Contents
We are glad to welcome you, dear readers of the site! Aerophobia (aviaphobia) is a panic fear of flying in air transport.
And today we will look at the main causes of its appearance, methods of treatment and analyze a couple of methods to combat this fear.
What does she represent?
About 20% of the world’s population suffers from aerophobia. Only this is the number of people who are not just afraid and very worried during the flight. And directly avoid it in every possible way.
They are ready to give up traveling to other countries that cannot be reached by land or water transport. Or endure a long journey, for example, by car, as long as the plane does not come close.
According to statistics, women are more susceptible to this type of phobia. Do you know why? Because men, in most cases, already from birth in the program have such a quality as a willingness to take risks.
This is necessary for representatives of the strong half of humanity in order to achieve success, get food for the family and protect it. Because of this, they are more likely to occupy leadership positions.
And a person who is accustomed to control and power is simply not able to take and trust other people like that.
In principle, almost every person, going up the ladder, says to himself: «I’m afraid.» And that’s okay.
Still, the ability to fly is not an innate human ability. And the feeling of anxiety is a natural reaction of the body to not quite normal conditions.
We are talking about a disorder if, feeling fear, instead of overcoming it, a person cancels a flight, falls ill, and so on. Let’s look at the main signs by which you can easily determine whether it’s time to start «sounding the alarm» or everything is fine with you.
Evidence
Aerophobia manifests itself a little differently, depending on gender and character, type of temperament. There is a stereotype in society that men should be strong and not vulnerable.
They are obliged to hide their emotions and in no case show their fear. So basically, to calm down before the flight, they take alcoholic drinks.
But the psychology of women is such that they are more emotional and sensitive. And they, at least, are allowed to show their vulnerability.
Why most of them in moments of tension and anxiety give themselves up to feelings completely.
Psychological symptoms
- Intrusive images of a plane crash that suppress the mood cause horror.
- Insomnia before the upcoming flight, and begins even from the moment a person learns about it. That is, for a week, and for a month, and for six months.
- Memory worsens and attention becomes selective. That is, the aviophobic begins to notice the nuances of direct interest to him. For example, earlier, when watching the news, he did not attach importance to the moments related to airplanes and airports. But now they are caught in all conversations, reports and newspaper headlines.
- The desire to cancel the flight, or at least reschedule it. It happens that suddenly a person falls ill. This subconscious creates a state from which it becomes possible to obtain a secondary benefit without being responsible for your choice. For example, the flu suddenly appears, and a colleague is sent on a business trip. Or he stumbles unsuccessfully on the stairs and breaks his leg.
- Sometimes there is an obsessive desire to study various stories of plane crashes, the structure of the aircraft and everything connected with it.
- In extreme cases, when a person is no longer able to cope with his feelings on his own, he stops leaving the house, communicating with loved ones. Which gradually leads him to degradation.
- Inappropriate behaviour. Having lost control over himself, an aerophobe may not just scream and run from side to side. But also bite, hysteria, be rude to people around you and try to harm them, yourself, and so on.
- Suspicion. The ability to think logically and rationally is disabled. Personality is looking for a catch, watching the flight attendants. As soon as they only say something to each other quietly, she will consider that an unforeseen and dangerous situation has arisen on board. Listens to any sound, rustle. In general, he is looking for confirmation of his theory of an imminent crash.
Physiological symptoms
- There is a panic, against which a person ceases to perceive adequately the surrounding reality. That is, his feelings are so captivating that he does not notice the car on the road, stairs, other people. Accordingly, there is a risk of falling, crashing, and so on. By the way, you will learn how to deal with panic attacks from an article devoted directly to this topic.
- From excessive tension, a tremor appears, that is, trembling in the arms and legs. Up to the point that a person at times is not able to independently tie shoelaces or fasten buttons.
- Before a trip, sometimes indigestion or nausea, vomiting makes itself felt.
- Breathing quickens, there is a lack of oxygen.
- The face becomes purplish red, or too pale.
- Dries up in the mouth.
- There are pains in the heart.
- Due to the intensity of experiences, the body weakens, so every movement is difficult. If there is still a long time before departure, then in the morning there is a lack of vigor, a person, due to constant thoughts about fear, loses his resources and has no way to restore them.
Causes
Negative experience
It often happens that there are many flights behind you, and horror began to visit only recently. Now I will tell you why this happens. The stress that arose for some reason during one flight could provoke negative associations.
For example, if you got into a zone of turbulence or there were bad weather conditions, frames from disaster films immediately pop up in your thoughts.
Then these associations, supported by an intense feeling of anxiety, are deposited in the subconscious and people are already beginning to be afraid of flying in the future.
Personal Features
We have already mentioned about successful people who need to control everything. It is also worth adding that a violation of the zone of personal space can also provoke tension.
It is comfortable for someone to communicate at a distance of a meter, and someone needs to stand face to face, almost feeling the interlocutor’s breath.
Physiological features
Sometimes aerophobia arises from concern for one’s health. For example, when the plane is gaining altitude, the pressure in the cabin goes up and down.
In this regard, people who are sensitive to such differences will feel unwell. This is especially true for hypertensive and hypotensive patients.
Media influence
Due to the fact that the media often cover any tragic situation, subconsciously a person begins to be afraid of terrorism, large crowds and any type of transport.
