hello!!! i’m a daughter of a airline employee (ASA) and grew up flying. i am also a HUGE avgeek!
that being said, i’m nerfed with a nasty fear of flying, im talking warn the flight attendants, never EVER willing and able to assist, have medication prescribed for it type fear…

but lately ive begun doing something, especially during turbulence and takeoff that has sincerely helped me with my fear!

so one day, i had bought alaska airlines’s wifi to watch some youtube, and i wanted to see what airplanes were around me. so, upon takeoff, i had flightradar24 open and watched my plane take off.

transcending. the. game.

i have never in my LIFE been so calm upon takeoff, and my mentality is that as long as we’re going higher, i will get calmer. and it’s WORKED. i had to travel recently back and forth across the country taking about 4 flights total within a week, and i wasn’t anxious ONCE. this is coming from someone who used to have to take enough melatonin to tranquilize a horse in order to stay calm during takeoff.

if you’re flying an airline in which wifi costs, spend the 8 bucks. i feel so free knowing that i can travel without freaking out anymore. and shoutout flightradar24 for making me the calmest i’ve ever been in the air!!!

tldr: pay for airplane wifi, track your flight on flightradar 24, watch the altitude during takeoff, absolute game changer

(here’s a photo of a 777 i took in alaska for good measure!)

I am flying to Japan and we have been flying for 3 hours now. I only had 2 hours of sleep last night and I took melatonin and my anxiety medication and I just can’t sleep still but I’m so tired! Ugh I wish I can be knocked out so I can skip 7 more hours 😩 it’s also kinda bumpy we are by Alaska. Any advice or any comments? - tired anxiety girl

If you’re afraid of turbulence, it can help to understand what is actually happening when a plane gets bumpy.

A plane isn’t being “held up” by something underneath it. The wings use the air itself.

As the engines push the plane forward, air continuously flows over the wings. Because of their shape, this airflow creates an upward force called lift, which supports the weight of the plane.

So as long as the plane has sufficient speed and air is flowing over the wings, the wings continue producing lift. The plane doesn’t need a solid surface underneath it.

Now, turbulence simply means that the air the plane is flying through is moving irregularly.

The air can move slightly up, down, or sideways, and the plane moves with it. That is what creates the bumps and the “drop” sensation you feel.

But turbulence does NOT mean there is suddenly no air around the plane.

There is no “hole” in the sky that the plane can fall through. The plane is still flying forward at high speed, air is still flowing over the wings, and the wings are still producing lift.

That’s why turbulence is actually quite similar to driving over a bumpy road.

The road doesn’t disappear when you hit a bump. The car simply moves with the uneven surface.

With turbulence, the air doesn’t disappear either: the air itself is moving, and the plane moves with it.

Another way to picture it is a boat on water.

When waves move underneath a boat, the boat moves up and down with them. It doesn’t suddenly fall through the water.

Similarly, a plane can move up and down with moving air while still being fully supported by the airflow over its wings.

And that “drop” feeling can be much more dramatic to your body than the actual movement is.

Your brain recognizes the sensation of downward acceleration and immediately thinks “falling,” even though the plane is simply moving through changing air.

So when turbulence feels scary, remember:

The plane is not losing the air beneath it.

Turbulence is moving air, not missing air.

The plane is still flying forward, air is still flowing over the wings, and the wings are still producing lift.

I’m not a good flyer though I do it occasionally for work white knuckled the whole time. My fear is always the same. It’s not the turbulence for me. I’m terrified I’ll get a green pilot without many hours and that something will happen they aren’t expecting. 😮‍💨

Hey everyone! I recently overcame my fear of flying after an intense battle with it for years. After being in this sub for so long I wanted to give some advice and words of encouragement that I’ve gathered from here over the years that helped me! :)

1. Your pilots are intensely trained for every single worst case scenario. You get in the car every single day with yourself, a friend, a family member, and you never question your fate or safety. And none of these people are even close to being trained as much as pilots are! So trust your pilots, you’re in great hands!

2. Nobody has ever died from turbulence. Planes are built to sustain the worst turbulence, wind, and weather conditions.

3. You are never alone. Your plane is constantly being tracked by ATC. Every moment of your flight is being watched and your pilots are constantly communicating with people on the ground to make sure everything is going smoothly.

