Flight 5 mo. away and alredy freaking out !!!!1

[samyrose10]

Hi I am new here and need help. My mother in law surprised my husband and I with a trip to Hawaii in Dec. I suffer from panic attacks and am already freaked out about this trip. I want to do this more then anything but the thought of being trapped with no escape and in a full blown panic already has me nervous. The things that keep running thru my mind are

1) What if I embarress myself by freaking out in front of all the people on the plane.

2) How am I going to maintain for 5 1/2 hours.

3) What do I do once panic sets in and how will I get it under control.

Any help, tips and words of encouragement will be most appreciated.

Thanks.:shocked:

[samyrose10]

Thanks for all the help. It's wonderful to have a site to find support and help. And yes my mother in law must like to give tickets to strangers cause they don't get much stranger then me:)

[MPallock]

Here is a suggestion that might help. Do you have a friend or a friend of a friend who owns a small plane at a local airport. If you are willing to share your fears with them. Ask the owner/pilot to show you the airplane.

See if they will let you sit in the cockpit and have them explain how everything works. In a big airplane you never see whats happening when you are seated in row 37. But if you can touch, feel the controls see the radios watch the flaps move you will get a sense of what is going on when the plane is flying. Big or little planes the principle is the same. If this works, See if they will taxi you down the run way, not take off but just taxi. Take it from there and see if that helps.

Mark P