Fear of Flying

Definition:

Where a person experiences feelings of extreme anxiety or panic at the very thought of flying, where a person will actively seek to avoid boarding an aeroplane or use it as a last resource. An abnormal and persistent fear of flying. Sufferers experience severe anxiety even though they usually realize that the flying does not pose a threat.

Description:

A person may very well fear boarding a flight, but only experience mild concern which may disappear once the flight is underway. Others may still manage to endure the flight but will experience feelings of discomfort throughout and remain anxious and unable to relax. They may resort to medication or alcohol to help them along their way.

A person suffering from aerophobia on the other hand, will most definitely try to avoid boarding a plane. Just the thought of getting on a plane is enough for them to break out in a sweat and remain stressed. Aerophobia is a complex phobia which means the cause of the phobic reaction is not due to a single stimulus as might be the case with arachnophobia (fear of spiders). A person sat in a plane may vey well respond to the enclosed space, the noise of the aircraft, the sensations of taking off and once in the air there is the height to contend with. Furthermore, every creak and jolt will be amplified to suggest danger. Destructive thoughts of crashes and dramatic accidents can permeate throughout the mind where the sufferer will continue to endure high levels of stress.

Strangely enough, a statistical comparison of the probability of an accident happening while in a plane compared to a car (higher probablity) does nothing to soothe the nerves of an aerophobic!

Therapy:

Here lies a good example of the difference between the subconscious and conscious mind. The subconscious is irrational and emotional, it does not understand logic such as statistics and unfortunately it is this part of the mind that is in complete control while you are experiencing mild panic attacks on board a flight.

Aerophobia is treated in the same way as other phobias. During therapy certain techniques will be employed to scramble previous templates the subconscious uses, to determine how you should respond in the future. By detaching the emotional significance of any prior experience, a person can begin to re-evaluate future situations. By reframing the expectation of a flight and using guided imagery, a person can begin to build positive expectation and imagine how relaxed they can be when on board an aeroplane.

The subconscious learns that planes are no longer a threat and because it does so, an individual can remain calm and relaxed as every stimulus that used to convey danger to the sufferer, remains in the background and does not enter conscious awareness.

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