Drugs and fear of flying.

[Apollo16]

I have an intense fear of flying, not sure,why because my father is a pilot, but I have always hated having to fly. I have a big interest in planes and aviation, but actually flying gives me severe anxiety. In the past, I used alcohol to help with this fear, specifically huge doses of vodka or beer before security, followed by drinking heavily in the bar before boarding. I hated doing this, as a hangover+jet lag was always HELL! It was also a very inconvenient and nauseating way of dealing with the fear. For family vacations, we would often fly from home to various locations within a couple of hours reach by flight. This almost always meant an early morning flight and getting up at 4 AM or some other horrible hour, followed by pounding down vodka secretly (I felt like a severe alcoholic), and then buying as many cocktails as time would allow before boarding, in the departure lounge. The alcohol was highly effective at taking the edge off, and it stopped many of the physical symptoms of my anxiety, leaving me free to use anti anxiety cognitive behavioral excersizes.

Last year, I discovered benzos, and began using them for my fear of flying, specifically the 1 hour flight to my college city from home. This I found was far more effective than the alcohol. I would sometimes load my system up with large doses of Clonazepam over the 2 days or so before leaving, and would then take a dose of Xanax before boarding. The benzos eliminated virtually all trace of anxiety about flying, although in a different way to Alcohol. Instead of feeling "numb", I would just not give a fuck if we crashed or flew, I just stopped caring. This year, I have began using fairly large doses of Clonazepam and small amounts of Alcohol to fly. For the family vacation flight this year for instance, I built the Clonazepam up in my system for around 3 days prior to the flight, and then drank a few cocktails at the departure lounge bar. No fear in any way at all for several hours, by which time we had landed. No hangover either, just a nice deep sleep from the Clonazepam, which also took away any jet lag.

I am interested in hearing other flying phobics "drug cocktails" or just plain drugs that they use to help fly. I have considered trying GHB for this purpose. Does anyone think that it would work? Has anyone got any experience using it for flying? Do you prefer Clonazepam or Xanax for fear of flying, and why so?

 

[pill_billy]

Instead of feeling "numb", I would just not give a fuck if we crashed

ahh the beauty and curse of xanax...

 

[wezface]

I would actually recommend propranolol, which is a beta blocker, as it also inhibits action in the amygdala which is the fear center of your brain. Many performers take it for stage fright and related things.

 

[cuivre]

2nd for propranolol. I took it when I was performing more regularly and was having anxiety during flights and I much prefer it to Xanax for flying anxiety. After a few flights with Xanax the anxiety gets much worse without it and then you're stuck. Propranolol may not be as effective as a benzo for some but should allow you to remain aware but calm enough to actually address the issue versus just zoning out and becoming less and less capable of handling it on your own. I would probably go for Xanax for a really long-haul flight but for anything under 8 hours or so... anything domestic... I'd choose propranolol each and every time.

 

[PotatoMan]

I take 5mg of xanax on plane rides. Any less than that wouldn't knock me out. I like to sleep through that kinda shit.

I have a bad fear of flying too. My anxiety is ridic.

Ill compare Clonaz to diaz since iirc they have long half-lives no? Idk bout Clonaz's strength but Xanax eliminates my anxiety the best out of all the BZD's I've taken

 

[wezface]

I take 5mg of xanax on plane rides. Any less than that wouldn't knock me out. I like to sleep through that kinda shit.

I have a bad fear of flying too. My anxiety is ridic.

Ill compare Clonaz to diaz since iirc they have long half-lives no? Idk bout Clonaz's strength but Xanax eliminates my anxiety the best out of all the BZD's I've taken

5mg is a lot of Xanax to be recommending to strangers, man, even if they have a tolerance. Seriously.

 

[PotatoMan]

I didn't recommend it Wez. I was just saying it's my pref.

I have no tolerance to it neither. But yeah I guess it's not advisable cuz I was so fucked up in the airport n shit. If you're flying alone you gotta find your own sweet spot. If it wasn't for my parents I'd prob get lost in the airport or be denied access to the plane or something.

