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Flying scared on the 22nd and 26th

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kkepner3	Flying scared on the 22nd and 26th	Lead	[-]
Posts: 1 (01/05/09 14:04:02) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Tags : None Going on my first flight in over 5 years. The last time I tried to fly I had done therapy to try and get over my fear, but backed out on a trip with my wife the morning of. That was over a year ago and I am ready to try and tackle this again with what I am hoping are good results. My wife and I and 6 of our closet friends are flying Continental from Hou to Albuquerque to go on a ski trip. I want to go so bad and am planning on going. The flight is supposed to only be a 2hr flight. Heading there we are flying a 737-300 and back it is a ERJ-145. I know the 737 has been in service for awhile at which I used the airsafe statistics and saw they've had a lot of accidents over the years, but I know the number they show is nothing compared to all the flights these planes have flown or fly on a daily basis. Actually, I realize that the statistics show I'm risking my life 1000 times more by driving home from work today. The return flight is on a very small Continental Express Jet. It is an Embraer (ERJ-145). Can't really find anything on it other than I know it's tiny. The only thing that really scares me is that I have no control when I get on that plane. Our lives are in the hands of the pilots, mechanics, and the airplane. At least in the car you can stop and get out. However, my wife flys many times a year for work and so do all my friends. So more than anything I don't understand why I feel the way I do and they have no problem with it. Sad thing is for the first 20 years of my life I flew fear free and loved it. Hope to start the rest of my life with these two flights flying fear free again.
Capt Tom Bunn MSW LCSW		#1	[-]
Posts: 2469 (01/05/09 17:09:58) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Therapist will try to help with CBT, but it doesn't work very well for flying. It was because nothing worked that I went to grad school and became a therapist myself by flying for UAL. Now we can help. We can give you the means to automatically control the feelings when you fly. The 737: there are more 737s in the world than any other plane, by far. So, no wonder there are more accidents with the 737. The accident RATE is excellent. The ERJ is fine. Don't expect taking a couple of flights to get rid of fear of flying. Once it starts, it only gets worse. This is because we get our ability to deal with uncertainties between the ages of zero and two, and all we do after that is try to make up for what we don't have by using strategies such as control and escape. So when you fly, you have neither control nor escape to make up for not being given enough automatic calming when you were tiny. We can, fortunately, give it to you because we developed a way to do that. Take a look at "Complete Relief" at http://www.fearofflying.com/relief/ Enroll, and I promise you, you will be amazed at the difference when you fly.
kkepner3		#2	[-]
Posts: 2 (01/06/09 12:53:37) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Thanks Capt Tom. I appreciate the response and tonight I plan on watching the free help videos. The therapy program I was in was call Terrap. I thought it was pretty good, but obviously didn't get me on the plane. Right now I am feeling good that I will get on the plane, but once on is where I'm having my doubts. Luckily, I will have 7 people around me that no I'm scared and want me to make it through.
Capt Tom Bunn MSW LCSW		#3	[-]
Posts: 2474 (01/07/09 10:14:49) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	TERRAP is a really great program for agoraphobia. TERRAP used to be a lot bigger than it is now, and we used to have a lot of TERRAP people in SOAR back when we were doing "live" courses with groups. It was a treat to have them in the program because they already knew the pitfalls of avoidance, and trying to get relief by making the world smaller. They came into the course with a very impressive "forward momentum" and were an inspiration to others in the course who we still not sure if they wanted to go forward with flying or not. But TERRAP, as you say, isn't designed to get people on a plane. The problem is this: the strategies you use to deal with anxiety on the ground, such as control, reassurance, and a way out if things go badly, don't work in the air because you have no control, no reassurance unless seated by a pilot, and no way to leave the plane. So, we have to build INSIDE the automatic control needed to deal with flying without needing those strategies. Having people with you may be a very limited benefit, unless one of them is an airline pilot, or at least a pilot. Without real information about the plane's situation though a pilot, reassurance means very little. This problem will not get better. Either you can expect this kind of stress each time you fly, or you can get effective help. Though you may doubt anything can make much of a difference, anyone on this board who has done SOAR can tell you it makes a difference greater than they believed possible. Take a look at www.fearofflying.com/relief/
UndueBurden	I ride that route frequently	#4	[-]
Posts: 67 (01/07/09 15:34:25) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I always feel better knowing when someone else flies the same airline, same route, same flight number! I fly that route frequently for business. The trip on Continental is so easy (I use Southwest a lot, too, but Continental has more flights/better schedule into Houston -- and I like IAH better than Hobby for the car rental situation). Anyway, it is a great flight. Express Jet is a great carrier, and the EMB-145 is very comfortable. It is not a long flight; just under 2 hours. It will be a breeze. Have a fantastic ski vacation -- the only thing you really need to worry about is how to find the hot tub:)

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Note from Capt. Tom

I know everyone worries about weather, but pilots really do not worry about it. We simply - instead of worrying about it - completely prepare for it. Before going to the plane, we review the weather at the destination. If it is not 100% sure to be within legal limits when we arrive at the destination, we must specify an alternate airport in our planning documents, and load on plenty of fuel for going to the destination airport, and then if need be, diverting to the alternate airport.

The legal limits are conservative. Even when weather is slightly outside the legal limits, any airline pilot could still land safely. You can rely on the captain never to land when the weather is not legal, and legality limits are reached prior to safety limits.

If you are still anxious, call me and we can talk it over. I'm at 877 332-7359 from 10 AM until 7 PM Eastern time.

For effective help, even if you are flying in a day or two, sign up now at www.fearofflying.com/fasttrack and call me when you finish Clip 9 so I can make sure you are all set.

Using Weather Information

If you enter your ZIP Code or City at the top of the weather presentation, it will give you weather for your area. Or, you can enter your destination ZIP Code or City.

Click on the "LOCAL RADAR" button to see whether or not there are thunder-
storms. Keep in mind, however, that we can either fly above the storms when cruising or fly through gaps between storms. During landing, we cannot fly above them, but fly through gaps, or through the area of the storms where the turbulence is least.

Turbulence, though it may cause anxiety, does not mean anything is wrong. Turbulence does not mean danger. The plane can handle far more turbulence than Mother Nature can dish out.

Though flying in turbulence is safe, it doesn't feel safe. And here is where the SOAR programs come in. We can help you feel as safe when you fly as you actually are.

You can see these programs at www.fearofflying.com/store.

For questions on aviation or the psychology of aerophobia, click here to e-mail Capt. Tom Bunn, MSW, LCSW.

To contact the SOAR business office (media contacts, brochures, replacement tapes, billing, shipping), click here to e-mail Lisa Hauptner, MS.