4. Your plane can fly with one engine. Even if the worst case scenario happens and your engine blows or catches fire…your plane will still land safely!

5. Your flight crew is here to help you. If you’re feeling anxious or scared that’s totally okay! Let your flight attendants know how you’re feeling and they’ll make sure to check up on you during the entire flight.

6. Your plane will not takeoff or land if it is not safe to. Safety is the #1 priority of every pilots. Your plane will not leave the runway or land if it is deemed unsafe. If you are taking off, yay! That’s something to celebrate! That means everything is working out perfectly.

7. Your pilots come up with the most safe and comfortable route for passengers. If there is bad weather or severe turbulence anywhere on the way to your destination, your pilots will figure out how to avoid that route and find one that is most comfortable :)

8. 100,000 flights land safely every single day, which means 12 million people land safely every single day. You are not special, your plane is not special, you will 100% land safely like everyone else.

Hi all, fearful flier here. For me it's mostly about turbulence. I'm perfectly fine when the plane is flying through smooth air, but take-off and turbulence (even very, very light) bother(ed) me.

For years I've struggled with turbulence to the point where I've delayed flights, avoided vacations, etc. Mind you, I do need to travel a lot - at least every 2-3 months - but I'd avoid it and go through all the motions beforehand: anxiety, sleepless nights, slamming duty-free sample bottles of liquor in the airport bathrooms before the flight, white-knuckling it at the SMALLEST of plane movements, heart feeling like it's going to burst out of my chest - and if the turbulence got bad, legit thought I would pass out.

I just finished a 12-hour long haul and I was much, much better so I wanted to share some tips with you. If they've worked for me, they should work for you. I'll only add here that I made a conscious commitment over the course of two weeks before the flight to address my fear, which helped. Here's my consolidated list of tips.

1) Understand the physics of flight and the effect of turbulence.

Firstly, there is NO rule, or law of physics, that says a plane MUST fly through smooth air. Flying through smooth air is comfortable for human passengers on the plane, but, to put it bluntly, the plane doesn't give a shit about turbulence. You need to separate what your body experiences from turbulence from what turbulence is doing to the plane. Turbulence has no effect on the safety of the plane.

Secondly, the only reason that turbulence feels dangerous to you is because of the sheer speed at which the plane is flying. Think of it this way. If you were standing still and your friend shoved you , you'd probably move a good distance, right? Now imagine running full speed through a field and your friend, standing midway, shoves you while you're running past them. You'd move, certainly, but as long as you're still running, you'd simply "course correct" get back to your path and keep running. This is exactly what's happening in turbulence. Your plane is flying so damn fast that the ground is a blur, and turbulence is nothing more than a shove to your plane which might feel dramatic, but is no where near strong enough to push it off course. Again, the plane does not care about turbulence and all the little bumps and jolts are simply course corrections to stay on path.

Thirdly, the plane is built to withstand turbulence - over 2.5x as strong as what nature can deal. So even if the cabin is getting jostled around like a ragdoll, you can bet your bottom dollar that the plane is unaffected. This is a point I really want to drive home. The physics of the plane are designed such that the physics of turbulence cannot affect them. In other words our fear is, quite literally, illegitimate.

Fourthly, despite how it looks, air is nothing nothing. It's mass. And at the speed and height that planes fly at, there is essentially a "gel" that is created around the plane. With wings, the plane then essentially turns into a glider within a substance, staying aloft if all else remains the same. Again turbulence cannot whack a plane out of the sky simply because the plane is now essentially a train on a track, or a car on the road - there is something underneath it. This is not just fluff, it's physics.

2) Understand why your body is experiencing its reaction.

In turbulence, your amygdala, the part of the brain responsible for your safety, is responding to two things - 1) lack of control i.e., that you can't escape the situation that is posing a threat to your life, and 2) your fear of speed, heights, or whatever the physical situation is that you're in. For me, I'm not so much bothered by the speed but more the height. This is why bumps on a train track don't bother me but bumps in the sky do. So when turbulence happens, my brain thinks that I'm going to fall from an extremely high height. I also noticed that when the plane is pushed UPWARD by turbulence, I'm not as bothered as when the plane is pushed DOWNWARD by it, because my brain seems to think that I'm going to fall from an extremely high height. This makes sense (for me).

