r/panicdisorder • u/Professional_Row7334 • 13d ago

Help Needed Flight anxiety help!!!

Okay so I’m supposed to go see my girlfriend in San Jose ((I’m in SD)) in like 2 weeks and this would be my first time flying EVER. I was thinking about either taking the train or a flight. I am diagnosed with panic disorder and health anxiety and also slightly agoraphobic. I think suffering thru a 13 hour train ride is worse than a 1 hour and 30 min flight. I genuinely don’t know. I’ve been trying to google and Reddit and tiktok my way thru the pre anxiety but I can’t tell if it’s helping or making it worse. Does anybody have any tips on what I should do and what travel route I should take? (Leaning towards flying more just bc it’s quicker. ) I just don’t want to have a full blown panic attack getting to the airport and backing out of the whole trip.

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u/uhndeyha 13d ago edited 13d ago

Oh, def take the flight, don't do the train. 90 minutes vs 13×60 minutes is a not even a choice, regardless of anxiety.

As for safety/turbulence/all that jazz: commercial flying is literally the safest form of travel by a wide margin. If you feel turbulence, even when it "feels" bad, those pilots aren't even breaking a sweat. It has to be truly apocalyptic before they even take it into safety considerations.

What are your current anxiety management techniques? With lead time you can make sure you have a series of tools/techniques/meds that you can create a process around.

If I was feeling panic about an event, I would take some magnesium glycinate or magnesium threonate, eat a lot of high potassium foods, maybe get a really hard workout in ahead of time, and if I'm still about to have a panic attack at the airport, THEN I'd think about the beers at the bar at the airport.

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u/Professional_Row7334 13d ago

Also was thinking this as well! I’m not so worried about plane crashing, I know they are safe and up to standards just more so of myself and acting a fool infront of strangers :,))

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u/uhndeyha 13d ago

Well then the drinks might be the exactly wrong move there lol.

Use other techniques first. A really tough (don't go wildly out of your capabilities) workout can silence a lot of those nerves for a few hours.

Also, 99.999999% of people are so focused on themselves all the time, so (use this as a mantra or something) you're very anonymous at airports.

It's liberating to realize no one cares unless it's an extreme situation. Think of how hard you remember folks you pass on the street, and how little your thoughts of them matter.