(no subject)

[geekchick]

Despite being otherwise happy, I had a borderline panic attack on the plane last night. I have no idea what's happened to me; my father worked for an airline and I've flown my entire life and been fine with it. In the last 3 or 4 years though, I've developed a fear of flying. Not crippling, I can still get on an airplane, and I'm always fine for most of the flight. As soon as we hit turbulence though, or something sounds funny to me, the knuckles turn white and I start desperately wanting a valium or the equivalent. Last night was particularly bad, as I started getting tense well before we even left the gate. I was so nervous that I very nearly volunteered to give my seat up to one of the folks on standby and stay in Boston in a hotel for the night. I was quite disconcerted by the level of discomfort I'd hit before we even thought about leaving the gate, since that really never happens. Ah well. The fear showed up with no warning, perhaps it will leave the same way.