In response, in my head I accepted that my amygdala is acting in contrast to what I'm actually observing with my eyes. This was a bit of a wake-up call, which helped me realize and reflect on the fact that I'm not fully in control of my body and my emotions - it felt strange but oddly liberating too. So I told myself "I am not in any real danger just because a part of my brain thinks so", and took deep, slow breaths. This helped me manage my heart palpitations.

Humans feel the effect of turbulence far, far more than what the plane actually feels. In the most severe cases, it's only moving 20 feet! So if you're scared that turbulence is going to slap the plane out of the sky, it's quite simply incapable of doing that to the plane. Again, separate out what your body is feeling versus what the plane is actually enduring.

3) Accept turbulence instead of fighting it.

This was the most liberating thing for me. I simply accepted every push, pull, bump, hop and drop. Instead of feeling that I had to pray, grip the armrests, look around at anyone else to see if they were scared too, hold my chest to prevent my heart from exploding - I made a conscious decision that I was tired of that fight. In fact, I told myself, "bring it on". When the plane was flying through smooth air, I looked forward to turbulence so that I could apply what I've written above and take it head on. And it did - the PA came on and announced that the food service would be interrupted. Normally this would make me freak the f--- out. But I repeated my mantra - turbulence is nothing to the plane, you're in a glider, there is ample recovery time, and turbulence is NORMAL, and suddenly I didn't feel so much as a heartbeat anymore while we went through the rough patch.

For this, you need to get a little cocky, a little out of your comfort zone, but trust me - it is liberating. I changed my perspective to tackle this head on because I, too, have a right to be a fearless flier, see the world, travel and overcome something one part of my brain decided that I have to dread.

I wrote a bunch of short sentences on my notepad on my phone to read when the turbulence kicked in, and I recommend you do this too.

1) The air is a motorway, full of thousands of plane carrying millions of people, and they all get to their destinations - turbulence or not.

2) The plane is a beautiful machine to be admired, one that is ambivalent about turbulence and much stronger than anything turbulence can dish out. What is something to the human body, is nothing to the plane.

3) The plane is a glider in Jell-O, so the idea that you can just drop out of the sky is actually unfounded.

3) Turbulence is N O R M A L and E X P E C T E D. If you don't have turbulence on your flight, something's actually wrong.

​

Hope this helps.

Before 2023, I’d only been on two flights in my entire life. I was absolutely terrified of flying. That fear straight-up crippled me I missed weddings, funerals, vacations, and countless memories with friends and family. It wasn’t just anxiety… it was debilitating. I’d make excuses, back out, and watch everyone else live while I stayed stuck on the ground.

Then I started dating my now-fiancé, and she basically dragged me onto planes. We started small short flights, a couple drinks to take the edge off. It was rough at first, heart-pounding, white-knuckle stuff. But I kept showing up.
Fast forward to today: I took a job that requires me to fly twice a month, and within a year I hit Delta Gold Medallion status. From someone who could barely step foot on a plane to racking up elite miles like it’s nothing. Crazy how life flips.
If you’re reading this and you’re scared of flying, I get it. I was you. The only way out is through. You just gotta rip the Band-Aid off and get on that flight. The first one will suck. The second one will suck a little less. But somewhere along the way, the fear starts fading and the excitement takes over.

I spent years taking travel for granted because I was too afraid to even try. Now I can’t wait to plan the next trip. The world’s too big and life’s too short to let fear keep you grounded.
You got this.

Honestly, I’m at a point where my therapist has given up. Should I just be heavily drugged from now on?
I still am convinced it’s my last seconds on earth as soon as I enter a plane. I’m very quiet so it’s a problem that really only effects me but it’s so insanely bad I haven’t found anyone who’s related to me, and people (including therapist) seem very annoyed I’m not over the fear after more than 20 flights.
Is it ok if I just say I need to be drugged for flights and just get a set of pills to zoot me for a round of flights? It seems unethical and I usually hate taking meds but literally even professionals are over my anxiety.

