Combating the fear of flying

[iamwiz82]

Lola and I will be getting married next June on the Big Island of Hawaii. This will be a small ceremony with just our closest family and friends. We will be having a reception here in Michigan in August after we get back for the rest of the family and such. Anyways, my father has never flown and is completely petrified of it. I really want my parents to be there, unfortunately if my father does not go, my mother will not either.

My father is going to be 61 when we get married and I am worried that if he does overcome his fear and takes to the air, he will stress himself to the point of a heart attack. He is already worked up about it and has not given us a final answer on if he can make it or not. I know it hurts him that he could give up seeing it, but I'd rather him not go and not stress out and lose it.

I have thought about getting him a train ride to California and then a cruise or something to Hawaii but that would be insanely expensive. I also thought about taking him to Chicago for the day since we live in the Metro Detroit area the fare is only $86/person including taxes. It would get him in the air for 45 minutes or so, but I dont know if he would handle that any better.

The amusing part about all of this is that he used to take me to the airport when I was younger to spot planes as they took off and landed along with going to air shows every year.

 

[blackdogdeek]

i think the short beginner flight is a good idea. you can also try dramamine to knock him out during the flight.

 

[rudder]

Just know that your more likely to die driving to the airport than from a plane crash.

 

[MattCo]

Maybe a doctor can prescribe something that will render him unconscious for the duration of the flight.

Thats what they would always do to B.A. Baracus when they had to fly him somewhere.

-MC

 

[JoeKing]

Yeah the idea of being in a small metal tomb somehow floating in air supported by air traveling at hundreds of miles an hour thousands of feet up can be scary. I mean what can you do if the plane starts to go down? As it plummets like a falling boulder from thousands of feet up what can a passanger do as the oxegan masks fall and the screams of the passangers and tearing metal fills the cabin? Or what if the plane explodes from an unknown terrorists bomb or is hijaked forced to crashland into a preschool? Would you feel anything as the thousand degrees heat and shockwave crumple the world around you? What if the bulkhead beside where you are sitting suddenly collapses from the HUGE stresses of a metal box banking left to right.... left to right, sucks you out of the plane with such force your ripped from your seat no matter how tight you buckle that seatbelt!!



j/k I love to fly

 

[MrBond]

Have his or your doctor perscribe some Ambian for the trip. One of the guys from PA gets very anxious in public situations and he mentioned that when they flew cross country to go to a convention on the east coast, he had his doctor give him some Ambian and it made the flying much easier.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: MattCo
Maybe a doctor can prescribe something that will render him unconscious for the duration of the flight.

Thats what they would always do to B.A. Baracus when they had to fly him somewhere.

-MC

HAHA, this is what I told him!

 

[moshquerade]

seriously he can get a Doc to prescribe something to relax him.

my mother had never flown either and she finally got up the nerve to do it and now she LOVES it. sometimes it's the fear of the unknown that has to be overcome.

 

[ragazzo]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: MattCo
Maybe a doctor can prescribe something that will render him unconscious for the duration of the flight.

Thats what they would always do to B.A. Baracus when they had to fly him somewhere.

-MC

HAHA, this is what I told him!

A-Team. Oh memoooorieeeees!

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: ragazzo

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: MattCo
Maybe a doctor can prescribe something that will render him unconscious for the duration of the flight.

Thats what they would always do to B.A. Baracus when they had to fly him somewhere.

-MC

HAHA, this is what I told him!

A-Team. Oh memoooorieeeees!

We took a pilgrimage to Hannibal's grave years ago. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=1158&pt=George%20Peppard

 

[Yossarian]

you can always remind him that the pilot is probably a man in his 50's who has been flying regularly for 30 years. if it were that dangerous he never would have lived that long

 

[Kipper]

One thing: LOTS of alcohol.

 

[BigToque]

You want to apply some behaviour modification therapy sessions, and you can do it yourself using a technique called Systematic Self-Desensitization.

Systematic Self-Desensitization

Also, try picking up this book:

Behaviour Modification: What it is and how to do it

I'm in the authors class (Garry Martin) this semester and it is a great textbook. I highly recommend it. We actually just covered an example just like you've described in Ch. 26 (called Systematic Self-Desensitization).

 

[iamwiz82]

I do not live near them, so doing this myself would not work, but i'll ask him if he would go to therapy. It cannot hurt

 

[db]

Have him look at it like this:
"Yes, I could die on this plane. But stressing or worrying won't keep the aircraft up in the air. If it's going to happen, it's going to happen, and there's nothing I can do about it. So I might as well RELAX."

That actually works for some people.