 

[wezface]

Even if you don't say, "you should do this," telling someone that you personally do x amount without a warning is not a great idea. People think, "well if he can do that much I sure can" and maybe they can't.

 

[PotatoMan]

yeah that's how I got my friend deep into a focalin binge with me. We had to actually breathe for ourselves. Scariest binge. Almost went over

Won't happen again wez

 

[Erikmen]

I take 5mg of xanax on plane rides. Any less than that wouldn't knock me out. I like to sleep through that kinda shit.

I have a bad fear of flying too. My anxiety is ridic.

Ill compare Clonaz to diaz since iirc they have long half-lives no? Idk bout Clonaz's strength but Xanax eliminates my anxiety the best out of all the BZD's I've taken

I think any decent benzodiazepine will work in regular dose. But if you really think about it statistically, you'll that crashing is almost impossible. It's one of those bizarre percentages..like it's way riskier walking than dying from an airplane crash, or driving..
Fears are abstract though..

 

[PotatoMan]

Yea I always remember what my friend told me when I was going to england(before drugs)
"you'll quicker get into a car accident than a plane crash"

I really only take the xans to sleep nowadays.

I been really accepting of death cuz it'll come when it does ya kno?

 

[Erikmen]

I accepted but still fear death. I guess I just missed a lot years and feel compelled to live more when I finally get well.

 

[wezface]

I know anxiety isn't generally a logical response, but just in case it helps, OP, here are the stats according to the NTSB:

The National Safety Council compiled an odds-of-dying table for 2008, which further illustrates the relative risks of flying and driving safety. It calculated the odds of dying in a motor vehicle accident to be 1 in 98 for a lifetime. For air and space transport (including air taxis and private flights), the odds were 1 in 7,178 for a lifetime, according to the table.

In absolute numbers, driving is more dangerous, with more than 5 million accidents compared to 20 accidents in flying. A more direct comparison per 100 million miles pits driving's 1.27 fatalities and 80 injuries against flying's lack of deaths and almost no injuries, which again shows air travel to be safer.

 

[Capt_Tom_Bunn_LCSW]

As you may have guessed, this is not a sustainable strategy. Research done by the Stanford University School of Medicine found that each time a person flies using benzos, they cause damage to their emotional control circuits. As you said, you don't give a fuck if we crash or fly. That disconnect between your high level thinking and the emotional control circuits leave the circuits on their own; they get the shit kicked out of them. As you see, you are needing more meds. And then meds are not enough; you need alcohol as well. Are you aware that this is dangerous? Though a person can take a large amount of benzos (alone: not combined with anything) or a large amount of alcohol and survive, when benzos and alcohol are combined, the brain's breathing regulation system is inhibited, and with enough of the two, breathing slows enough that the person passes out. If enough of the combination has been taken in, after passing out, breathing stops altogether.

What you need is to train your mind to not produce excessive stress hormones when you fly. How? Take a look at "SOAR: The Breakthrough Treatment for Fear of Flying." It's my book; I've specialized in treating flight phobia both as an airline captain and a licensed therapist for over 30 yours, and what you find there is not the same of crap that doesn't work (such as breathing exercises, and thinking good thoughts, and keeping your mind occupied). Just read the reviews of the book and you will know you are on the right track.

 

[Apollo16]

I know anxiety isn't generally a logical response, but just in case it helps, OP, here are the stats according to the NTSB:

None of this counts for anything if you have a strong irrational fear like me. I probably know more about aircraft and flying than 95% of people, and have grown up around planes and airports, however the anxiety is still incredibly strong. I have tried all of the non drug methods to deal with my fear of flying, and none of them work. Using benzos for flying is fine for me, as I have max about 8 flights each year. Without the benzos when I fly, I feel shaky and experience other typical symptoms of severe anxiety. Getting out of the taxi to the airport early in the morning, and smelling the burnt jet fuel as a plane roars into the early morning sky, it is just too much to cope with.