LOL Rat!! Oh my, do I sympathise as a fellow arachnophobe!!
I'm going to explain how I've dealt with it so far in hopes of helping people who are in the same situation (I saw when checking the results that at least one other FoLC has said they've got that phobia of planes).
Well, first, you need to have something to motivate you. You can't conquer a phobia just for the sake of conquering it. You need to think of something you absolutely *want* to do and can't do without taking a plane, such as, I don't know, if your biggest dream is to visit the Fiji Islands, or if you really, really want to attend an event on the other side of the planet, or if a really close friend of yours or a member of your family moves halfway across the world. You need something that basically gives you no choice: either you take the "*%#£$! flying thingy" (as I used to call them) or else you stay home and forget about it. You need something that makes you say: NO WAY I'm forgetting about it. The motivation has to be stronger than the phobia.
Now, you need time to work on your own phobia. It won't go away overnight. I've been working on my phobia of planes for almost three years, and I'm still not confident at all when the moment comes to board the thing. But it does get better with every flight.
I started off by watching planes take off. My parents and I were on holiday in Venice, and the campsite happens to be at the very end of the airport, so we really saw the planes take off. I observed dozens of them. I didn't see any of them crash, which helped.
The second step was to make the decision and set a date for my first flight. I talked with trusted friends about the phobia and told them I really wanted to conquer it. One of them convinced me almost two years ago that I could give it a try, and I made the decision thanks to the conversation with him: I would take a plane the following April, for a friends' gathering in the UK. The fact that it was in the UK gave me a back-up plan in case I couldn't do it (I could still take a train), plus it was going to be a short flight, so if I panicked, I wouldn't have to stay stuck up there for 8 hours or so. Also, a trusted friend of mine was going to fly with me. Flying for the first time just by yourself is really not something you want to do if you're plane-phobic. Oh, and I didn't tell anybody about it except the people who *had* to know. I didn't want additional pressure, especially if I freaked out at the last minute and ran out of the airport.
Anyway, first flight happened. Friend was here to reassure me even when I asked her every 30 seconds if that noise or that feeling was normal. I even shrieked and asked her what was that smoke coming out of the engines (!!!!!!!!!!!!) when in fact it was just clouds. Yes, I'm laughing about it now, but my heart just about stopped when I saw that!!
I'm not going to claim it was easy. Take-off and climbing up was the worst part, and that's one part of the flight that I still totally dislike.
But, much to my own disbelief, I did it.
Then it became a bit easier. I had my first transatlantic flight in October, where I even sat near the window for part of the flight and took plenty of pictures.
One of the biggest steps for me was last February, when I took my first transatlantic flight *by myself*.
(and survived the experience!)
Now, to clarify, while calming pills and the like do calm you down when you're *on* the plane, they're not very useful for phobias. Yes, they will knock you out. But the worst of the panic is actually the anticipation before the flight. From the moment you take your ticket to the moment you're up in the air. I've learned to mostly control that. I'm mostly fine until a couple of weeks before the flight. Then there are a few nightmares, but again they're less and less frequent these days. The morning of the flight is still something I don't cope very well with, but I'm hoping to get better with this.
Anyway, my point is, if *I* could do it, anybody can. Because I was very, very much a plane-phobic.
Sorry to have rambled for so long!!!
Kaethel
