It isn’t anxiety, it’s sensory overload. I believe they are different. You can have both at the same time of course.
My apologies. I just meant he/she might be able to help. Like Xanax or something.
It’s possible. Can’t do it now – I’m getting on the plane tomorrow morning. But honestly, I am generally afraid of drugs. Being “highly sensitive” seems to correlate with unusual sensitivity to drugs too. At least, I’ve had a plethora of unusually bad reactions.
How about a couple of us put this thread on ‘watching’ or ‘tracking’ and then there might often be one or a couple of us around if/when you might want to be heard or let off some steam?
I, for one, am an unrepentant night owl so I’m often reading here mid-evening California time. Besides, I’d love to hear about those beach walks!
If the sensory overload leads to anxiety than same difference. Talking to your doctor would not likely hurt and might help.
Hope you get through this okay. Sounds like a “one day at a time” situation.
Earplugs and an eye mask.
Two things that are vital for surviving air travel (and also army barracks 
) )
Seriously, buy an eye mask. Not a cheap one–spend $15, not $3. Try it on before you travel, and make sure the elastic strap is comfortable, and that is has a little extra flap of cloth that rests on your nose comfortably, and blocks the light.
You’ll be able to sit in almost total darkness and relax during the flight.
Even if you don’t fall asleep soundly in the airplane seat, you will feel much, much calmer and more rested.
Same for the earplugs. Try on a couple different kinds…there are spongy ones, and silicone ones. The silicone type blocks almost all noise–but can create uncomfortable pressure in your ears at first. (You can actually hear/feel your pulse, which is kinda creepy, but after 10 minutes you get used to it.
You will feel much,much more relaxed, cut off in your own little dreamworld of quiet and darkness.
Me too. A night owl, that is. And I’ve been to California, and walked along the beach, but it’s been years, so it would be nice to hear about again.
Check in, any time, and let us know how you’re doing. We’re here for you.
New England to California would take a week by train - might be hard to get to a scheduled event doing it that way.
Gotta admit, getting a long way quickly is something flight is go for. These days, it’s about the only good thing I can say about commercial aviation.
(Can’t afford to do private aviation anymore myself, therefore, I haven’t flown for a long time now)
I only get sensory overload when I can’t escape the blasting airport news TVs which is intolerable on top of the regular airport noises, trying to concentrate on something else to prevent boredom, and having to listen for announcements about my flight.
Even in a quiet airport, I’m still not able to relax fully since I have to keep one ear open for flight information and have to worry about my flight actually taking off without major delays.
Well, folks, I made it to my airbnb last night. I ended up traveling with my adult daughter, which was a big help. She is no confident traveler either but between the two of us we managed to negotiate all the transitions, of which the most difficult proved renting a stupid car at SFO, because Hertz only had two clerks for a line of some twenty people. We waited thirty minutes for our previously reserved and prepaid car and between exhaustion and a burning headache I thought I might faint or throw up but I did not do either one, and the traffic to Santa Cruz was not terrible.
There is a heat wave here, almost 100 degrees through the south bay area but it does cool off considerably at night near the ocean, and we slept well. Today we have dedicated to recovery.
Glad to read you have strength in numbers and the plane trip was survivable. Hopefully the car dropping off will go smoother when you give it back.
Good plan to devote today to recovery. Hope that includes a long walk on the beach after it cools down. We’ll be waiting to hear about it~vicarious beach strolls R us!
We’re maybe six blocks from the beach so definitely there will be sand.
Not my favorite beach time – heat waves bring the millions from the bay area to Santa Cruz beaches – but if we get out there early or very late we’ll miss many of them.
I used to only walk on the beach in winter when I lived here. Many a stormy rainy mile I’ve walked there in my time.
I don’t suppose flying nonstop to the San Jose Airport is an option? It’s a smaller airport, and much more relaxed than SFO. We’ve decided we’re not flying anywhere unless we can fly out of San Jose. It’s too much stress and chaos otherwise.
There are no nonstops from Hartford to San Jose. There are from Boston, but I’d much rather face South San Francisco, with which I am tolerably familiar – I lived in the general vicinity for 60 years – than Boston.
Having lived in Boston for 12 years for graduate school, I’m with you. Seeing the Pacific coast is still on my bucket list, so keep those beach walk tales coming.
I’m glad you got to your destination safely and am so happy your daughter accompanied you. How’s your dad doing?
I’m glad to hear of a safe arrival. Enjoy your time there, and enjoy those walks on the beach.
Boo, you need to do it sooner than later. I’ve seen the sun set from a Santa Monica beach, and from the Golden Gate Bridge. There is something about a California sunset that just doesn’t compare anywhere.
Lots of people dislike flying. Such dismissive language is unhelpful to people with phobias, as you know. If not seeking advice, ignore the rest of this post.
The usual advice is to see a health professional. A doctor might prescribe a benzodiazepine or mild sedative - which may help. Many professionals believe this fear can be conquered without medication. This is easy for medical professionals to say. Still, one might need help to conquer fears if popping a couple Gravol does nothing.
Conquering phobias is sometimes a matter of gradually increasing exposure to similar situations. Start off by eating a crappy frozen dinner while seated at a tray table, stay in enclosed spaces, etc. There are a lot of books devoted to overcoming this fear, which often stress things like breathing and relaxation techniques.
Hypnotism is interesting. It does work for some people. The idea of your eye being in a certain position when thinking about something scary and reprogramming one’s thoughts with the eye in that position seems bizarre. Worth trying? Dunno. Low risk, instant cure if it works, I know a couple people I trust who says it worked for them. Still a bit skeptical.
Obviously books, music and company can help distract. Perhaps you have already tried all these things. Plus virtual reality therapy. A little light reading, then. Glad your daughter was helpful.
I’m thinking of speaking to my doctor about this. I used to have a flying phobia, but conquered it at about age 40 so that I could travel. After that I could fly, but was always nervous. However, the last couple of flights I took I was starting to really white-knuckle it, especially during turbulence.
I want to continue to travel, so maybe my doc could give me something so that I’m not whimpering and clutching the armrests all the time.