The night before nerves are kicking

[Phil]

Why is it easier to advise others but not yourself?

Flying to Germany tomorrow. Have been good up until yesterday and tonight. Now tge nerves and apprehension are kicking, and the negative thoughts are slightly spiralling. I hate this bit. I know I can do it as I flew all over the place last year. Trying to tell myself that tge stressful day at work today hasn't helped and that is why but it is so frustrating when all I want is a peaceful evening with my wife. Flying with my new boss and partly that is stressing me, but I have flown by myself before so....

Very frustrated and annoyed. Bit upset if I am honest but I think that is more frustration than anything. Where has my 'just do it' attitude!!!

Any kick up the rears would help. It is only two hours and back on Friday. Even beginning to have stupid thoughts about bad things happening because it is good Friday. How silly is that.

Phil.  

[Phil]

Wow. It is amazing to think how far you have come. Could you ever have imagined a time where you were only a little nervous the night before or the day before. Whether you love the flight or not, I think that is one heck of an achievement. Promise me you will remember to stop today and feel proud for at least 5minutes. 

You are going to rock it tomorrow. Before you know it you will have that old familiar feeling of being home. The warmth and joy it brings. 

Just keep yourself busy today and tomorrow will sort itself out. I will keep an eye to the sky and think of you achieving your goals. You are an inspiration to us all and a testament to this forum and the work of Keith. 

Oh yeah get a window seat near the wing. Smoothest ride. Also some of those American cities looking amazing by night. 

AND DON'T FORGET TO POST HOW WELL YOU GOT ON!!!!

Go easy. 
Phil. 

Zsuzsanna said:

Hey Phil how're you doing? My flight is tomorrow and I've been OK so far, but now it's starting to kick in again. It's weird, I feel my nerves getting all worked up, butterflies in the stomach, that bad restless feeling, had a hard time sleeping last night... But at the same time I seem to have a pretty strong "counter-attack" going in my head where I can totally imagine myself on the other end after landing, like something's telling me "of course I'll be there like that"... I've landed so many times at Copenhagen Airport by now, maybe 20?? At least I have some memory of that to hang on to. I am also really pleased and proud that I only started to seriously worry one day ahead of the flight, yay!!!!! I guess the more I focus on the "end" (happy landing) rather than the "means" (nervous in the air for X hours), the better I feel about the prospect of flying... Anyway right now I'm just sitting around waiting for the online check-in to open, at least that makes me feel in control of something, hope I get a good seat...

[Phil]

Just keep doing what you are doing. Don't worry about the last minute nerves. Just a bit of apprehension. 

Remember everything is done for safety reasons. Use that to encourage yourself. Keep being strong and before you know it you will be home. 

Thinking of you. 
Phil. 

Zsuzsanna said:

...and it's cancelled.... Might be rerouted....urgh....

[Phil]

I know how you feel. I felt the same when my route to San Diego last year. Every leg got changed. Just keep trusting the pilots. They wouldn't fly if isn't safe. 

Keep your breathing going. This is just nerves and when you finally get going you will feel better. 

You are doing great. Believe you can cope with this. 

P

Zsuzsanna said:

I don't like it. :( They said the plane is in Chicago and has issues and they couldn't fix it on time. We have to sit and wait for them to call our names. I keep thinking it's much more common that flights are cancelled than that they crash. So just because it's cancelled and I have to fly a yet unknown route in a yet unknown plane, it doesn't mean it'll be a bad plane or that it'll crash. I still don't like it. This uncertainty really hard to deal with when I'm already so stressed... :((((((

[Captain Keith]

Hey what on earth are you trying to work out....planes are different sure,  but pilots fly the way the plane's meant to be flown. YOU WON'T HELP YOURSELF BY MAKING SUCH CRITICAL OBSERVATIONS WHEN THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.

I'll explain all these points when you're back home and less stressed OK ?

Go and have a cuppa as we say here in the UK.

 

kEITH

 

Zsuzsanna said:

I'm at the airport now. So, I ended up crying before I left, everything got a bit overwhelming, but now that I'm finally checked in and through security and have 2 hours to go and can just sit a bit and listen to relaxing stuff, I feel a bit better (=not crying!!!). I am watching planes take off. It looks like they don't all take the same path - some seem faster than others, some take a steeper angle than others... I wonder if it's because of different plane types, or loading, or pilot style?? I also noticed the wings seem to be pointing up a bit from the body of the plane. First I got scared it was abnormal (I never noticed that before) but now I'm thinking it must be "normal" coz they all look like that..?

[Captain Keith]

 

Well done...this is a real test for you...and you're passing with 'flying colours' Promoted to First Officer.

 

Keith

[Phil]

Yeah that feeling off finally going will be awesome. And I hear Frankfurt is good. 

As Keith says you are doing great. Loads of support coming from Glasgow. 

Phil. 

Zsuzsanna said:

They rerouted me - flying through Frankfurt, with a million-hour layover there (landing at 9am, next flight at 4pm!!)... They were very friendly, which helped a lot. The whole trip is 11 hours longer than the original, which doesn't particularly appeal to me, but at least I seem to be getting out of the country within the foreseeable future. Got a free meal ticket too, so now I'm having lunch with pilots all around :) And yeah I'm thinking positive. For a while I thought I might not even get home tomorrow; the prospect of that was even worse than getting on a flight. I'm already so tired of worrying and travelling and not seeing my family that I almost can't wait for the "liftoff". I guess that's a good thing.

[Phil]

Have a good trip. I know you will. 

And if you get bored in Frankfurt, feel free to pick out a nice postcard each for me and Keith. ;-) or fridge magnets. In fact I have started collecting them as a reminder of my travels - a kind of subliminal message every time I open the fridge. 

Looking forward to hearing from Frankfurt. 
Phil. 

Zsuzsanna said:

I flew through Frankfurt AM a couple of times. My memory is that it's an insanely big airport and easy to get lost in. BUT it's on the same side of the ocean as Copenhagen, and it's on the ground and I have so many hours there that I won't have to rush with anything. We're boarding very soon - the crew are getting on now. I'm somewhat nervous but nothing to do now.... Thank you both for the support... it really helps a lot. Europe, here I come!

[Captain Keith]

 

WELL DONE WELL DONE WELL DONE

 

Keith

[Captain Keith]

Hi Zsuzsanna

 

You're going to have to learn to live without the worries that have always been with you and in which in a strange way gave you support. Lining with your fear, however uncomfortable, at least it defined 'who and where you were'. Now you're starting to face the fear on your own and it will seem lonely and you'll feel vulnerable ...but this shows that you are progressing...but it won't seem like that to you.

Never too late for a postcard!

Keith