How do I get over turbulence?

[Sue]

I've flown on planes my entire life. Literally. Once I lived on my own and I had to fly places by myself, I started getting more nervous about flying. Not so much the idea of actually flying thousands of feet in the air, but the only part that really gets to me is the turbulence.

I just can't stand it.

I end up putting a death grip on the arm rests and closing my eyes praying it will all be over soon.

I don't mind the little bumps here and there, but it's when you can visibly notice/feel the plane going up and down, left to right... that's when it gets to me.

I keep telling myself it's all in my head, and I just need to get over it, but that's not helping me apparently...(and I know it IS actually all in my head..)

So how can I get over it?

I tried, once, by telling myself it was just like this really bumpy bus ride I had gone on once, and it actually helped a little... but then my nerves just overtook me and I gave in.

[maleficent]

I actually like turbulance... I find it restful... however.. one way of getting over it - -or accepting it - is to find something to focus on.. either keep something in your hand, or find a spot on the plane to look at...

The only time I've ever found the turbulance a little unnerving was when we were about 30,000 feet and the pilot couldn't find a good altitute where we weren't bouncing and people were using air sick bags. (want me to get nauseaus - have someone next to me start tossing their cookies) At some point the pilot comes on and says not to worry because the airplanes are designed to take this kind of abuse... (I wasn't the least bit worried until the guy in charge told me not to worry) eventually we settled down.

Get yourself an aisle seat, in the middle of the plane... you will feel the turbulance the least there.. and bring something to keep you occupied.... And don't sit anywhere near people who fly a lot for a living because we might find it necesaray to start sharing war stories of the emergency landings we've made and the crashes we've walked away from...

Flying is safer than driving, the guy flying the plane knows what he's doing and the plane really can take the torture. Think of all the fun you'll have at your destination.

[shakran]

if it helps, turbulence feels a LOT worse than it is. Planes have weather radar now, so the old days of planes bumbling into huge thunderstorms and getting the crap knocked out of them are pretty much over.

If it was bad enough to be dangerous, they'd steer around.

[anleja]

I don't have anything to add to this besides I wish that airlines would give people an option to be put under before flights... like a dentist gassing someone before pulling teeth. I'm serious. Planes terrify me. After the flight they can wheel them to a "recovery room" where they wake up, collect their luggage and go about their day.

[maleficent]

Originally Posted by anleja

I don't have anything to add to this besides I wish that airlines would give people an option to be put under before flights... like a dentist gassing someone before pulling teeth. I'm serious. Planes terrify me. After the flight they can wheel them to a "recovery room" where they wake up, collect their luggage and go about their day.

You stand a bigger chance of dying a fiery death in your car than you do dying in a plane crash...

With the airlines being what they are... if you were put under... I know where my luggage has ended up... I'd be afraid to find out where I ended up if I wasn't listening to the messages... Though with airlines like Southwest -- comatose might be the preferred way to go...

[ryfo]

Problem my wife has is the actual flight itself. She is ok on take off and touch down but like sue doesnt like turbulance. Try to take/be a little sleepy, this seems to make the flight less stressful (sorta like a long car trip)

[anleja]

Originally Posted by maleficent

if you were put under... I know where my luggage has ended up... I'd be afraid to find out where I ended up if I wasn't listening to the messages...

haha, very true. "I didn't know that Portugese is the main language of Boston!"

[Sue]

I even took some Tylenol PM... and I nodded off here and there but not deep enough so that I actually slept through the whole thing. I would much prefer that.

