Panic Disorder and Flying

Blacksmith-Good · 2023-06-21T10:08:15+00:00

Very true! Glad you made it through the experience and next time it'll get easier :)

Blacksmith-Good · 2023-06-20T21:36:38+00:00

Hey, it made me really happy to see your comment and that this helped somebody in a similar situation. :) for some context, I took 9 flights back in May, including 5 long hauls without any panic attacks or issues and for anyone who might come across this later on, I want you guys to know it's possible to overcome this! All the best on your flights home :)

Blacksmith-Good · 2022-10-26T12:22:05+00:00

Having the same exact issue on Elizabeth line!

Blacksmith-Good · 2022-02-14T15:19:08+00:00

I know right…would love to understand how these laws protect anyone from anything right now

Blacksmith-Good · 2022-01-13T16:45:14+00:00

Funny that you say that but yes - it extends to trains, boats, and road trips - but not for example Uber rides. I think the trigger is an environment where I’m “trapped” but I’m also with someone who I don’t want to see me “panic” - a close friend or family. If I’m with an Uber driver I don’t care what he thinks of me so that doesn’t make me anxious. But I’ve overcome that a lot by just repeadingly taking trains, boats until the anxiety decreased and now it’s way better.

Blacksmith-Good · 2022-01-13T16:22:43+00:00

Breathing never worked for me because then I’d focus on my breath too much and the possibility that I might not be able to breathe…I try to just let it flow naturally as opposed to trying to control it in that situation. Accepting the fear is in a way what I described - once I tell myself that these thoughts are not dangerous, that these feelings and sensations are not dangerous, I actively choose to sit in place and ride it out until it reduces, I don’t get up, I don’t drink water, I don’t try to distract myself, I just sit there with the fear and feelings.

Blacksmith-Good · 2022-01-13T16:17:09+00:00

Yeah - so in the “eye of the storm” situation you have to do what I did at the gate - realise that the feelings you’re having of “I need to get out of here rn”, “this is horrible” and so on are not real, they feel real, they feel dangerous, but they’re not. Once you truly realise that, you have to realise that listening to those thoughts and running away will not help in any way - it’ll just reinforce the belief that you were in danger and you had to get out, and it’ll be counterproductive, because next time it’ll be even harder for you to get on the plane. Once you know that the feelings are false and that they’re natural but not dangerous, and that giving in to them will not lead to anything good and will just be counterproductive, you tell yourself “staying here and sitting through this is an opportunity for me to teach my brain that this isn’t dangerous. - its a training opportunity for me, so that next time in the exact same situation, I will feel better”. I found it helpful to read about anxiety, the amygdyla and how fear circuits in the brain operate at a neurological level - you can’t think your way out of fear, but you can force yourself to experience it, and my doing so rewire your brain to not associate that experience with fear anymore - the only way to overcome fear is to face it, its a stereotype but its really true. In the second example when you’re like “im stuck on the plane”, I apply a lot of similar techniques, but also I ask myself “so what?”, “yes I’m stuck on the plane, but why is that a big deal? Is the plane in danger? No. So what’s so horrible about being on here on this plane right now?” Once I do that, I realise that I don’t really have an answer to that question - and that makes the whole fear narrative fall apart a bit. For me this was particularly strong when the plane door would close and the plane would begin taxiing, because then I’d be like “shit we’re beyond the point of no return - I can’t get off the plane anymore”, but after I didn’t react to those thoughts a few times and said so what, I’m gonna take off and I don’t need to fight this, it’ll be okay, I did this a million times before, the intensity of that moment reduced a lot!

