peanart
08-17-2010, 02:14 AM
I haven't posted here for a little while, mainly because I haven't flown for a while. I've been reading everyone's posts most days though.
So I'm flying again on Thursday morning. The same and only flight I've done a few times over the past 2 years or so, Brisbane to Sydney (Australia...obviously). It's only an hour and a half but I still get nervous beforehand. I know a lot of people probably think that isn't even enough time for the fear to start but trust me it is. I haven't really had any problems since my FOF started but the AA is still there every time. I'm fully aware the anticipation is the worst part but that doesn't stop my mind from thinking otherwise. I'm also pretty confident that I no longer fear crashing or the plane falling or anything like that. My main fear is the fear of a panic attack. That's how my FOF started, I was flying once and all of a sudden had a panic attack. No turbulence, no reason, nothing. I was frozen thinking if I moved we would fall. A year or two later I developed anxiety disorder (getting better slowly) which doesn't help either.
Although I've been thinking about the flight and the trip in general the thoughts have just been fleeting until yesterday (Monday). I was nervous all day, enough to notice but not too bad. Today however I'm fine. I've been taking advantage of that by thinking more about the details of checking in, waiting in the boarding lounge, boarding etc. and am still ok so far. I'm kind of hoping that this pattern stays until the flight...Monday worried, Tues fine, Wed worried, Thurs (flight day) fine.
I've had a few looks on anxieties.com but will spend more time on there before my flight and in the future. I have my distractions planned, games on my iphone and music on my ipod. Even picked the album I'll be listening to. Plus I've put a couple of episodes of Modern Family on there. That show can make me laugh no matter how I'm feeling.
I guess I'm not really asking any questions in this post or asking for advice particularly, just utilising the theraputic benefits of expressing how I'm feeling.
So I'm flying again on Thursday morning. The same and only flight I've done a few times over the past 2 years or so, Brisbane to Sydney (Australia...obviously). It's only an hour and a half but I still get nervous beforehand. I know a lot of people probably think that isn't even enough time for the fear to start but trust me it is. I haven't really had any problems since my FOF started but the AA is still there every time. I'm fully aware the anticipation is the worst part but that doesn't stop my mind from thinking otherwise. I'm also pretty confident that I no longer fear crashing or the plane falling or anything like that. My main fear is the fear of a panic attack. That's how my FOF started, I was flying once and all of a sudden had a panic attack. No turbulence, no reason, nothing. I was frozen thinking if I moved we would fall. A year or two later I developed anxiety disorder (getting better slowly) which doesn't help either.
Although I've been thinking about the flight and the trip in general the thoughts have just been fleeting until yesterday (Monday). I was nervous all day, enough to notice but not too bad. Today however I'm fine. I've been taking advantage of that by thinking more about the details of checking in, waiting in the boarding lounge, boarding etc. and am still ok so far. I'm kind of hoping that this pattern stays until the flight...Monday worried, Tues fine, Wed worried, Thurs (flight day) fine.
I've had a few looks on anxieties.com but will spend more time on there before my flight and in the future. I have my distractions planned, games on my iphone and music on my ipod. Even picked the album I'll be listening to. Plus I've put a couple of episodes of Modern Family on there. That show can make me laugh no matter how I'm feeling.
I guess I'm not really asking any questions in this post or asking for advice particularly, just utilising the theraputic benefits of expressing how I'm feeling.