...not sure if those will be good or bad. I am a mix of terrified and thrilled all in one to actually be doing this. A year ago I know I never could have done this. Glad to finally be able to do this. If I handle this trip well, I see a positive future ahead of many travels, travels I never thought I could do in the past thanks to my fears having total control over my life. Now, I am gaining control of them.

[jkl81]

Modern turboprops aren't too bad. They are plenty safe also. Mostly, congratulations for facing your fears. I am SO glad I did because I would have ahad a much harder time meeting my online friends and spending additional time with the family without it. Getting over that fear has let me out of the cage I had made for myself more than most things I've done and also built some confidence. It will be fine, not even a long flight.

[Maddie-_-]

yay! well done! I go on loads of flights, I went on 9 last year, all of them were longer than 5 hours, the longest being 12 hrs, and it was fine each time. Planes very rarely crash, and even when they do it doesnt neccisarily mean ur gonna ger hurt badly.
I went with AA, BA, Virgin, and ELAL, and they were all good, even when the planes were basically tin cans. You dont have much to worry about, just enjoy yourself, and know that they do everything to keep you safe.

[Hannah A.]

Planes rarely crash like Maddie said. I have only been on a plane twice with Southwest Airlines so obviously it wasn't a turboprop (boeing 737 pratt and whitney engines) but it was awesome. I was scared at first of course but I was fine. I wasn't sick nor was anyone else. They serve drinks and snacks. Turboprop planes are small yea but they aren't dangerous. Remember that the flight attendants will help if you need it, they're literally there to save your life if something happens. Have a safe flight!

[NicManri]

Congrats! Flying still scares the crap out of me even though I've flown once a year for the last 5 years. I think it's being squished in. Last year out flight was pretty empty and we were allowed to move up to first class and I had much less anxiety there. Enjoy your vacation!

[Dairyfreelife]

I bet first class is nice. Trip will be about an hour in flight. Not too nervous yet. It's the height that will get day of Yes, I do know crashing is very, very rare. You are far more likely to die driving down your street than in a plane statistically, so they are much safer than a car. But I've been in two car crashes, neither mild...girl nearly took my bumper clean off the last accident.
Don't mess with your cell phone while driving, message brought to you by dairyfreelife's car.

[Hannah A.]

Since its a turboprop it probably won't fly as high as other planes. Maybe like 28,000 feet at the most (A tiny bit lower than the elevation of Everest. The Southwest plane I was on flew at 40,000 feet) Its so cool to look out the window if you are in the window seat because everything looks tiny from up there and its really interesting. I could share a pic of what it looks like from a plane if you'd like.

[Dairyfreelife]

I do know how high the planes fly. I do not like heights and won't be at a window seat. Perfectly fine with that. I do not want a window seat. I am glad flying and being up does not bother you, but it's one of the most common fears, far more common than emetophobia. I always find it interesting when I or others mention having another fear unrelated to vomit, people want to point out how it's not a big deal and think rationally, but you dare say that about vomit and all hell breaks loose. I am not bothered at the approach, just find it interesting that some of the same people who flip when someone suggests rational thinking are perfectly okay with suggesting rational thinking when it comes to another fear.
Point of this thread is to say I am doing this, despite it involving three of my biggest fears. I know about airplanes and how they work and their speeds and heights and all that jazz, I just wanted to say I am doing this. For me, riding on a plane is like knowing how to swim, but having never gone to the deep end of the pool and deciding to leap off the high dive. It's one massive leap, but I want to do it for myself. It will open up doors for me I never thought I could open. It will open up travel I always wanted to do and jobs I would have avoided due to these fears. As I am slowly taking leaps forward to rid my vomit phobia, I am also taking leaps forward to end my heights phobia and being trapped phobia. We can all conquer our fears. That's my message here.

[Hannah A.]

I wasn't aware you knew a lot of those things so my apologies for telling you. Anyway have a great trip and have fun!

[KaydeeJayde]

I do know how high the planes fly. I do not like heights and won't be at a window seat. Perfectly fine with that. I do not want a window seat. I am glad flying and being up does not bother you, but it's one of the most common fears, far more common than emetophobia. I always find it interesting when I or others mention having another fear unrelated to vomit, people want to point out how it's not a big deal and think rationally, but you dare say that about vomit and all hell breaks loose. I am not bothered at the approach, just find it interesting that some of the same people who flip when someone suggests rational thinking are perfectly okay with suggesting rational thinking when it comes to another fear.
Point of this thread is to say I am doing this, despite it involving three of my biggest fears. I know about airplanes and how they work and their speeds and heights and all that jazz, I just wanted to say I am doing this. For me, riding on a plane is like knowing how to swim, but having never gone to the deep end of the pool and deciding to leap off the high dive. It's one massive leap, but I want to do it for myself. It will open up doors for me I never thought I could open. It will open up travel I always wanted to do and jobs I would have avoided due to these fears. As I am slowly taking leaps forward to rid my vomit phobia, I am also taking leaps forward to end my heights phobia and being trapped phobia. We can all conquer our fears. That's my message here.

I completely agree with your whole reply here.

I'm so proud of you for taking that leap and flying, that's an amazing step! I hope that you discover that you love flying and that you can travel more in the future It opens up SO many doors for you!

[Dairyfreelife]

I wasn't aware you knew a lot of those things so my apologies for telling you. Anyway have a great trip and have fun!

No need to apologize. Just saying that I know. I'm the type to think before I plunge, that's all. Others may not know though and could have the same fear, so hopefully your facts will helpful to them.

