What is the best way to travel out of country, i am terrified of planes and can not drive the interstate by the Airport because of them( i stop in the middle of te road if they fly over me). and would prefer to be on a boat, i am asking this because my husband and I have been talking about going to Germany and maybe Scotland and Ireland, home of my ancestors, is there an easy way to over come my fears? or would the boat be better, my husband is not wanting to go on a boat,lol so we are having a hard time deciding if we want to make plans to go

Ask your husband to put sleepingpills in your milk, than take the plane. Works every time with B.A. :D

lolmight have to try that, but would i drink it knowing it was in there???...i doubt it,lmao

Sorry but I think planes are the best means of transportation if you´re going overseas. Had only Germany, Scotland and Ireland been on the same continent as you´re living in there would been some kind of train connection. Unfortunatly I don´t know of any boats to Europe, but I´m sure there´s some.
If you´re afraid of flying and your husband don´t wanna go by boat(seasickness?) then you have a problem. One of you just have to give in.

Come to think of it, planes and boats are the ONLY way to cross the Atlantic Ocean. ;)

Yeah, plane is the best way to go. If you really think about it, planes never really crash. I was very suspicious myself when travelling with plane for the first time, especially when the plane was really old one with rotors. But everything went perfectly.. I don´t claim to understand what flight fear is, but there is really no reason to think of things like crashing. Boats may be cheaper in some cases, but the trip takes really long.

Just think of the boring (but true) statistic that there seriously is more chance of you crashing and dying in the car on the way to the airport than there is of the actual plane going down.

Air is the easiest way to travel, and one of the safest. Having said that, if you have a phobia, the dread of flying could ruin your entire trip.

It will be worse for you (with your phobia) to fly by plane than it will for your husband (with his dislkike) to bear a sea voyage. Why not look for some sort of cruise that you can take as part of your vacation? That may make the idea more palatable to him!

Good luck.

Yeah, but most fears are irrational so thinking about such statistics won't actually help her if the mere *sight* of a plane frightens her. I think a lot of people are a little nervous every time they fly but that's a far cry from a phobia.
That must suck though Stormy - there are many people with very bad fear of flying and there are even courses where you can learn to overcome it so I can only imagine it's not pleasant.

A sleeping pill might actually be an idea - if you're relaxed and sleepy you might be less frightened. But knowing how bad fear of flying can be I cannot really give any advice because I don't know how bad it is with you. Going by boat would of course be WAY slower and possibly more expensive too.
What you shouldn't do in any case BTW is get drunk before you fly (in case you do decide to go). Firstly if you're too drunk you will not even be allowed on the plane and secondly it will NOT make you feel better.
I guess all you can do is try to find out for yourself whether you think you can overcome your fear. If you think you can... well, try to make things as relaxed as possible - notify the company you're flying with or the air staff that you are afraid of flying, bring a good book or a walkman, some candy to chew on in case your ears pop, etc. Good luck!

[ 04-27-2003, 04:22 PM: Message edited by: Melusine ]

Just pointing out that that was the one thing that put my mind at rest when I first stepped into a plane. It made me feel instantly better. Guess it's different for different people [img]smile.gif[/img]

Go back to sleep, you can't be giving advice, you drunk! [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Stormmystic, I've been flying since I was a little 6 year-old kid and have flown over 30 times since then. If I can do it as a little kid, you can too! It's not hard, you check in at the airport and then you show them your passport and they let you in to the waiting area. Then you go to your gate and walk over a metal bridge to the plane. Then you sit in the seat and get served drinks and food. Don't look out the window and it's just like being in a bus. You never even have to look at plane from the outside. And then you land hours later and walk off the plane and collect your luggage. See there's nothing to be scared of! [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[ 04-27-2003, 04:38 PM: Message edited by: Vaskez ]

wait there are bridges involved??????
oh god more fear...i havean extreme phobia of planes, i can not look at them with out going into a fit, my husband thinks it is funny, and i guess it is if you are not me, but come on how funny is stopping in the middle of the interstate...btw he quit letting me drive by the airport,lol if i have to go by there i take the long way around :D

As Mel said, phobias can be really debilitating. But it is possible to get over them. Stormy, perhaps you could go see a counsellor who can teach you some relaxation techniques that could help you get on the plane, then when you're in the air as well. There are also some very effective anti-anxiety drugs if you want to go that route, probably more useful than sleeping pills since you'd still be lucid, just calmer. There are also special courses you can do that use exposure therapy to help you lose your fear. If you get in touch with some sort of counselling service, or even an airport or airline I'm sure they can give you some advice on that sort of thing. Lots of people have a fear of flying, which is pretty understandable, but lots of people manage to overcome it too - I'm sure you could be one of them [img]smile.gif[/img]

No, the point is, it's an enclosed walkway, so you can't actually tell that it's a bridge and you don't actually have to see that you're going into a plane BECAUSE it's enclosed. So just pretend you're going onto a bus, don't look out the window and you'll be fine :D

Try hypnotizm !?

That's an interesting user name you have there john... [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Well, IF you could find a boat to cross the Atlantic it would at least 10 days to get there each way. I looked it up and there are some but the cost is (at least for me it would be prohibitive)about $3,600 per person. So you are looking at arouind $7,000 just to get there. Whereas, plan fares you can get for a song, if you travel at the right time of year. Cheaper, easier. quicker, and less expensive to have your doctor give you some strong drugs. OR ask him/her about some phobia desensitizing therapy.

I've been flying on planes every 6 months since I was born, A trip to germany is nothing compared to the hours i've logged going from Germany to Japan, you should feel quite fortunate, and don't get me started on going from New York to Tokyo *shudder* anyway... You basically should fly Luftansa, they've got the best service, OH and Delta... No one else, they're all untrustworthy IMHO... then again my state-side family lives in Monroe and thats where Delta started so thats kind of why i trust them and luftansa because of 10 years I lived in Germany... anyways... Yeah I recomend it completley... So have yourselves a ball over there, it's a real fun time... Trust me, you'll love it... and the flight is nothing, just sleep during it, it's not like terrorists are going to want to attack frankfurt... heh... unless it's PETA extremists trying to liberate hot-dogs [img]tongue.gif[/img]

"FEIR DAS VEINER SHNITZEL!!!" ^.^

Fear of flying is a well-known and established phobia. There are a number of courses out there, some of which include a flight as part of the graduation process. A Google search (for "fear of flying class") also turned up the following links:

Fear of Flying Help Course (free, online)

Baltimore Airport class for phobes

<a href="http://www.viamagazine.com/top_stories/articles/fear_of_flying02.asp">Someone else'e story and link to help<a>

The Psychologist's approach... with treatment

I fly frequently, and I do have moments where I get uptight. When that happens, I force myself to relax, close my eyes, and mentally count down the time until we land. When possible, I sleep. It helps routinely.