Flying erp

In about a week I will be doing my most difficult OCD Exposure which will include flying and it’s already eating away at me. I’m having a hard time sleeping. I wish more than anything i could make this anxIety go away . I’m extremely claustrophobic and have panic disorder. I’ve flown before but last time I was sat in the back and I began to panic and ended up getting off the plane prior to takeoff. I hate this uncomfortable feeling. I hate the sound of the door closing and feeling like I am trapped. I’m planning to take a half a klonopin,

Username: harper8harper8

Date posted: 2y ago

One thing that helps me when I’m really nervous on flights (recently was on a 14 seater with ONE pilot in a storm in a different country. That was sketchy as frick) I make sure I have noise canceling headphones. I use airpod pros, but even decent skull candy ear buds could probably help. Listen to a song that makes you happy and close your eyes. Maybe bring a blanket and some snacks or set up a movie you’ve really been wanting to watch. YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!

Username: harper8harper8

Date posted: 2y ago

And if you can start small at first with a really short flight that could be good too!!

Username: JowhaletailJowhaletail

Date posted: 2y ago

I so relate to everything you said. I had to do this exposure in April and I spent weeks and months leading up to my flight in such anxiety. I successfully fly to my destination and back! I was really anxious and I got really close to having a panic attack on the plane. Luckily these super sweet college girls next to me made me feel better. It was nice having kind people sitting next to me and chatting with them to distract me a bit. Although I was so anxious, I’m SO proud of myself for doing the exposure!!! I believe in you. You can do this.

Username: JowhaletailJowhaletail

Date posted: 2y ago

@Jowhaletail Oh and one thing that helped me — it was very very difficult but it helped me follow through and not bail — I thought of my anxiety and panic coming as waves. I told myself this is uncomfortable, I don’t like it, but it WILL pass. I don’t need to escape the feeling because it WILL eventually pass. I also heard something about bodily sensations usually only lasting on average 90 seconds or 3 mins and that helped me. The panic kept coming back in waves but imagining it as literal waves that will come and go instead of a big scary threat was very helpful.

Username: HT24HT24

Date posted: 2y ago

I have a phobia of flying and am flying this Saturday so I’m totally in the same boat as you! You can do this 🤞🏼💗 postponing when I worry about it has helped a lot though! Every time I get worried or start getting anxiety over it I tell myself I won’t worry about it or freak over it til I actually have to do it. That way at least I’m not super stressed every day leading up to it!

Username: FJustRightOCDFJustRightOCD

Date posted: 2y ago

Recently I’ve become really scared of turbulence when flying, and what helps me is trying to focus on the textures of things or holding onto something I can put some pressure on and notice the feelings of, somehow putting my attention and focus and pressure/tension into that takes me a little bit less away from the feeling of being overwhelmed by ways I feel helpless in turbulence! And remembering that with every minute I’m spending in the place, I’m getting closer to my destination

Username: FJustRightOCDFJustRightOCD

Date posted: 2y ago

@CherryPieInTheSky And through the discomfort you’ll feel, the closer you’ll be towards overcoming your fear overtime! You got this! A lot of times it’s my worry about an event that makes me feel worse than the actual thing

Username: Anonymous

Date posted: 3y ago

Any tips for fear of flying? I’m not actually scared of the act of flying. I more psych myself out with things like “what if I have a panic attack while I’m in the air for 9 hours and I can’t do anything about it?” “What if I go crazy and need to get to the emergency room immediately and I can’t?” I used to fly all the time, but since my OCD got really bad, being in a confined space in a situation where I have no control terrifies me. I haven’t flown in 2 years now. I’m just scared of having a panic attack in the air. And I always get that “am I going to go crazy?” feeling during a bad episode. I know I won’t actually go crazy, but I know especially being in the air is going to trigger that.

Username: Tea

Date posted: 1y ago

Traveling

Hi I’m currently suppressing the urge to vomit and hide in some hole and never come out 😃😃 so, I’m traveling technically today since it’s 1am right now, and I have to go on an airplane, and it’s not even just the airplane that triggers my ocd, it’s the airport itself, it’s so official and security stuff scares me bc like, theres a reason they have security. I’m really tempted to start googling “how likely is it for a plane to crash” or “how to survive a plane crash” and the urge to tell my dad that I love him and to take care of my pets if I don’t come back. Why is my mind like this. Wtf. I want to enjoy my vacation, I also don’t want to have a panic attack in an airport, which has happened before lol. I’m traveling with my mom and my sister, my mom understands ocd and has some knowledge on how to handle it, my sister does not at all. How do I calm myself without it being a compulsion?? I mean, is it okay if I calm myself with prescribed medication and like trying to tune everything out, or is that feeding into the ocd? Because my usual compulsions would be to repeat “it’s okay it’s okay it’s okay” over and over again in my head, and “I’m safe I’m safe I’m safe, nothing is going to happen” and I try not to do that anymore, or just simply not go because of the fear, BUT I’m going because I’m not gonna let ocd take away anymore of my life. I’m just scared and I don’t really know how to cope with this, any advice?

Username: zale

Date posted: 1y ago

I hate this

I'm supposed to have a doctor's appointment for a physical this week and I've known about it for weeks but now I'm having overwhelming anxiety and panic about contamination themes. I know that rescheduling or canceling will only make the panic worse and make the OCD stronger but I just started ERP and I seriously don't know if I can cope with this level of exposure/anxiety at this point. It will also make my family upset if I don't go. I'm trying to just sit with the discomfort and not look for reassurance but it's so overwhelming and everything makes it worse. I hate having OCD and I hate these feelings so much.

Contamination OCD

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Flying erp

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