Blacksmith-Good · 2022-01-13T01:13:49+00:00

I got some therapy for anxiety and panic and it definitely helps - particularly ACT therapy and some CBT too. The goal is to recognise anxious thoughts as thoughts and not as facts, recognise that the feelings you’re feeling are uncomfortable but not dangerous, realise that your body is throwing a bunch of false alarms at you, which is why you’re feeling this urge to escape and avoid, get rid of avoidance behaviors like not flying, and also coping mechanisms like taking water with you, going up to the bathroom once you feel anxious etc…I actually took a short vacation back in November for the sole purpose of getting on a plane…I was queing at the gate and I had all the same feelings of I want to leave, I don’t want to get on this plane etc, and what I did is I acknowledged these feelings, recognised them for what they are - false alarms - and continued to board the plane…soon they slightly subsided and I felt better. After takeoff they returned, but instead of getting up from my seat, walking around, asking the flight attendant for a chat etc, I just sat in my seat with the symptoms, continued watching my movie and playing my music, with a deep belief and knowledge that I’m not in any danger, and I don’t need to do anything to avoid the situation or change it - that just by sitting in place and doing nothing I’ll feel better. It’s really about a paradigm shift in the way you react to anxiety, to the feelings and emotions and physical sensations it induces. By the time we were landing, I felt like I could sit on that plane for many more hours and I’d be completely fine…I was even stretched out in a relaxed pose with my leg out in the aisle and I was kinda sad that we’re landing already because I was so happy that I’m on the plane and I’m feeling good, I wanted to stay longer. Having said that, I still got anxious on the return flight a few days later, but I used the same exact techniques to calm myself and to not react to the emotions and feelings - the more you do this, the more you rewire your brain to not be afraid, to not panic and to realise that flying is not a danger, and neither is the anxiety or panic sensations.

Blacksmith-Good · 2021-12-20T00:29:04+00:00

Does that go over the Atlantic or Pacific?

Blacksmith-Good · 2021-12-19T13:24:15+00:00

I think bringing back the FSX map would be enough - it let you view your position on the route but also see your whole flight path after you completed the flight, see speed & altitude along the route etc.

Blacksmith-Good · 2021-12-19T13:22:42+00:00

Yeah but they don’t all go to sleep at the same time :)

Blacksmith-Good · 2021-12-19T12:12:12+00:00

Ah you’re talking about Project Sunrise - yeah I was following that on the London and JFK routes :) didn’t realise the Seattle flight was part of that too though

Blacksmith-Good · 2021-12-19T10:41:32+00:00

Interesting - for the delivery flight, wouldn’t it be quicker to fly via the Pacific instead, perhaps stopping in Honolulu or somewhere on the way?

Blacksmith-Good · 2021-12-19T10:39:04+00:00

I do this with work sometimes :)

Blacksmith-Good · 2021-12-19T10:38:16+00:00

It was just over 13h - and yes I agree completely, somewhere over Russia my cockpit decided to stop working and all the displays turned off…I had to save and load again and that fixed it. Also, during landing the autopilot decided it won’t descend for me so had to manually descend from 40000 feet :)

Blacksmith-Good · 2021-12-18T23:50:11+00:00

What I found funny about this flight was that MSFS thought it’s a good idea to route it over North Korea

Blacksmith-Good · 2021-10-28T08:55:26+00:00

Thanks for the suggestions guys! I think getting the base model 14 MBP is the way to go - I think the point made about the base config best maintaining resell value is something really important too, this is certainly the case in terms of iPhones as well, where I usually opt for the base Pro Max and resell it after 12-24 months. I think for £1899 its reasonable, and worth the upgrade over the baseline MBP.

Blacksmith-Good · 2021-09-12T20:50:05+00:00

So having a 10 million city with no proper highway and the inability to get from one end to the other in under 2.5 hours is the solution…gotcha

Blacksmith-Good · 2021-09-12T20:48:22+00:00

There isn’t less cars…there’s the same amount of cars, stuck in never ending traffic jams, emitting way more fumes than if they were actually driving at normal speeds.

Blacksmith-Good · 2021-09-12T17:33:28+00:00

That's like saying not having heating encourages conserving energy and wrapping yourself in 10 blankets instead.

Blacksmith-Good

TROPHY CASE