Hi,
My friend is terrified of flying, he used to work at the Air Force base fixing planes and since then he's been having panic attacks each time he's on the plane.
I'm looking for someone who has perhaps went through a similar thing and could have a chat / discussion with him. Or just some advice in general of what to do.
I'm not looking for the general comments such as "google aviaphobia", "see a shrink" etc - I'm only interested in hearing from people who have went through a similar thing or know of someone who has and can share their stories.

Thank you

I'm not a terribly good flier, so I can relate.

Many years ago, I shot a woman by the name of Susan Oliver (for all you Star Trek TV series fans, she was the green-skinned alien woman in "The Cage"). She told me that she used to be terrified of flying. But instead of living in fear everytime she had to travel, she decided to "take the bull by the horns" and jump in the deep end. She took flying lessons.

Even though fear, people can achieve great things. In the ensuing years, not only did she totally overcome her fear of flying, but became one of the most decorated female pilots in history, setting many records for solo speed and distance flying that still exist today.

Often times this unreasoning fear comes from trust issues, putting your life in the hands of another and feeling a lack of control. Since all fear basically comes from a lack of knowledge, Susan's fears disappeared once she understood the relative safety and joys of flight. If your friend truly wants to be liberated from his feelings of terror, there are many professionals who deal specifically with this kind of phobia. It's nothing to be ashamed of, everyone harbors some kind of paralyzing fear. If he wants it bad enough, he'll conquer his fear. But don't think there's a quick fix. It takes work.

I wish your friend the best of luck.

I also used to be outrageously terrified of flying. Currently, I am still tense when flying, but the emotional stress is not nearly to the level that it used to be. This course, although somewhat expensive, (below) greatly reduced my fear of flying.

fearofflying

I hate flying. I take a valium, get drunk, and sleep.

quote:

Originally posted by FlyingVProd:
I hate flying. I take a valium, get drunk, and sleep.

Or a Lortab.

Walk around socializing with everyone to past the time. When I was 16, I use to chat up guys on long flights with my parents. The ONLY time their daughter was allowed out of their sight- LOL. They figured I couldn't really go far!!

I used to take up friends that had a fear of flying and stall the plane out. After I revived them I let them take over the controls and show them that it is actually fun to fly.