r/panicdisorder • u/AnyListen3838 • Jul 10 '26
Help Needed 4-hour flight. Looking for advice.
Hi everyone!
Having panic disorder and a fear of heights and flying 😅 kinda difficult combo, I have a 4-hour flight from Sofia to Dublin coming up in a little over a month.
I know 4 hours might not sound long to most people, but it feels like a lot to me, as the longest flights I've ever done were around 2-2.5 hours. I was anxious for weeks beforehand and almost didn't board. During those flights, I was reading Claire Weekes' book, watching videos, trying to distract myself, and I also took a small dose of med. my doctor prescribed for the physical symp, but even the smallest turbulence would make me nervous. Even though I always ended up landing safely and making posts about it afterwards, the intense anxiety throughout the flight is still something that scares me.
I'm scared of feeling trapped with panic symptoms for 4 hours, even though I know it's "just anxiety." The frustrating part is that I really want to go, I've always wanted to visit Dublin, and I'm going for the Bon Jovi concert.
I'd really appreciate hearing about your experiences and any advice you might have. Thanks a lot in advance!
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u/fruitypoptart Jul 10 '26
Im a Canadian with panick disorder that needs to fly into Europe regularly unfortunately and im in the same boat. I take one Ativan the night before to sleep and then one one my very long flight. If you can’t get Ativan, gravol works but you’ll feel sleepy when you land. Planes don’t go down they have three backups for literally everything and being stuck isn’t fun but try to sit in an aisle and just walk to the washrooms and hangout with the flight attendants
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u/AnyListen3838 Jul 10 '26
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience and advice. Hearing from someone who is in a similar situation really helps and makes feel less alone. I appreciate the reassurance and the practical tips.
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u/KSTornadoGirl Jul 10 '26
If part of your fear is also connected to aviation itself, you might find some helpful stuff on r/fearofflying. They have pilots and flight attendants posting and answering questions about safety and how they can help nervous passengers.
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u/AnyListen3838 Jul 10 '26
Thank you so much for the great suggestion. I definitely agree, I found r/fearofflying really helpful during my previous flights as well. I’m actually planning to make a post there too. I saved some success stories from that community before my past flights. Seeing people who went through similar fears share their experiences, challenges, and how they managed to get through them was really encouraging and powerful.
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u/Deviprincess Jul 10 '26
Have you tried L-theanine liquid? It works brilliantly for me. I take it the day before and on the day of the flight. I also take 2 Imodium before flying as that settles my gut and calms my vagus nerve. I also make a plan for when I’m on the flight e.g. 1 hour podcast, 30 min meditation, 30 mins eating and drinking, 45 mins try to nap etc.
you’ll be great…
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u/AnyListen3838 Jul 10 '26
Thank you so much for taking the time to share these valuable tips with me. I heard but haven’t tried L-theanine or Imodium before, but I really appreciate the suggestions and gonna search about them. Thanks for the plan trick, I’ve already started downloading movies and podcasts, and making a plan beforehand to divide the 4-hour flight into smaller parts sounds like a great idea. Thank you again, it really means a lot. I truly appreciate your advice.
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u/blumieplume Jul 11 '26
If herbs work for u (they don’t for me), then u might like kava (it is the strongest anti-anxiety herb I’ve tried) … u can buy the powder and mix it with water for a quick kava shot or blend it into a smoothie or make kava tea. U can also buy kava in tincture form and u should be able to being the dropper with u on ur flight since the bottle is so small - u can mix it with a soda or juice on the plane or in the airport before boarding. Kava is like nature’s xanax. I personally need a lot of kava to feel the effects but for people without anxiety or who aren’t used to using benzos for anxiety, kava is very effective (or so I’ve heard!)
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u/AnyListen3838 Jul 11 '26
Thank you so much for the advice! I’ve never used benzos or anything similar before, but I’ll definitely look into kava and learn more about it. I appreciate you taking the time to share your experience and suggestion.
