- In her latest agony aunt column, bestselling author Jane Green offers advice to a woman who is horrified by her friend’s flight routine.
- Do you have any questions for Jane? Email dearjane@mailonline.com or ask below
- READ MORE: My own sister GHOSTED me after getting pregnant
Dear Jane,
One of my closest friends invited me on a girls’ trip to Italy this summer, and while it sounds like a dream vacation, there’s something stopping me from pulling the trigger on confirming it.
The only time this friend and I traveled together before, she completely drove me crazy with her incredibly strange flying habits.
She suffers from anxiety and is afraid of flying, so I completely understand why she relies on these “rituals,” as she calls them, to enable her to take long plane trips, but the idea of sitting next to her while she does them for eight hours and Peak is not something I think I can handle.
I know you’re probably thinking, ‘How bad could they be?’ but trust me here.
Dear Jane, my best friend invited me to go on vacation with her, but I’m so embarrassed by her in-flight rituals that I can’t bear the thought of flying with her.
Not only does she insist on spraying this unpleasant-smelling ‘calming mist’ every five seconds, she also meditates (loudly, humming), whispers affirmations to herself, and routinely shakes her entire body to ‘release tension.’
These are the things she does to cope, I completely understand. But it’s a little mortifying to be sitting next to her while she does this whole routine and, frankly, it ruins my experience when all I want to do is have a glass of red wine and go to sleep on long flights.
What I’m wondering is if you think I can get away with booking us different flights without having to bring up this whole thing.
International best-selling author Jane Green offers sage advice on DailyMail.com readers’ hottest topics in her column Dear Jane, Agony Aunt
We live in the same city so it would be tough to get over it, but maybe if I make up a lie about having some extra airline miles on a different airline?
Or does that make me the worst friend in the world?
Of,
Fear of flight nightmare
Dear Flightmare Fear,
If all you want to do is have a glass of red wine and go to sleep on a long flight, I highly suggest drinking that wine, getting an eye mask and a really good pair of earplugs for listening to music, or a Soporific story that will put you to sleep immediately.
Your friend’s behavior can easily be stifled.
As for being mortifying, I would treat it with humor rather than embarrassment or discomfort.
No one is going to judge you for your friend’s mumbling and shaking, and who knows, she might see the funny side of things if you start doing your own ridiculous “anxiety relief” exercises.
It is not necessary to lie. Just humor and some excellent earplugs.
Have a beautiful vacation!