Summary: None of these felt like a problem on their own. Together they're the reason I'd quietly stopped taking the trips I actually wanted.
1

You Only Book the Aisle Now

Aisle seat on a long haul flight

Not because you prefer it. Because you need to be able to get up without climbing over two sleeping strangers.

That stopped being a preference a while ago.

2

You're Up and Down, and It Isn't Your Bladder

Passenger standing by the galley during a flight

Laps of the cabin. Standing by the galley. I've queued for a toilet I didn't need just to be upright for a few minutes.

If you've done that, you know exactly why.

3

You Pack a Survival Kit for Every Flight

Painkillers taken before boarding a flight

Ibuprofen before takeoff, and two more halfway. A jumper folded up to sit on. The airline blanket rolled underneath you. A cushion that felt great in the shop and was flat before the meal service.

None of it is for nerves, and none of it is really for comfort. It's all for your back.

And none of it works for long, because none of it changes what's actually happening: your whole weight pressing into one small spot on a hard seat.

4

Your Family Stopped Planning Anything For Day One

Family going out while traveller rests in hotel room

Mine did. Nobody announced it, they just stopped asking whether I'd come out that first evening.

That's when I realised how much this had been costing everyone, not just me.

"The flight is fourteen hours. The recovery is two days. Nobody puts the two days on the ticket price."
5

You've Started Booking Shorter Trips

Traveller choosing a closer destination on a map

This is the one that bothered me. Not consciously deciding to stop travelling, just quietly choosing the destination you can handle over the one you actually want.

And here is what you are actually avoiding:

  • Buttock & Hip Pain
  • Lower Back Pain
  • Poor Circulation
  • Constant Shifting Fatigue
  • Numbness & Tingling
  • Muscle Strain
  • Dead Legs on Landing
  • Leg & Knee Pain
6

And You've Assumed All of It Is Your Age

Less padding on you and less padding under you

It isn't. Airlines stripped the padding out of economy seats years ago, and the natural cushioning on your own backside thins as you get older. Less padding on you, sitting on less padding under you, and your whole weight landing on the thinnest part of you for fourteen hours.

Two things happening at once, and everyone blames the half they can't change.

7

The Half You Can Change: The Cushy Bum

Cushy Bum air cell travel cushion

You can't change your age, and you can't change the airline's seat. You can change what you sit on.

That's what the Cushy Bum is for. It's a travel cushion made of sealed air cells. When you sit on it, the air moves underneath you and spreads your weight across the whole seat, so nothing presses into one small spot.

Because it's air and not foam, it can't crush flat halfway through the flight. The built in pump lets you set the firmness yourself, and it packs down small enough for your carry-on. All for under a hundred dollars.

I used mine on a 14 hour flight to Tokyo. No pain at all, I actually slept, and instead of wasting two days recovering I was exploring from the moment I arrived.

I've stopped booking around the flight.

Business class upgrade $3,000+
Medical seat cushion (that stays home) $400
Single physio session after a bad flight $150
Cushy Bum — works on every flight, forever Under $100