A visit to the cock pit as an anti anxiety pill...

Greetings from BEAUTIFUL Budapest.
I can talk on and on about our stay here, especially about how terribly hot it is and how I survived my fear of flying only to dehydrate upon my arrival to Budapest and the visit of the doctor in my hotel room....but the point of my blog is to share the Fear of Flying and ways to cope.

I can safely say that MY worst moments are pre-flight.
Once we were cruising, I felt ok. Yes every now and then I become anxious, but since the last Star Trek movie was showing, I had to choose between being anxious or watch the movie...So I watched the movie...BTW, I think the cabin crew mostly dislike me, because if it's a day flight, they ask to close the window shutters and I NEVER agree to. I keep it AT LEAST half open, as I need to check what is going on outside...

The worst thing about fear of flying is that I got my daughter all worked up about it :-( . I really try to put on a face of "you've got nothing to worry about"...but I guess she catches my vibe anyhow..(she is 14).
In any case, at some point of the flight the flight attendant came and spoke with the guy sitting next to me and invited him to come visit the cockpit (seems he was friends with the pilot). I didn't think twice and asked if I could come too...the flight attendant wasn't too happy about it...I told him i was an ex flight attendant , just like him, but that I am REALLY afraid to fly, but if he doesn't want me, could he please ask the pilot to let my daughter visit the cock pit.

Sure enough, the pilot said ok, and my daughter disappeared in the cock pit for 30 minutes. During this time there was a little bit of turbulence and I was happy she was with them at that time.
When she returned she had this smug look on her face...The pilot and his first officer explained to her all about everything and she had the opportunity to ask the questions that bothered her.
I was so happy.
She said it didn't help her much..but i can tell you that the next time we experienced turbulence, she didn't even lift her head from the book, where only 1 hour before, she stopped reading, grasped my hand and asked me, all terrified, what's happening...So this short talk did wonders for her.

When we landed, I thanked the pilot for taking the time, he complimented me about my daughter, but also was very smug about me being so afraid of flying when I was a flight attendant and all....

Bottom line, I think it depends what is the underlying reason of your fear of flying, but if it's just unexplainable fear, perhaps a visit to the cock pit, can help you to understand it all better.

Another 36 hours before my flight back home, I prefer not to think about it. Although the flight here was a perfect "10", it doesnt mean the the flight back home will be the same...

Bye for now, from the heat wave in Europe (and no a/c :-( )

Have a great weekend.

Karen

Starting countdown....

I don't have anything major to talk about today.
I am flying tomorrow to Budapest, as I mentioned on an earlier post.

I have a rush of terror in my body when I remember that I will be flying tomorrow...
the type of thoughts running in my head are something like:..

"WHY AM I DOING THIS? WHY DO I CONSTANTLY PUT MYSELF IN DANGER AND FLY SOMEWHERE? WHY CANT I JUST STAY HOME? WHAT AM I DOING TO MYSELF?"..

When I hear those voices (twilight zone....)...I just block them right then and there and proceed with the arrangements and everything else.

As I said, I will "set my thoughts free"..tomorrow, in the taxi, on my way to the airport..

BTW, I am AS anxious about the drive to the airport as I am about the flight...I don't trust the driver, I like to be the one driving, I don't like it when I am in the passenger's seat, in life in general, in the car...let alone, in the plane..

I have NO DOUBT that if I would sit the whole flight in the cock pit, I would be PERFECTLY fine...THis is why I KNOW it's a control issue with me.

As a flight attendant, I visited the cock pit quite often and it didn't feel special in any way...Today? I will PAY to get in there and sit there the whole flight...

I will try to share the flight with you as much as I can, taking my lap top with me (why isn't there an internet connection in planes??? I might be less anxious if I could hook up with people on the IM during a flight).

See you up there!!

Karen

Plane crash statistics or when is the safest stage during a flight?

Hi y'all,
Those of us who are afraid to fly nurture ourselves with any kind of information, regardless if it's the truth or not.

Every now and then I like to look at the facts heads on.

Some of you who have written to me, state they are most fearful when the plane is on "cruise" mode, at 33,000 feet, some of you are terrified of the landing or take off.