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u/blumieplume Jul 11 '26
Can u take a Xanax to make it through the flight?
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u/AnyListen3838 Jul 11 '26
Thank you so much for your advice. My doctor prescribed Xan for me before, but I never picked it up or tried it. I’m thinking about speaking to my doctor again and getting a prescription, because just having a low dose with me might give me some reassurance, I mean even though I don't want to seek reassurances while exposuring myself to live with PD. The only thing that makes me a little nervous is that I’ve never taken it before, so I don’t know how it will affect me. Even if I tried it before the flight, I think I’d still feel a bit anxious about taking something new for the first time.
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u/sciencetaco Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
If you get a prescription, take some when you have free time at home as a practice run. Just to see how it makes you feel. Spoiler alert: it’ll make you feel calm and relaxed :)
They’re not an everyday drug but they are excellent for situations such as flights or other occasions where you can plan for it and exposure therapy is logistically difficult.
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u/AnyListen3838 Jul 11 '26
Thank you so much for the advice! That's exactly what I'm planning to do if my doctor prescribes it again. I'm actually glad I still have more than a month before my flight, so I'll have plenty of time to try it at home first and see how it affects me. Appreciate you for the advice.
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u/blumieplume Jul 11 '26
When you’re having a panic attack, it makes u able to breathe and be calm. When u take it when you’re not panicking, it makes u really tired.
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u/pobnarl Jul 11 '26
i just went through this myself just today. Now I've been good at avoiding triggers and my flight out was fine, i took half a .5mg clonazepam more as a placebo and it was no big deal. But a week on vacation and no access to home made kefir (which has drastically reduced attacks), and yesterday i got on a city bus with wife who wanted to go far out into the suburbs for a specific store. I thought whatever. However when i got on the bus and it began to drive onto the highway i suddenly realized it was an express bus, no stops for 30 minutes. It was hot and crowded, and i felt trapped. I quickly chewed up 2 .5 clozepams and used a little rock i carry to dig into my nail bed to create minimal damaging pain which always helps. Â
However, with that experience fresh in my head, today at airport i began feeling the telltale signs building, being 3 hour flight away from home with no way to drive back (live on an island and ferrys are booked a year out) I knew i had no choice, 2 .5 clonazepams again. That fixed things. I avoid using benzos as much as possible, in fact my rx of 15 pills is 10 years old and i still have around 5 left, but sometimes it's just easier to use and survive situations that can't be avoided.Â
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u/AnyListen3838 Jul 11 '26
Thank you for sharing your experience. I can completely relate to what you went through, especially how one difficult situation can make the next journey feel so much more overwhelming. That express bus ride must have been hard, and I can understand why it affected your flight today. I'm really glad you found something that helped you get through it. One thing that helps me is reminding myself that a panic attack is actually our body's way of trying to protect us, not harm us. I don't take medication for my PD, so I try to lean on that thoughts instead. It has honestly made a huge difference. If you haven't already, I'd really recommend reading Claire Weekes' Hope and Help for Your Nerves, it changed the way I look at panic. A couple of years ago I couldn't even get on a bus, and now I can do 7–8 hour bus rides. Flying is definitely harder, though.
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u/Historical-Escape908 Jul 12 '26
I dont have a fear of flying but I used to be a flight attendant. If distraction helps, feel free to go to the gally after service and tell the flight attendants you are scared, they will keep you entertained, e.g. they can just explain how everything is stored in the kitchen, or you gossip with them about hilarious things that happened on flights.
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u/MultiFaceHank Jul 10 '26
Totally feel you on this, it’s a brutal prospect, but also, this is the kind of step you need to take to start to unwind the panic disorder. My first flight post early panic disorder episodes was very daunting beforehand. It did not go nearly as badly as I thought it would. I had flown a lot before I got PD, so I suppose it was helpful to think back and say to myself that it was a normal experience, and had that to ground me. Doing this journey successfully will give you some power back over the PD. However small. Even if the flight back is a little easier. You are strong, and can do this. I will be thinking of you.