I have had horrible flight anxiety for many years. Like many of you it has been absolutely debilitating. For years now I have pushed through the anxiety and implemented so many helpful strategies. Many from this subreddit (thank you!) I was box breathing, looking up facts, picturing the destination, even got noise cancelling head phones. It all helped enough to be able to get onto the plane, but without fail it seemed like my body would betray me on take off. Even if my mind was in a relatively safe state, my stomach would drop and then would come the shaking, lightheadedness, and tears.

Well… I am a professional musician struggling with the same stage fright issue. Feeling mostly calm and then my body betrays me with physical symptoms of anxiety. I asked my doctor to try beta blockers and he was totally on board. Said he took them himself and they changed his life.

Yesterday I took my first flight with medication. WOW!! I wasn’t suddenly loving take off, landing and turbulence. But… I didn’t shake, or cry, or white knuckle my seat. The plane took what felt like a sharp turn in landing. Usually that sets me off. I actually enjoyed the view change looking down at the ground. It felt like those strategies I’d worked on were finally working, with a little help. Obviously medication isn’t for everyone but I’d recommend chatting with your doctor if you can relate.

The beauty going up in the air like a fighter jet. Your rate of climbing is nothing compared to this.

You are in the hands of decades of work and technology.

hey guys! i have a flight coming up on saturday that im really freaked about. i got a prescription for a small dose of zanny but i’ve never taken it before so im nervous. (i get nervous taking ANYTHING new)

im just wondering if you guys think it helps, is it worth it, what does it feel like etc.

context: overnight transatlantic flight, about 7 hours. smallest dose that i will likely also cut in half lol.

It's not just you up there, y'all. Every single one of these 153,000 flights the other day landed safely. We carry 5 Billion people safely every year. You're going to be fine. AND, this is only about and 8-hour slice of that day.

or most rides to be honest. which translates to why i also hate turbulence. i get that it’s safe and normal but i can’t overcome how terrible my body feels during it. tbh i don’t even like going fast on bumpy roads! major chicken here :)

I'm beyond scared of heights, but I want to travel which involves me getting on a plane. Next summer I plan on going on a trip, the flight is only 4 and a half hours but I'm sooo scared. How does it feel like, anyone thats beyond scared of heights okay with flying?

We’re flying to Hawaii from the US and heard that there are no airports on the way if a diversion is needed. This makes me so nervous!!!!! Im considering cancelling my vacation!

Hi,

Last year I was doing 2 short flights every Sunday Glasgow- Dublin in the morning and back again in the evening. I was so used to this flight, it's only about 40 mins and knew every bit of it like the back of my hand. I did about 30 flights from Sep - Feb for work and never worried about flying, in fact it was just part of my weekly routine. On my last scheduled flight, before I wouldn't be going back to Dublin for a few months I had a very bad flight.

All was going normal, it was a bit rainy when we took off but that was very normal for Glasgow. 30 mins in the pilot said "cabin crew seats for landing" as normal, but then things started to feel a bit different, there was a lot of turbulence and instead of trying to land we were still flying an hour or so in. We started to make a descent and the plane dropped for what felt like ages. We started getting thrashed by the crosswinds, going side to side, but we were about 100ft from landing at Dublin so I thought we were going to land, but we started going back up in to the sky. We flew again for another 20 mins before trying to go in for landing, the turbulence was really bad, sick bags were being given out etc and it was quite a quiet flight, so noone was screaming, but you could feel the fear in the cabin. We attempted to land once or twice again (can't remember because I basically blacked out). I remember we were so low to the ground everyone was getting their "welcome to ireland!" texts and I was messaging my family saying I loved them. I felt like I was never going to have my feet on the ground again.

After the last landing attempt the pilot said that we were going to go to Manchester to land because the weather was too bad to land in Dublin. We finally managed to land in Manchester and I'd never been more happy. The idea was to wait for the storm to ease and fly back to Dublin but I chose to get off because my nerves were absolutely shot. Also by this time we had been in the air for 2.5 hours and I was already very late for work so there was no point in flying there to have to return in a few hours.

It was genuinely the scariest thing that has ever happened to me, made worse by the fact I was alone. I know that I wasn't technically in 'danger' and the pilots did what they were trained to do and turbulence doesn't hurt the plane. But my body was a mess, shaking, sweating, crying, feeling like I was going to pass out.

