Flying

i personally never flew anywhere, but i heard sleeping medicine ( or benadryl / melatonin ) is good to take on a long flight because then you’ll br asleep for most of it & maybe wear some headphones and put “peaceful music” or brown noise on

I have no idea whether this will be helpful to you because we’re also different even when the fears seem like there’s similar on the surface: my flying phobia definitely was made worse by OCD. I used to engage in this behavior where I’d compulsively listen to the sounds of the engine and over analyze it, and I really believed that if I put my headphones on and just enjoyed whatever audiobook I was listening to that the plane would be more likely to crash. It could crash that’s possible and me, listening to the sound of the engine is totally unrelated to whether or not the plane stays in the air. So see if you can figure out what your things are that are like that and see if you can stop engaging in them. My body still gets amped up every time I’m on a plane. I can’t seem to stop that from happening, but it’s not dangerous to be anxious. Just really uncomfortable.

@drmadvibes Yes- whenever there is turbulence I say the same phrases over and over and over again until it stops and feels like if I don’t say them I’ll crash.

@drmadvibes Yeah I get full panic mode too like panic attack mode

I recently flew on a plane and was sooo anxious ab it for weeks beforehand. I just brought some headphones and played music i knew i liked the entire time, if you can stay busy w a book or tv show it’ll make it go super fast. The worst part is truly right before you get on, once you’re up in the air i literally forgot i was on a plane. You can do it :)

@Anxiousnstuff Thank you agreed I have the most anxiety right before I get on

@Anonymous Also something that helped me (do at your own risk, everyone’s different) but i looked at some pilot/flight attendant vlogs on YouTube like a week before and seeing how calm and natural they were while doing it every day made me feel a lot safer.

@Anxiousnstuff Yes okay! I will try that too

You can do it. If you aren’t doing ERP consider NOCD since it’s probably the quickest way to get help before your trip. If you need self help stuff instead due to scheduling or insurance issues let me know.

One thing I’ve started to recognize with anticipation anxiety is that it helps to keep oneself from dwelling ahead of time. The more we think of it ahead of time the more time we’re spending in distress, and could make the day of harder. One thing I do with stuff like this when I find myself thinking about it redirect focus to think about what I’m gaining from going.