It is not surprising if images seen in the news feed unconsciously appear before our eyes, as, for example, bodies of the dead, black boxes and so on are searched in the wreckage.
Heredity
The tendency to phobias is sometimes inherited. If some close relative suffered any kind of mental disorder, then there is a high probability that history, so to speak, will repeat itself.
Also important is the process of education. If a parent, say, a mother, has never flown due to worries, the child will decide what it means, it is really dangerous and it is better to beware of air flights in the future too.
Treatment
If you ignore this phobia, it threatens to «capture» your whole life, depriving you of joy and a sense of relaxation.
It can lead to neurosis, dependence on alcohol, drugs, deterioration of health, family relationships and difficulties at work.
According to statistics, 96% of people who are afraid to fly and seek help or start an independent struggle are successfully cured.
If you wondered how to get rid of aerophobia, then the first thing you should do is contact a psychotherapist. It will help determine the cause of your phobia directly. Then it will be easier to overcome fear.
Also, the psychologist will be able to recommend group work. These are meetings of people who experience the same difficulties. In the process of therapy, they share their experience, life history, and give advice.
This helps to feel supported and understand that almost any trouble can be dealt with.
But a psychiatrist can prescribe medication. This does not mean that aerophobes are «closed» in a psychiatric clinic and are considered abnormal.
No, just drugs will help reduce anxiety levels, stabilize mood. Also improve sleep so that the body restores its resources.
In addition, you will not have to lie in the clinic, except in cases where the patient poses a threat to life and health, both to himself and to the people around him.
How not to be afraid to fly
Ways to help reduce the level of anxiety, and possibly get rid of aerophobia, if it has just begun to develop.
Distraction
Be sure to participate in the rituals that take place during the flight. It distracts attention and structures in time. That is, the distribution of drinks, the demonstration of the rules of conduct …
While eating, biologically active substances are released in our body, which help to relax. The main thing is not to «jam» your experiences, otherwise the effect will be the opposite.
Those who do not suffer from addiction and are quite able to control the dose, and also have no contraindications, can take a little alcohol. This will allow you to relax a little.
Leisure
Take care of your leisure time by taking interesting crossword puzzles or magazines with you. Even viewing pressing work issues or planning a vacation is quite suitable.
Take a notepad or phone and just write down what is happening to you at the moment. What do you feel, what thoughts visit, what fantasies …
You can draw, just scribble, whatever, the main thing is to turn this accumulated energy into action so that it finds a way out of your body without destroying it.
Awareness
If you are afraid of fantasies about the malfunction of the aircraft, or falling into air pockets, the best way to overcome the horror is awareness.
When fantasies simply exist, they are able to “paralyze” a person. That is, not to give the opportunity to move and do something, plunging into horror and causing one desire — to escape.
It is possible to defeat them only by refuting each one in stages, starting to unwind the ball and highlighting one at a time.
Study such questions as the structure of an aircraft, what is turbulence and whether it can destroy it, what kind of sounds arise during the flight … There are airlines that conduct training courses and bring passengers who are afraid of flying into the know.
Iphone owners are somewhat lucky in this regard. One pilot, Alexey Gervash, developed an entire program called SkyGuru.
By downloading it, during the flight you can get answers to all your questions regarding the sensations of the vestibular apparatus. And you will also know what each sound that comes to you means, and at what point you will fall into the turbulence zone.
Paper bag technique
Coping with a panic attack is also possible with the help of a technique that we often see in American films. That is, you need to take the bag and slowly, for a couple of minutes, breathe into it.
The fact is that oversaturation with oxygen causes an even greater attack and worsens well-being. And carbon dioxide, which is released on exhalation, helps to stabilize it.
If there is no bag at hand, you can simply breathe into your palms, which you connect together in front of your face.
Switching
What to do if an attack of horror suddenly seized you and you understand that you will soon lose control of yourself? You should learn to switch your brain to specific problems, in our case, minor pain.
Remember how in a joke: “How to get rid of a severe headache? Cut off your leg, and then you won’t have to worry about migraines.» We will not act so radically, you just need to take a rubber band and put it on your wrist.
It is thin, and the skin on the wrist is very delicate, so if you feel worse, when you feel that anxiety is starting to grow, pull it harder and let it go. It will be unpleasant, but your attention will switch.
If you find it difficult to use this method, you can choose a more gentle treatment. Take some small and bright object. Bring it to your nose and, «reducing» your eyes to the bridge of your nose, look at it. Then move a little to the side.
It reminds a little of one of the methods of hypnosis, when a patient is led in front of some object that he is obliged to follow. It doesn’t hurt, as in the rubber band method, but the action is the same — the brain is busy with another task.
Completion
That’s all, dear readers! Subscribe to site updates, and then you will find out what the fear of horses is called, why dementophobia occurs, and much more.
Good luck to you, and remember that the risk of dying in a car crash is much higher (thousands of people get into an accident every day) than in a plane crash (1 chance in 11 million).
So, is it worth it to be afraid of flying if, in fact, airplanes are considered the safest mode of transport?
Take care of yourself, your health and, of course, be happy!
The material was prepared by a psychologist, Gestalt therapist, Zhuravina Alina