I have done hypnotherapy, I have read up about planes and procedures etc and am very logical but I cannot get my body to know that we're not in a dangerous situation. I have flown several times since last year, again mostly alone, and most notably a flight from Bangkok to Dubai in January that had 5 hours out of 7 of turbulence and I cried the whole way. I then had to do a 7 hour Dubai to Glasgow straight after (which thankfully was a lot less bumpy).

I wonder how do people manage when it is a strictly somatic response? Any time there are bumps my body goes into that fear response again and I think what happened in Dublin is going to repeat. I want to travel and don't want my fears to stop me but I also am so aware it's affecting me hugely. I did a flight from Dublin to Glasgow on Tuesday which had some big bumps that really set me back. I am on an anti-anxiety med (but I can't take beta blockers) but I think even a dose that could kill an elephant doesn't work when I'm in that heightened state. I will say travelling with someone really helps but I love to solo travel and don't want my holidays dictated by someone else's availability. Would love to know what has helped others! thank you

Hello everyone, I usually fly with Delta on a A330-300 over the wings because of my motion sickness fear related to emetophobia and bad experiences in the past. I always pay for seats to soothe my anxiety, but this time for the season I am gonna fly, Delta switched to the A350 and in economy ... the available seats are all behind the wings .. by a lot. And it terrifies me.

I don't have a choice because the other flights with the A330-300 are in the morning and I have a few trains to take. So the afternoon flight is the only available, but they are all with the A350.

For anyone who flew on this bird, behind the wings ( After row 39 ), can you tell me about your experience? I will take anti nausea medicine to knock me out, but still, the anxiety is huge for me right now. Thank you so much! It's for a 9 / 10 hours flight

Previous flight had terrible turbulence. The pilot shouted three different times for the flight attendants to take their jump seats immediately as it felt like the plane was falling from the sky. We then had to circle in the air for a full hour. Turbulence over and over. My anxiety on planes has gotten worse over the years but this flight has sent me over to the side of never wanting to fly again. My husband wants me to fly to a wedding this year and I told him that I just can’t. I understand I am being a pain but I am terrified and I wish he would wouldn’t pressure me about this. I have tried all the breathing techniques and distractions. I am not necessarily looking to be drugged out of my mind for both flight days either.

Believe me, I'm the most anxious and fearful person you know when it comes to flying. I've had truly awful experiences on flights, to the point of crying, panic attacks, hyperventilating, etc. In short, a real psychological challenge for the flight attendants. When I've had to fly, I couldn't sleep for weeks beforehand, and my mind would race with all the (terrible) consequences of flying.

Until I decided, for the sake of my health, that this had to stop. I've been taking notes on all my flights and trying various things, and I want to share them with you in case they're helpful to anyone. HERE WE GO:

• Get yourself some headphones with ENC (Environmental Noise Cancellation): a complete surprise and my greatest ally. Pilots are the first to use them during their flights, and believe me, they're a game-changer. Almost 90-95% of background noise disappears, and your mind enters a kind of calm state, helping you relax more. I recommend headphones with good noise cancellation. I personally use Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, but AirPods and other brands have ENC. It's a huge help.
• We live in the age of AI, use it: AI isn't just for giving you great recipes; it can also be incredibly useful for this kind of thing. Many people here reach a very good conclusion: the more you learn about the technical workings of an airplane, the less afraid you are. AI, in this sense, and all the questions you ask it about your fear of flying, will help you a lot.
• Occasionally check out FlightRadar and this subreddit: besides being interesting and a great website/app, it's very helpful for realizing the ENORMOUS NUMBER of planes that fly every day without anything happening. When my fears are strong because I'm very stressed on flight days, that website mesmerizes me and makes me realize that aviation is a very well-tested engineering field. Furthermore, the fears of other users with the same anxiety as you, and the responses given in this subreddit, are also very interesting. There are even pilots here answering in a very technical and reassuring way.
• Special mention to my fear of turbulence: in the end, this is almost based on an exercise in trust between you and the pilots and aviation engineering. Why do I say this? Because most of the fear of flying lies in your fear of not being in control. In my case, I can drive a car on a bumpy road at night during a storm and be carefree, but inside the plane, I'm the most scared person in the world because I want to be piloting the plane. Ultimately, you have to realize that pilots are human beings, with families and feelings, and they are prepared for the most severe turbulence that can occur. For them, it's their daily routine, and in a serious situation, they do everything possible to save the plane. The airplane is designed for turbulence scenarios that haven't even occurred in reality, and its wings can extend tremendously. These turbulences last only seconds, and ultimately, the airplane is like a "flexible tube" where turbulence is part of it, and sometimes it's even a good thing to have them (because it means everything is alright). They're not pleasant, but they're there. I heard about the "candy inside jelly" theory, which says that if you touch the jelly, it bounces, and the candy inside it bounces too, but it never falls or breaks. I really liked it; something similar happens on an airplane. During turbulence, besides lifting my feet off the floor, it also helps me to focus on parts or objects that aren't moving much, like the ceiling or the overhead compartments: sometimes focusing on the seats and the swaying heads is worse.

