SCARED TO FLIGHT HELP !!
 

well i live in Italy and i really want to go back to my country New York...the problem is that i am so scared fo flight i really dont know what to do....i was thinking a cruise but is so expensive for me and then i have some problems with my passport so i dont know what to do...can anyone give me some tip or tell me something because when i think about the ocean beneath me i really go bad....

#1 you need to get your passport situation straightened out. If you are US citizen the visit the US embassy or consulate closest to you http://www.usembassy.gov/. You won't be going anywhere without a passport.

#2. Flights from Europe to the US actually don't fly straight across the Atlantic ocean - they follow a route that is called the great circle. Therefore for most of the flight they are a relatively short distance from land, or even over land like England, Scotland, then Canada for much of the way.

I don't mean to sound blunt but there are only two ways to get from Italy to New York - one is to fly and the other is to go by boat - you have to choose one or the other.

Flying is the the quickest and most economical. If you have a fear of flying nothing anyone on this forum can say will put you at ease. To YOU the feart that most people believe is unfounded is REAL. You should seek professional help from a doctor or psychiatrist. They will help you overcome your phobia.

While you are solving that issue you'll have to work out your "passport problems". You don't say what those problems might be so again we can only give genral advise. You imply that New York is "your country" - if by that you mean you are a citizen of the USA than follow the advice given by J62 and go to the US Embassey for assistance. If you are a citizen of another go to the Embassy of the country that issued your passport as they should be able to assist you.

Simply put you need a valid passport to travel internationally.

well guy thanks a lot and yes i am a us citizen and the problem with my passport is tha i have been in italy for mor than 3 month and is not good because the only vacation time that we have to go from a country to another is 90 days and i have one year and 5 months.....well again thanks

First off, you need to get straightened out with Italy over-staying your 90 day tourist permit. I would be contact an Embassy, or even the airlines or cruiselines to see their requirements. You'll have to make your paperwork right somehow before going anywhere.

With all due respec,t you are spending a significant amount of time vaguely explaining yourself on various travel forums; if you are a U.S. citizen, and hold a U.S. passport, you really should go the Embassy and ask for advice, especially before you plunk down big money on a cruise home. At this point, no matter how you explain anything, you are illegal in Italy and should get some legal advice before you ask how to sail home.

How did you get to Italy? I am curious, what is your country of birth? With all due respect you seem to be in a panic and posting on numerous sites, but not contributing some info that may be helpful. Your english useage is not that of a native speaker. What about the numerous Royal Carribean and Holland America sailings from Italy to US??

First things first... get the passport thing figured out as soon as possible. Talk to the US Embassy, they will help you with that. If you're over your allowed time, don't let it go any longer before fixing it.

As for being afraid to fly, do you ride in cars or on a moped? Everytime before you get in a vehicle, do you give it a complete walk around? Do you have a team of mechanics look your vehicle between every long drive? Do you have advanced computer systems to detect any leaks or failures in your engine?

I don't do that either. I can guarantee you that you are much safer getting into a commercial airliner than you are getting into your own vehicle. I'm a pilot and know all of the regulations private pilots have to follow for tiny airplanes. There are thousands more regulations for commercial airliners. All the time where they make you wait for a mechanical failure... isn't for an actual failure, it's for an indicator light saying there could potentially be a condition that might lead to a failure.

The commercial airliners have some of the best pilots in the world. It's like having a professionally trained chauffer drive you around. Many of the pilots have years of military flight experience and/or over 20 years of commercial flight experience.

If you're traveling with a companion, ask your doctor for a prescription for a VERY mild sedative. Take that before you board so that it kicks in around the time of takeoff. DO NOT start drinking as a way to deal with the fear of flying. Flying drunk will not help you.

Whatever you decide to do, good luck :)

thanks

I am very claustrophobic, and its getting worse with age.... So lately I've been taking my Valium an hour before boarding, and keep some handy thruout the flight....

The name of the game is STATISTICS.... We hear and see a LOT more car crashes, than airliners crashing -- which are quite rare.... So as long as you have the right attitude, considering your extremely low chances of being involved in a plain crash, you should be able to control your fear....

...But I still use my Valium before a flight....

See your physian and (as above) get a prescription for Valium or Xanas. These are anti-anxiety medications that help tremendously for a person in your situation.

well thanks suze and mammamia2 i really feel that i am not normal because i can take a airplain, for example from italy to london but looking and knowing that there is ground...not the sea, because now that i am going away from italy i will take an airplain to london...and i really feel like nothing also because more than two hours i can not be so i dont know what is my problem..just to think that if something happens in the airplain it will end up there in the ocean in 2 secons and there will not be no one..i really dont know...i feel very bad..but anyways thanks a lot for your help !!!

cruising back to US is a wonderful idea. I live in a coastal town in Italy and see every day a lot of US/Canadian tourists disembarking in our harbour for day trips to Florence.

Some airlines, like Lufthansa, do some seminars for passengers having fear of flying. You may check the below link and call the airline for further information or checking also other airlines if you prefer....
https://www.lufthansa.com/online/por...en&cid=1000390

fabio grazie mile !!!!!!!!!!

prego !! (you are welcome !!)

good luck !

GROIN (get really over it now)...Lots more scary things in the world....and when 'your number's up, it's up>

wowo that was a bit....

No it wasn't and the word is airplane, that might help us out.
Seriously, if you can fly from Italy to London, not sure how the water thing makes it worse. How did you get to Italy in the first place?

How did you get to Italy in the first place?

