fear of plane dropping

[Michcar]

I was a great flyer until a flight from Nassau Bahamas to Newark nj. We not only hit turbulence but the plane dropped sharply. I felt it dropping and since then I am an absolute panic on a flight. I feel like I am going tp have a panic attack. I have to fly in 2 weeks and I am already getting knots in my stomach. This is my first time on this forum. I hope someone can help. I panic with every bit of turbulence.

[MathFox]

Hi, :welcome2:

We generally point new members to http://anxieties.com/flying.php and if you work seriously on the program you should notice a difference in two weeks. Go to step 6 "handle your worries" for some tips to relieve the "anticipatory anxiety".

[Barb-SAN]

I was a great flyer until a flight from Nassau Bahamas to Newark nj. We not only hit turbulence but the plane dropped sharply. I felt it dropping and since then I am an absolute panic on a flight. I feel like I am going tp have a panic attack. I have to fly in 2 weeks and I am already getting knots in my stomach. This is my first time on this forum. I hope someone can help. I panic with every bit of turbulence.
Hi Michcar, and welcome. It seems like fear of turbulence is one of the most common fears people mention here. If you do a forum search, key word "turbulence", you will find many threads where this is discussed. You are not alone!
Here is one: http://www.takingflight.us/forums/showthread.php?t=9624&

[aerobat]

Hi, Michcar,

Here's a discussion of turbulence that I hope you'll find helpful:

http://homepage.mac.com/lesposen/iblog/B80495344/C2128971884/index.html (http://homepage.mac.com/lesposen/iblog/B80495344/C2128971884/index.html)

Not only does it explain why the plane is not in danger (nor are the passengers when they're buckled in), but it also goes into the physiology of negative-g sensations such as that "dropping" experience you had. We are hard-wired to not like this, and it is only with some conscious work that we override the instinctive reaction and let reason guide our emotions.

It's very understandable that this episode scared you, even though you'd been a happy flier previously (and I assume had encountered milder turb previously). There may or may not have been something else going on in your life that contributed to your vulnerability--that's for you to determine. Sometimes we just don't know how vulnerable we are; it could be due to fatigue, or to thinking about hassles and stressors during a flight, and then out of the blue comes...(yikes) :eek: THAT. If we cannot immediately reassure ourselves that it's no big deal, or if the pilot does not chime in and tell us, then it can operate as a trigger and set off the beginnings of a fear of flying. This is reinforced the next time we fly, as we have become sensitized to turbulence such that the mild stuff is now unnerving.

So please understand that it's all simply neurochemistry. Our favorite anxiety site, and the site I linked above, will help you get on the path to recovery. And so will we. Please keep posting. :)

[Michcar]

Thanks so much I am going to go to the anxieties website and follow through. I have to do something because I am starting to make my son scared too and he is too young for that. I can't watch movies, eat, read or listen to mu iPod. I just sit there a total wreck until we land. I won't even talk to my family.

[Passenger Mark]

Hi and Welcome Aboard Taking Flight!

Funny you post this as Friday I had a flight and asked the Captain about exactly this.... the plane dropping.

His explanation was very helpful. The pilots get "Pilot Reports" all along their route. There are other planes up there and if there is any areas of significance turbulence the pilots report it, it then gets handed off to other aircraft in the area so they can avoid it.

He also explains that before every flight they get turbulence maps that are based on several things, weather, temp, ground terrain and the previously mentioned pilot reports. This also helps them plan their route.

Finally, turbulence happens, but the plane is built for it. Planes ride in a cushion of air, a bubble so to speak, and it is not actually the plane that is dropping or bumping around but the air around it. The plane rides IN the air, not ON the air. It is hard for us to understand because we are use to "vehicles" riding on something.... a road, or a boat ON water.

The best exercise is the jello one. Imagine a plane encased in jello, the jello may wiggle, but the plane wiggles IN the jello.

Anyways, when I hit turbulence I just close my eyes and imagine being on a subway car or something I can more closely relate with. Also the bumps don't seem as "dramatic" if my eyes are closed.... don't know why.... but it works for me.