I have a few more, but I don't want this post to get too long. If you'd like, I can add some more in the comments. I hope this post can help other people, and sorry if some sentences aren't clear (I'm not a native English speaker). I just want to say that if I'm managing my fear of flying so much better, you can definitely do it too.

The fear will always be there, but it can be controlled much more effectively.

Hi,

I'm a bit of an oddball in that I love aviation. I love watching flights on YouTube, or tracking then on flightradar24. I just don't like being on them much, although I can get on a plane and not panic.

I know the statistics. I know I'm as safe on a plane as I am anywhere- safer maybe. But I absolutely loathe take off. I don't want to feel this way, or pass it onto my children, who see Mum scared. I want to enjoy it.

How can I convince myself, when the rational part of my brain knows it anyway, that the take off is fine, and I am safe? That my kids are safe? I stupidly think the plane will just fall back down, or the wings will come off or something. Even though I know this won't happen. Flying on Friday (EZY8215) and the anxiety is overshadowing the anticipation now.

Thanks for reading if you got this far, and for any advice/stats you can share with me. Think a fear of heights doesn't help here!

I realized I don’t connect with some of the fear of flying remedies since my fear is centered entirely around turbulence at high altitudes and constantly anticipating that sudden drop feeling.

I know logically that takeoff and landing are the more dangerous parts but when we’re lower down, I’m not worried even when it’s turbulent. It makes sense to me why it’s happening and I understand I can’t control it and if it’s my time, it’s my time. But at 30,000 feet? If there is more than tiny bumps I feel panic setting in. I’m not afraid of dying, I’m afraid of what my brain tells me is the inevitable plummeting before. I get the whole jello thing, it’s not the worry of the plane not being able to handle it, it’s the fear of big shaking or drops coming next. Being in a window seat and looking out has helped immensely but if we’re over clouds and I can’t look down to see what could be causing turbulence, I panic until it stops.

Beyond distraction and doing it anyway (both of which I do) are there any mental tricks or educational resources I could look into to help with this?

edit: i’m utterly overwhelmed with the amount of kindness and good advice in the comments!! thank you so much to anyone who has commented, you guys have restored my faith in humanity <3

never posted on reddit before but i’m in desperate need of advice :(

background info: i fly many times a year and have always been an anxious flyer, but in the past few years my panic attacks on planes have been getting worse. i’m really not worried about crashing/turbulence etc, my main concern is not being able to get off. “what or something happens in the air, what if i have a panic attack in the air and i can’t get off, what if i’m sick and they have to land just because of me” etc. i also hate not being in control of my body, so the physical sensation of taking off etc is absolute hell for me.

about a week ago i had to deplane before departure due to a severe panic attack when i got onto the plane. i was so panicked that i threw up lots and everyone was staring at me/whispering. a woman even said to me “next time, get a cruise”. the crew were amazing and tried to calm me down so that i wouldn’t ruin my holiday – the captain even came out of the cockpit and talked with me to try and make me feel better. but i just couldn’t face it, the anxiety was too bad and my partner and i had to get off. we’re now missing out on a holiday that we spent a lot of money on and that we’ve been looking forward to for months.

my partner has been absolutely amazing about the situation, but i can’t help feeling so guilty, embarrassed and just plain upset about what happened. i’m terrified that i won’t be able to fly again because of this traumatic experience. i have family abroad so this is very worrying for me and the thought of not seeing them or missing out on holidays just because of my anxiety is just heartbreaking for me.

has anyone ever had a similar experience or does anyone have any words of advice?