Gosh I hate planes. Well I used to despise them, and "unlucky" for me, I travel alot. Now I've gotten better and just stress at take off and landing. I remember when I was young, I didn't really care. Maybe it was because I wasn't aware of what could happen. Then when I hit my teen years after 9/11, I started making mental lists: maybe the dude with the hat has a gun? What if the plane catches on fire? Or we miss our landing? Or the takeoff? If something happens, I won't have a suitcase anymore. Does that mean I'll get to go shopping? But if the plane crashes, I probably won't get to.
The whole process of flying is stressful: get to the airport 2 hours earlier, which means packing your bags the night before, put an alarm clock at 5 am and asking for an early breakfast. Then wake the grumpy kids up, get a taxi, cue for 1 hour at check in, "you are 2 kilos over the authorised limit", pay the fine, go through security and dash for the gate. Plus for some reason, the kids always seem to disappear somewhere. You hear an announcement "the plane will be delayed", general grown. Once your plane is finally announced, you get to cue up again to board, then wait for the person in front of you to put away his bag in the overhead storage area, find your seat, ignore the security announcement and brace yourself for take off. You have just enough time for a prayer to the god of planes: "please let the pilot not be suicidal or drunk. I hope he knows what he is doing", and the plane takes off.
For those out there who, like me, tend to stress before taking the plane, here are a few tips:
-Meds. That was my first reflex, and my mom's. I'm not talking about anything strong, just some herbal pills or homeopathy. Something over the counter. I take 2gr/1pill or Melatonin or Metarelax 1 hour before the flight. Just head to the local pharmacy and ask for an anti-stress.
- Rituals. Dumb, I know, but they help. Some people need to have the same dinner the night before the flight, others have to carry their lucky charm. Personally, I need to think "safe trip, safe travel, safe vacation" three times. Again, dumb, but I do feel better after that.
- Books and magazines. This is during take off or landing. If you really can't stand it, find yourself a good book or magazine to try and take your mind off it.
- Talk to your neighbour. At least you'll make a new friend.
- Look out the window. I'm a slight control freak, and I like to know what's going on. Which is one of the reasons why I hate flying: I can't control anything. So instead I look out the window to see what is going on, and eventually the landscape.
- Sleep. If you can, try sleeping before take off. That's my brother's special technique. Only some people have this special capacity of sleeping wherever, whenever.
- Do something else. During the flight, try thinking about something else: read a book, magazine, watch a movie, play a game etc.
I tend to remember, as a kid, that taking the airplane was "fun". There was nearly no security checks, I could run up and down the lanes, people could smoke, the seats were bigger, there was more space, and I could even sleep on the floor. I even remember a trip to Asia where everyone was sleeping on the floor. Taking the train also used to be fun: where changing wagons was a sport, a lady would come sell you food and drinks (instead of going to the bar), and when you flushed the toilets, you could see the tracks.
And I just wanted to know, I can't be the only one who grips the armrest and thinks "please don't crash" every time the plane turns (or does anything for that matter) during takeoff?
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