[FatFreeGoodness]

maleficent: “And don't sit anywhere near people who fly a lot for a living because we might find it necessary to start sharing war stories”

I once quit a job after I received a letter from an airline thanking me for averaging 10,000 miles a week for two years straight. War Story follows:

The worst flight I ever made was on a small plane (twin engine prop commuter) flying from Huntsville Alabama to Atlanta. They held us from boarding until the last minute then announced the planes air conditioning was broken, and the plane was extremely hot. This was in early August, 2PM in full sun in Alabama, so we all knew that “hot” did not mean just “a little warm”. However, they intended to fly it to Atlanta to fix it, and anticipated that it would cool off quickly at altitude. If we wanted to board, it was our choice. Everyone elected to board.
“So, here’s how we do this. Forget the assigned seating. When we let you, exit the building and get on the plane. Boarding is from a stairway in the tail. Move forward and take the most forward seat available. When everyone is on we have clearance to take off immediately.
I dawdled so as to be the last person on board. I thought this would minimize my time on the plane – last on, first off. A side effect was that I ended up sitting in the tapered rear of the plane. Everyone else had two seats, an aisle, and two more seats. I had my seat, the aisle, then another seat. The plane was unbearably hot. Much hotter than anyone expected, but by the time we fully realized just how hot we were taking off.
The pilots left the little sliding windows in the cockpit open, and also the door from the cockpit to the rest of the plane, and that was all the ventilation we had. Because of the open window they flew lower than normal, and it was VERY turbulent. We had all types of motion; up and down, side to side, rocking, but the worst was the yaw, where the nose would swing to the left while the tail surged right, and visa-versa. With the heat (over 120 degrees) and the motion everyone on board got airsick within the first fifteen minutes, except for the group in the tail, for about four rows. That group waited till the plane was out of airsickness bags, THEN got sick.

I’ve been more scared, but never more miserable.

[Rodney]

I hate turbulence as well; it's always terrified me, and it always will. Logically I know that flying is much less dangerous than driving, turbulence and all. But when you're a tightly-wound individual like myself, you react and worry about every sudden thump and bump.

So when turbulence strikes and I'm very, very upset, I chant this mantra silently: "It'll be over soon, and I'm not gonna die. It'll be over soon and I'm not going to die." And I keep at it until the turbulence stops. It helps.

[Carno]

Haha, it kinda cracks me up that some people are scared of flying and/or turbulence.

I don't particularly enjoy turbulence, but I don't mind it. One time at school my instructor and I got into some turbulence and we were getting lifted out of our seats and our heads were hitting the roof. We had to tighten the seat belts as much as we could and lower our seats so we wouldn't keep getting our headsets knocked off.

That was in a little 4 seat Piper with no a/c. Just a little storm window and a few vents, in the middle of summer in Florida. That sucked.

[maleficent]

Originally Posted by Rodney

So when turbulence strikes and I'm very, very upset, I chant this mantra silently: "It'll be over soon, and I'm not gonna die. It'll be over soon and I'm not going to die." And I keep at it until the turbulence stops. It helps.

Oooh I've sat next to your brother on a flight - only he chanted the Hail Mary - out loud.. Non stop... I think he went thru about 10 mysteries of the rosary he said the hail mary so many times...

The only turbulance that still gets to me is the clear air turbulance... I was on a flight from san fran to sydney - and we hit some -- just at that moment I decided to stretch my legs and leave the upper deck of the plane.. and was heading downt he stairs... It's not something I suggest doing often....

This actually is a pretty informative website that explains a lot about turbulance... I find that a lot of fear is in the not knowing... if you know what causes it -- it's a lot less fearful

http://www.fearless-flight.com/fligh...rbulence.shtml

[Halx]

Mmmm turbulence. I love it when the seat bounces and vibrates... it's very very relaxing. Take solace in your impromptu massage.

[Charlatan]

Originally Posted by Halx

Mmmm turbulence. I love it when the seat bounces and vibrates... it's very very relaxing. Take solace in your impromptu massage.

Does wonders for your flying induced erection, no?

[Sue]

Originally Posted by Halx

Mmmm turbulence. I love it when the seat bounces and vibrates... it's very very relaxing. Take solace in your impromptu massage.

That would be a nice thing if the chairs had some massage thingies built into it to massage you when the turbulence starts up.... but... there aren't any!