Anyway, other than drugs for a one time trip, the cure for your disorder is exposure to the thing you're afraid of.

I also had an irrational fear (and it IS irrational) of flying over water, which is a bit of a drawback since we need to travel to Honolulu 3-4x a year from the west coast on business.

So for my exposure therapy I took a nonstop flight to New Zealand, and of course a return, for a conference where I was presenting a paper and couldn't back out.

Just to really turn the screws, I also flew up and down North and South Island of New Zealand in those tiny planes, the ones where they have these 12 year old pilots with bangs and chewing gum (well just one young looking gal I admit).

The flight to Europe doesn't count because like the poster above says, they mostly fly over land (i.e., along Newfoundland once they cross the Atlantic).

Surprise, I no longer get nervous on the Honolulu flight. After all it's a mere 5 hours over water. And I did not take drugs; just gutted it out; I did take Air NZ's economy plus to get a bit more room, and I had the front row, next to a generally calm FC cabin with pod beds that made me extremely jealous.

Once I had a young guy next to me get a panic attack; I coached him to breathe,asked him why he was going to the US (to visit his parents--he was in school in France) and had him visualize his mom's face when she saw him get off the plane. Anyway he calmed down and the neighboring passengers were appreciative.

ANNW thank you very much and let me tell you mu big problem is when i flight overland...if I see ground there is not a problem but I will see what to do to handle these problems and I will go back to NYC with a cruise the plane I will take from Italy to London is only 1 hour and 55 minutes also I will be looking down there knowing that there is not water...I wat this problem top go because is too much for me and it blocks my opportunities...I am glad you told me those things the helped me...than you.

Uhm, I believe you will be flying over the English Channel to get to London will you not? The English Channel is water. Just saying.

Say Brida did you see that story about the plane landing in the Hudson? Might be encouraging to you. Google Sullenberger / plane /Hudson.

get an aisle seat, then you won't be able to see anything.

and just for safety's sake, wear a swimsuit underneath your travel clothes.

LoveItaly do you really think that the plane willbe flying over the English Channel?????? Now I am so sad...and I really don't know what to do I have these panics, I know when is my time it is but I must say I am not ready ...

There are 3 ways to get from the continent to the island called Great Britain.

Under the English Channel in the tunnel - by train
On the English Channel - by boat (or swim)
Over the English Channel - by plane

Unless a land bridge has formed you have to cross the English Channel one way or another.

LOL, brida is having fun with this thread and all of us I do believe.

Her post of 7:10p.m. has me convinced.

Good response J62!

LOL cattivi !!!!

well J62 I think the best one for me is by boat or by train. Have you ever been in Europe?

brida~ Let me see if I've got this right... when the plane crashes you would feel better if it was into the ocean instead of onto land???????????????????????????

Well none of them to be clear suze...just joking !!! if it crashes I would feel better if it was into the land. The sea for me is not safe for a plane so that is why if I go to NYC I would like to buy a plane ticket from Italy to some place in Russia and from there to Alaska then from Alaska to some state in North America...I know it sounds crazy but at least I feel safe knowing that there is not water, that I am flying over land, this is maybe from a crazy person but not yet I feel ready to fly.

Just asking, how did you get to Italy in the first place, because either you are really messing around with us here, or as you say, you have troubles that are way beyond travel advice. Have a good time getting home from Russia to Alaska to NYC. Is the cruise off then?

nooooooooooo socaltravel first I am not messing around with you guys then I will take the cruise. What I said was IF I take a plane I WOULD DO IT LIKE THAT GOING TO RUSSIA AND THEN...BUT IF YOU REALLY READ ALL I AM JOKING IS NOT THAT I WILL DO IT AND THEN WHY WOULD I MESS HERE I JUST WANT SOME HELP AND IF I WANT IT THEN I MUST SAY THE THING THE WAY THEY ARE AND THE WAY I FEEL.

OHHH I FORGOT I CAME TO ITALY ON A PLANE AND I HAD A PANIC ATTACK REALLY BAD THAT IS ONE OF THE REASON I DON'T WANT TO TAKE A PLANE ANYMORE.

brida, no need to shout. I think we may all be a little startled that you didn't know, for example, that you have to cross the channel to get to Britain.

Do you feel better now that you have shouted out here? We get it, you have a major problem with flying (at one time in my life it I needed a mild sedative to fly over land and sea), but this is a travel board, not the Dr. Phil show. Frankly, my advice to you would be to take a pill, get on the plane from Rome to NYC, and then get some serious help with the phobias.

If you are from the United States in the first place, why do you have such strange use of the English language? The way you write sounds more like trying to do a fake Italian accent.

Seriously, why don't you take a cruiseship from Europe to NYC? Or see a doctor about your phobias/problems?

Because flying from Italy to Russia, to Alaska, etc. etc. because then you are over land instead of the ocean IF YOU ARE AFRAID OF FLYING in the first place does not make one bit of sense.

How did you get to the Dominican Republic like you posted about on the Caribbean forum?

I think you are having a joke on us, brida.

brida

if you decide cruising, then avoid watching the movie "Titanic" the day before !!

Oh, brida has told us that her phobic problems of immense proportions started on her flight to Italy, when she was not that old, as I believe she has said she is 21. How long she has been in Italy, what she does to support herself, or to afford the cruising she now needs, is anyone's guess. She does like to hijack threads in order to speak directly, either favorably or unfavorably to people posting on said thread, even tho the thread has nothing to do with her. Anyway, do let us know how this flying/cruising/phobia thing turns out for you.

If it's a joke, not so funny.