One of my largest fears is the fear of flight, large planes or small ones it really does not matter to me. It comes down to a few things but the main thing is that I am a control freak to the letter. If I am not in control I do not feel safe. The same feeling I get when I am flying is the same feeling I have driving down the highway as a passenger in a car; I am not the one in control and that scares me. For me a plane makes me claustrophobic more than anything else I have encountered in my life. It is tiny, crowded and I am around a ton of people.ÃÂ I also have paruresis (click here), which is horrible on a plane trip!
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For most trips I am somewhat okay while still clutching the arm rest for dear life but my longest trip was out of Washington DC flying into London Heathrow which is about a six & a half hour flight. At the time I was a cigarette smoker so not being able to smoke when stressed & cooped up in a plane did numbers for my nerves.
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I have never been checked by a doctor for any anxiety attacks but it took everything my spouse could muster up to keep me firmly in plane without losing it in public, on a fully booked flight. Honestly I am not even sure how I made it through the flight there or the way back, I could only thank my spouse for doing such a wonderful job with the support he showed.
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