[Helziee]

Well done! I love flying even tho I have emetaphobia mainly because I don't get travel sick so I'm fine with It. Good luck and have fun!

[Dairyfreelife]

I am leaving for my trip tomorrow morning early. Hoping for the best. Weather is supposed to be very nice and warm for the flight there and during my stay in DC. Nervous and excited. Had an hour massage earlier today and so far it seems to have released a lot of tension. More nervous as the time ticks closer to take off, but I am excited to see DC and that I am actually doing this. That I am actually conquering this fear, determined to start a new chapter in my life.

[Dairyfreelife]

Made it to dc...will discuss more details later

[NicManri]

Hope everything went well!

[KaydeeJayde]

Yay! Hope everything was okay! Can't wait to hear how it went!

[Dairyfreelife]

Flew at 630am. Dark and chilly outside still. I was nervous, but it started okay...then apparently it seemed someone may have not felt well in the back and it made me uneasy. No one barfed that I know of, which is good. I only had one panic attack about being up high, but distracted myself and was able to end the attack quickly. Saturday was crazy with so many festivals going on. The city was crowded and GPS on cell phones for walking sucks we learned the hard way...certainly got my exercise in. Ate a Panera and Au Bon Pain. Sunday, I drove in DC...never doing that again. So much traffic and lots of crowds. We ate at local diner near our hotel and also had Panera. Debated between Panera and Chipotle. Today we went to DC, dropped off the car and waited for the plane. Took some shuttles. My stomach was uneasy with nerves up until we were in the air. No panic attacks this time.
On the trip home we hit air pockets/turbulence. On the way there we were in the front to middle area...on the way home we were in the back row. It was a propeller jet plane, so not big. Wore seatbelts the entire time. Stomach jumped into my chest a few minutes and I got to bounce around like crazy. It's like being on a roller coaster a bit. I don't care much for roller coasters, but the feeling is similar like when you are going up and down a hill on a roller coaster so when you bounce on the way up a hill. Landed and went to eat at an Indian restaurant downtown and went on class for the evening.
I would fly again.

[KaydeeJayde]

Oh my gosh I'm so proud of you for going ahead and flying!! awesome work!

[jkl81]

It's great you were able to do that, you should be really proud of yourself. Fear of flying can be almost as limiting as emet, depending on what you like and your line of work. For future reference, the most stable seats on an airplane are near the wings, but I'm sure you knew that already. I had a really anxious time when I first started flying again, but since then I've learned to enjoy it, especially the ability to go visit far flung friends and family with relatively less effort and in less time. Congrats on challenging your fears and taking steps forward,

[Dairyfreelife]

Thanks you all. I am hoping to fly again and not sit in the back. It was cheaper to be in the back, but I'd rather pay a bit more and not fly off my seat during some air pockets. Both landings were rather smooth so I am glad for the nice experience. I am actually glad we hit some turbulence on the way back so I could see what it was like...and also glad it was on the way home and not on the way there because it may have soured my experience. My boyfriend was with me and he's flown dozens of times so it was nothing to him and I did not break his hand so it was all good. No panic attacks on the way back even with the pockets. A little nervous, but no anxiety attacks.
It's definitely a quicker way to travel, but in weather, a bit rougher than a car. More like a bus than a car, but without weather issues, you don't even know you are moving, which I thought was quite neat. At the end of the first flight, I did look out and was actually not scared. I looked out at the clouds and ground and mountains below on the way home. It's weird to say, but it's almost like you are so high, it's not scary...which is very strange for me to say as being on the sixth floor of a building near a window unnerves me and being higher than that makes me woozy.
Also, I did not have any ear issues, which was a concern of mine originally due to my ear problems, but didn't even feel a need to pop them and no pains.
I feel like a kid scared of a slide, but they finally did it and now they want to go again and again cause now that they conquered the fear, it's suddenly so cool and so fun.

[jkl81]

That's good...I'm shocked that you were on an old turboprop these days. Do you mind saying which carrier and airport? The turboprops fly lower which tends to lead to less ear/sinus issues in all likelihood but more turbulence. Most short routes like that are on regional jets these days, usually for a faster, more comfortable ride.

[KaydeeJayde]

That's good...I'm shocked that you were on an old turboprop these days. Do you mind saying which carrier and airport? The turboprops fly lower which tends to lead to less ear/sinus issues in all likelihood but more turbulence. Most short routes like that are on regional jets these days, usually for a faster, more comfortable ride.

Oh that's what I need! I get HORRIFIC ear pain on planes. It doesn't stop me from flying but it's absolutely excruciating.

[jkl81]

Kaydeejayde, my ear pain is usually manageable with the specially designed ear plugs known in the US as 'Ear planes." They don't make it all better, but they do help quite a lot in most cases. My last trip they didn't help very much but my sinuses were really inflamed and probably infected on that trip. It also seems to be worse on longer flights and when we fly higher.

[KaydeeJayde]

Yeah, those "ear planes" don't help me much at all. I had them on my trip to the US and I swear I was about to break down, the pain was so bad. I'm actually going to an ENT doctor because I get the same issues just from driving in really hilly areas, it's awful

[jkl81]

Yeah I had those issues years ago when we were out west with the rapid change in elevation that you can see out there. I hope they can help you out. That Detroit to Atlanta flight was bad enough, I'm not sure I could have handled it for 12 or 14 hrs.

[SabG5]

Wow! I just read your post! Just wanted to congradulate you on facing some of your fears that is so awesome! I hope you succeed! :-)