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.

Wow that’s a great idea to do a guided meditation on flying! I would have never thought of that !

Thank you so much! I’ll try it. Any advice helps.

Our minds are pretty weird 😂

Yes! It’s such a struggle. I never had an issue while flying and now I don’t know how I can ever get on a plane again. I hike a lot and when I’m out in the backcountry I get a lot of the same worries. A lot of the “what if I have a bad OCD episode and lose my mind and I’m a 7 mile hike to the nearest road and then 120mi to the nearest hospital?” thoughts flood in. Anywhere where I am sort of “trapped” in a sense that I can’t get out immediately if I need to, makes me freak out now. I’m currently planning a vacation for about 5 months out and I can’t bring myself to buy the plane tickets yet because I’m so nervous that I’ll either not be able to get on the plane, or, if I do get on the plane, have a bad panic attack while I’m flying. It’s so annoying.

@Ald21 You’re going to regret not going though. Think of all the life out there waiting to be lived. I feel like taking meds to fly is reasonable. I have magical thinking so I worry that when I think the plane may go down that it will. I’m scared of heights too so flying is literally a nightmare. Maybe you could do some imaginary exposures with a therapist. Also, maybe try a really short flight for a weekend trip for practice. I know the feeling of being out of control while panicking is awful. You feel like you’re going crazy or dying. I recently had an experience at the drive thru where cars were infront and behind me and I felt trapped with no lane to bail. I felt the panic of wanting to get out of the car but I stayed with it and breathed through it but it sucked. Literally not being in control is so hard.

@artsygirl That’s wild I also had a very similar experience in a drive thru one time! And I kept thinking to myself “I’m stuck in this car with my boyfriend in this drive thru. What if I lose control and blurt all my intrusive thoughts out to him?” It’s so weird how people with OCD have such similar experiences. Thank you so much for your suggestions! I hope you find some things that work for you too. Everyday life can be tough but try not to let your head get to you too much ❤️ And if you wanna go on a trip, I’d encourage you tot ale your own advice! Maybe try a short plane ride first and ease yourself into it. There’s a lot of the world to be seen still.

@Ald21 To take your own advice*

Could you start small like driving in an empty parking lot ? That way you could atleast delay your compulsions to get out .

The feeling of being trapped is one of the worst feelings about OCD and anxiety. I’m sorry you experience it while driving. Is it when you’re driving or when someone else is driving, or just anytime you’re in the car?