[Halx]

Originally Posted by Charlatan

Does wonders for your flying induced erection, no?

i'm still trying to figure out how it happens.

[maleficent]

Originally Posted by Sue

That would be a nice thing if the chairs had some massage thingies built into it to massage you when the turbulence starts up.... but... there aren't any!

you could sit next to halx and ummm.. be entertained...

[Sue]

Originally Posted by maleficent

you could sit next to halx and ummm.. be entertained...

[Elphaba]

No one said that only arm rests are available for a tight grip.

[Psycho Dad]

I was flying with a fellow once who had not flown before. My boss put me in charge of babysitting him. When we hit the bumpy part of the sky he asked me what was happening. I looked as askeared as I could and told him I'd never experienced this before but I didn't think it was good. I can be a dick. I made up for it though by getting him drunk in SLC.

[maleficent]

Here's a new career path for ya Halx.. official turbulance buddy... availailable to sit next to any hot woman who's afeared of turbulance... he's like a walking talking worry bead...

[Elphaba]

Thanks for the link, Mal. I'm usually ok with high altitude rock and roll, but DFW's low altitude wind sheer possibility always scared me spitless.

[Sue]

Originally Posted by Psycho Dad

I was flying with a fellow once who had not flown before. My boss put me in charge of babysitting him. When we hit the bumpy part of the sky he asked me what was happening. I looked as askeared as I could and told him I'd never experienced this before but I didn't think it was good. I can be a dick. I made up for it though by getting him drunk in SLC.

I guess I'm lucky enough to have sat next to people who have offered me their arm to hold on to

[raveneye]

You can congratulate yourself that you're not a famous celebrity like Tom Snyder, who panicked during some turbulence and started screaming at the top of his lungs, "We're doomed! We're going down! We're all going to die!" Was that really 10 years ago ? ? ?

Turbulence used to freak me out too, but eventually I got used to it and can actually sleep through it.

It's interesting, the probability of dying on a per hour basis is the same for planes as it is for cars. So although it is safer on average to travel by plane than by car for any given trip (planes cover more ground per hour), there's no reason to feel any safer during the time your in a plane than the time you're in a car.

[Psycho Dad]

Originally Posted by Sue

I guess I'm lucky enough to have sat next to people who have offered me their arm to hold on to

I'd be nice enough to not do that to a complete stranger.

[Sue]

Originally Posted by Psycho Dad

I'd be nice enough to not do that to a complete stranger.

That's good to know

[meembo]

I think it's great to be in a situation once in a while where shit is completely out of control, but where you are have to hand over trust into someone else's hands. It's good to know that's the relationship with life in general.

[martinguerre]

flying commerical jets, i figure it's about the same difference as a rollercoaster. i've pretty well convinced myself that planes actually ride on rails.

that, or tequila does the trick.

[Toaster126]

I don't like turbulence for the same reasons I don't like rollercoasters. I just try and think about something else like the low low low likelyhood of a problem when turbulence is encountered. Sleeping on the flight may also be a good option for you.

[Martian]

If you want to get over your fear of turbulence, you have to figure out what's causing it. Turbulence is uncomfortable, but it's not frightening in and of itself. So what are you worried about? The pilot losing control? The plane shaking itself apart?

What I'd recommend to help you deal with the fear is to take it upon yourself to read up on the planes you're flying on. Look into them, find out how much abuse they can take, flight histories, testing etc. I'd suggest starting with the most common aircraft types - Boeing planes like the 737 and 777 if you're flying domestic or 747 for international flights. Airbus A310, A330 and so on. Find out what these planes can take, then find out what sort of abuse turbulence typically dishes out.

When we don't know the facts our minds fill in the blanks, usually with the worst case scenario. Every bump, every creak, every shudder is a disaster waiting to happen in our minds. Once you know the truth - and not just a vague 'these planes can handle this' but the actual facts and figures - I think you'll find the fear goes away.

As for the discomfort of being bounced around, all I can recommend is the strongest antinauseant you can get your hands on.