So lets settle this once and for all -
If we look at the graph above (extracted from a Boeing presentation on the Boeing website - "Statistical Summary of Commercial Jet Airplane Accidents - 1959-2008),
it's obvious the crucial moments during a flight are the take off and initial climb, as well as the final approach and the landing.
By 5%, the taking off process is more dangerous then the landing process.(30% as opposed to 25%)

So, those of you who are mostly afraid on the cruise stage of the flight - You can calm down as, statistically, you have less to worry about...(16% opposed to 25% and 30%).

I am happy to report that the safest stage of the flight is "taxi/load/unload/parked/toe....an impressive 0% causalities.....or perhaps, just stay at home, dont go out anywhere and perhaps (!) nothing can happen to you.....

As I am one of your own, perhaps this knowledge will help me now shift my fears during the flight...I will "invest" mostly in being afraid on take off, calm down during the cruise phase and get all worked up again during landing...See how that works for me instead of being afraid the whole flight...

I am flying n 2 days...As I wrote a few time, I try not to think of it,until I am on the taxi on my way to the airport.
Today I will be trying a "fear of flying" program for myself and review it for you tomorrow.

Have an AMAZING week!

Karen

What do you do when.......

You smell a strange smell in the cabin, right before take off?....or hear a funny noise that you know in your gut does not belong to the normative set of sounds you usually hear when you fly?

I always wonder what I should do...

As a flight attendant I was used to getting these type of questions. As such, I listened to the worried passenger with empathy and tried my best to get him an answer.

Somehow, as a passenger, I don't want to be THAT person that asks the questions...

SO if it's a strong smell of fuel for example, or some other smell, I first look around at my fellow passengers...Am i the only one noticing this smell?...If I cant contain my fear, I ask the person next to me if he/she notices the smell as well...
I cant tell you how many times I heard "yes", but he/she wouldn't dream asking the crew for what it is...It's as if you ignore it, it's simply not there...

Then I watch, the cabin crew...don't THEY notice it?...

Well, it's either I need to "suck it up" and ignore it too, or stand out in the crowd, call the stewardess and bring the question up.

The answer? Depends on my level of anxiety...But I usually do ask as it is important for me to get one cause of stress out of the way as I have enough things to worry about during the flight as it is.
I encourage you to do the same!

All the best!


Karen

Flying to Budapest

Ok, so as you know, I suffer from fear of flying, but I try not to remember it all the time...That is why, I decided that I will be traveling to Budapest, Hungary next week, in a whimsical moment when I decided I needed to break routine.

So, I made sure I am not flying charter, not flying any dubious airline either.
I booked the two last seats on the plane...

I was probably the only one to ask which aircraft it is (Boening 757) and proceeded to ask for the pilot's name....(was joking, of course, or perhaps not?.......)

Now for those of you who write to me and tell me how you are terrified months ahead - do what I do.
From now until the taxi to the airport, I will not be thinking of the flight.
I am going to spend my time preparing the trip and that is what I want to suggest to all of you - Concentrate on the happy side of the trip - visiting another culture, new sights, tastes and smells.

Of course, subconsciously, I am searching for reasons why I shouldn't go (I already checked what the cancellations fees are...) and will probably interpret little things that will happen as signs of why I shouldnt go....

My mantra - I will NOT let this fear ground me to home base. I want to see the world and so I shall.

Have a good day.

Karen

Coping with my fear

As I shared, I am afraid to fly, but i cope and I do travel worldwide, pls join me in my travels. If I can do it - You can do it too!!
As you know, it's really annoying to watch a video as it takes time to upload. I recommend you click the "play" button and once the video starts, simply click on "pause" and let it upload to the end or almost to the end and then press "play". This way you will be able to watch uninterruptedly.

Air traffic

Amazing!!!

Look at the amount of flights that are up in the air simultaneously!! And that's in the US alone!!
I am always being told that flying is safe statistically, this map makes the statistics seem more tangible.

FlightAware has tracked 46,782 arrivals in the last 24 hours - Impressive.

Amazing how for me, while on a flight , there is nothing else going on in this world except me and my fears...while actually, i'm a nano particle of it all...

It's a different angle to look at things....

Have a good one today.

Karen