Best wishes, Jayne. Trust me, many of us have been right where you are right now. LOL, my plane departs in 5 hours. I think you're showing a lot of courage and class, so do try to make the trip, and then post when you get back, Tell us how it went, we'd be very interested. Perhaps you could take some notes during the flight. Seriously.

There was a thread on the airline forum about fear of flying, after which I Googled for "fear of flying classes", and printed out "a book" which I read a few pages at a time. There are also several checklists - what to do before and during the flight. I hope it will help me with my fears. My first flight after a long break will be in a month.

By the way, it says there every 3rd airline passenger is a "white knucle flyer" so it's nice to be a part of a crowd!

For me it's not terrorism, I was always afraid to fly, and now when the children grew up and have their own trips there was no need for me to force myself to fly. Add to this fear of hight and motion sickness. I used to take Dramamine and slept through. This time I'll take a short flight and try Bonine, I heard it's not drowsy.

Jayne, the times that you have flown despite your fear, have you experienced the same degree of fear anticipating your return trip??

Don't know if you saw the discussion about tension before a trip. I thought I was more or less alone with that, but it seems to be very common...people regretting saying that they'd go away and getting quite uptight until they are actually out of Dodge. In my case and reading between the lines of others' accounts, it has nothing to do with fear of flying, only the stress (I guess) over preparation for the trip and some unnamed anxiety about being away...safety of the house, are the pets OK, will my plants make it without me, and who knows what else. Just wondering if that may be a part of your problem, not necessarily fear of flying?

You are gonna do this. Focus on how beautiful MV will be, how cool, how nice it will to be away from this humidity, feel those breezes, picture New England chic shopping. Now...can I come too? :D

Jayne, I re-read my post to you above. I didn't mean to sound preachy..... I definitely understand, as I used to lose sleep for weeks before I had to fly!!! And wonder, can I really get on the plane???? But my experience with my sister's illness did put things in a different perspective for me. I wish you the very best, and hope your flights will be easier for than you're anticipating. (And this latest warning could be a political move... Whatever, I don't need anyone to warn me about the possibility of terrorism. After 9/11, how could anyone NOT be concerned, at some level, forever after?)

Faina, one mg. ativan! and the dramamine - 30 minutes beforehand. Lots of water. The aisle. Get up and stand occasionally. Eat lightly. Take comfort you're with other people. Hope it goes well. Post and tell us.

OO, my husband and I always get in a fight right before we go out of town.

That stress always hits me.

Jayne, I completely understand how you feel, and am the same way. We travel a couple of times of year, but never by plane the last few years. But where there is a will there is a way and we've been lucky enough to go to such places as Bermuda, New Mexico, and Montana, all without flying. Now I find myself having to fly for a trip we are taking with my husband's family in October. We are flying from the northeast to meet them on a cruise ship in Florida. I have always hated flying. The terrorist threat only adds another element of fear for me. I was so upset booking the tickets yesterday, that my husband found a direct flight which cut about three hours off of our flying time by leaving from an airport which is 3 hours from our house. I'm afraid, but I'm going. When I must fly somewhere, What I do is, look at the people around me on the plane. People are sleeping, reading, working on laptops or whatever and all that normal activity seems to calm me down because I always seem to be the only person who is panicked. Take your travel books with you, read them on your flight and just think about a wonderful time you have when you arrive! Oh, and that glass of wine can't hurt either.

Thanks Blacktie, that's very kind. I will let you know when (NOT IF) I get past the MV trip!

FainaAgain--I'm going to do the same google and fill my mind with positive stats--at least I learned years ago to only visit sites like airsafe.com for feedback about safety records etc. Ten years ago I could quote stats for crashes from the last 15 years!

Actually everyone--I do know what triggered this fear. My late brother-in-law survived that air crash in the Everglades many years ago. He was fearless and never had a second thought about getting on a plane after that--but I think his story scarred me for life. He died five years ago from complications from Chrone's (sic) disease.

Jayne, have you looked in hynosis? I have a friend who is a hypnotherapist and she has had incredible successes with anxiety parients, including fear of flying, most often in only one or two sessions. You sound like a good candidate because it sounds like consciously you realize that the fear is irrational and you have tried to overcome it, but your subconscious takes over when you board that plane.

She has often told me that phobias are often related to some other unreolved issue, in your case perhaps a loss of control over a situation, and not a result of the actual event, e.g. flying itself.

Good luck with this and let us know how this turns out for you.

Get your dr. friend to prescribe some Xanax. Take one 15 minutes before you take off & have a glass of wine during the flight. You seem to want to conquer the fear, as you plan vacations to places you need to fly to. That is probably 90% of the cure!

I have a fear of the water, more like a phobia. But I love to go to islands & do boating things. I'm scared while I do them, but I also have happy memories of them!

OO--my closets are never as clean as they are the morning I leave on a flight!

Bonnie--I do not find you at all preachy--just very kind.

I hate hate hate the take off and the first ten minutes of the flight. I LOVE to land even though I know that statistically that is a high risk part of the flight--that's what makes phobias irrational, right?

Thanks everyone--you have all made me feel better.

Leona, I agree with you about the Xanax. I only take a tranquilizer for earth-shakingly stressful situations in my life but if I'm going to take one............. at least for me, I think Xanax is the most calming!

Jayne - not sure this has been mentioned yet...but personally, I think the chances are very, very slim that any sort of terror attack will happen on an airplane. With beefed-up security and passengers who are not only more aware, but more likely to thwart any sort of terrorist on a plane, I personally think the terrorists are going to "Plan B". So if your fear is a plane, I'd say not to worry. The US has put so much time, effort and $$ into protecting our airlines, that there are so many other weak links out that that are much easier targets.

Here today--YES--I have considered hypnosis. My sister-in-law tried it for weight control and lost 20 pounds. There is an excellent hypnotist is Sarasota. Most of us probably think it could never work for us but my SIL thought the same thing! Everytime she started to eat she felt nauseas.

Leona--been there done that! I'm a two Zanex flyer.

Austin-

I think you're right.

NO ONE will ever be able to bring down a plane with only a box cutter ever again.

Jayne, whatever you decide to do, don't let people try to shame you for how you feel. In my experience, the people who don't get anxious about something are often the people who are less likely to think out broader consequences of things -- sometimes that's a good trait but sometimes it isn't.

I don't think it's necessarily nuts to worry about what will happen this summer, but you have to consider the odds, as some others have pointed out. Compare it to a lottery -- if the odds of winning were as poor as the odds that you'll get caught in some kind of attack, you probably wouldn't bother to buy a ticket.

Finally, scared as I might be, I'd rather with with my family in case of catastrophe than left behind at home worrying about them.

You can do this - Xanax helps -- but don't be embarrassed about worrying. It's not 100% irrational to worry, as long as you are 100% paralyzed by it.

Well said, soccr. I totally agree. Don't let anyone shame you Jayne, as many feel exactly the same way. But many are loathe to let down their guard, even in cyber space.

You are obviously a thoughtful, caring person who realizes the scope of reality. Even if the odds are in our favor, I too, am very squeamish about flying.

Xanax is a blessing, use it and enjoy your trip.

Thanks, hope it's obvious I meant "NOT 100% paralyzed by it."

You have more to fear in taking advice on this forum than flying.

... ahhnolld, I have to agree, and chuckle at your comment, and believe it applied to 99% of what one reads on this site ... but we're actually trying to be supportive, and the ideas being offered pose no danger to Jayne. Many of us, or so it would seem, have ben right where she is, so we can empathize.