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Flying and Anxiety Meds

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Can anyone recommend any medications (natural or otherwise) for anxiety - both anxiety over flying and social anxiety.

 

I'm going to be flying (terrified :tearful:) and attending something I'll find very difficult and would usually take medication to help me cope.

 

However, the medication I would usually take I can't as it's a banned substance in the country I'm going to :o and the other usual medication (beta-blockers) I can't take as it would literally kill me due to my medical conditions (no exaggeration, sadly :( )

 

Anyone any ideas of anything I could take (other than alcohol although I did suggest this to my GP!! :wine::drunk:) to help with either or both situations? Suggestions would be great and then I can check out with my GP whether they would be safe for me.

 

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Hmmm. I can't think of any medication. All the medication I have ever tried has never been effective at dealing with Social Anxiety. Some cognitive behaviour therapy has helped a little, and through both the help of my carer and my psychologist I now have some coping and management strategies that work in *some* situations. However, these are personally tailored to my own needs so it's debatable as to whether they would help you at all.

 

My next answer would, of course have been alcohol, which you've already mentioned (it's amazing what a glass of wine can do to calm the nerves!).

 

Hmmm.

 

Some herbal teas with a soothing/relaxing method might help - or indeed any sort of food that promotes the release of endorphins. Endorphins are our body's natural way of providing pain relief and they also give a sense of well-being and help relaxation. You can "encourage" the release of endorphins in your body by, strangely enough, clenching/unclenching your jaw and gritting your teeth (ever wonder why weight lifters always grit their teeth? It's not just because the weights are heavy!). Chocolate is also commonly mentioned as containing a natural endorphins as well.

 

The only other thing I can think about to do with flying is trying to keep your mind off the fact you are on a plane - listening to a walkman, reading a book, watching a film (if you have a laptop or something like an ipad), maybe playing computer games. I find taking something along to do with my special interests can help - I'm soon engrossed and pretty much forget about anything else.

 

Sorry I can't be more help - I know how horrible it can be!

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GP prescribed Phenergan for DS which is a very mild sedative. Worked fine on the ground but sent him mega-hyer at 42,000 feet. Have travelled sedative-free ever since as I have visions of the straightjacket coming out. Meditation or hypnosis?

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