Flying Without Fear Not Accomplished With Breathing Exercises Alone
Flying Without Fear is the title of a book penned by Duane Brown in 1996.
Citing a 1978 study by Boeing Corporation that suggested a fear of flying was ingrained in more or less 25 million Americans and thus detrimental to their enjoyment of life, the author sought to offer solace but also suggestions on how to enjoy flying without fear.
(1) As the mixed reviews of the book indicate, while many a reader is able to take away something useful from the book, the author is not able to actually help each and every fearful flyer and the very truth of this matter may be traced back directly to the fact that flying without fear requires the individual to overcome the one (or multiple) aspects that are causing that fear for that person.
Even as some fliers may share certain elements in their phobia, no two are exactly alike.
To this end, a "one size fits all" approach is doomed to fail for a predictable segment of the general population.
Though an eminent authority in the field of psychology, as Mr.
Brown's readers readily concede, some of his approaches fail to help the segment of the population whose flight phobia cannot be curtailed with simple relaxation and breathing exercises.
As a matter of fact, many is the hopeful flier who has taken any of the plethora of online and offline resources that suggest breathing exercises, visualization techniques, and association modulation to heart, only to suddenly realize at the onset of the flight that none of these techniques were able to curtail the mounting anxiety or even panic.
As they are seemingly trapped in their seats and the increasing vibrations make it next to impossible to visualize their way out of the reality of their flight situation, they will once again fall victim to the frequently irrational fears that used to keep them away from airline travel for years, while at the same time their bodies will align with the emotional stimuli and give way to a racing heartbeat, sickening tightness in the throat area that seems to work its way down into the chest and within minutes the white knuckled flyer is doing anything within her or his power to prevent a personal stampede to the exit and attempt to jump off the plane before it is in full flight.
Sadly, these passengers have failed to become acquainted with the idea that flying without fear is indeed possible to accomplish, but not with a generalist approach which heavily relies on calming techniques that might work on those who have a tapering case of nervousness but will do precious little for someone with a full-blown phobic panic attack.
Fortunately, there are methods which will permit even the most overanxious of white knuckled airline passengers to put to rest their panic and experience flying without fear; best of all, this may be accomplished without the need to take prescription drugs or engage in lengthy sessions of psychotherapy which are not only time consuming but quite frequently also very expensive.
Citing a 1978 study by Boeing Corporation that suggested a fear of flying was ingrained in more or less 25 million Americans and thus detrimental to their enjoyment of life, the author sought to offer solace but also suggestions on how to enjoy flying without fear.
(1) As the mixed reviews of the book indicate, while many a reader is able to take away something useful from the book, the author is not able to actually help each and every fearful flyer and the very truth of this matter may be traced back directly to the fact that flying without fear requires the individual to overcome the one (or multiple) aspects that are causing that fear for that person.
Even as some fliers may share certain elements in their phobia, no two are exactly alike.
To this end, a "one size fits all" approach is doomed to fail for a predictable segment of the general population.
Though an eminent authority in the field of psychology, as Mr.
Brown's readers readily concede, some of his approaches fail to help the segment of the population whose flight phobia cannot be curtailed with simple relaxation and breathing exercises.
As a matter of fact, many is the hopeful flier who has taken any of the plethora of online and offline resources that suggest breathing exercises, visualization techniques, and association modulation to heart, only to suddenly realize at the onset of the flight that none of these techniques were able to curtail the mounting anxiety or even panic.
As they are seemingly trapped in their seats and the increasing vibrations make it next to impossible to visualize their way out of the reality of their flight situation, they will once again fall victim to the frequently irrational fears that used to keep them away from airline travel for years, while at the same time their bodies will align with the emotional stimuli and give way to a racing heartbeat, sickening tightness in the throat area that seems to work its way down into the chest and within minutes the white knuckled flyer is doing anything within her or his power to prevent a personal stampede to the exit and attempt to jump off the plane before it is in full flight.
Sadly, these passengers have failed to become acquainted with the idea that flying without fear is indeed possible to accomplish, but not with a generalist approach which heavily relies on calming techniques that might work on those who have a tapering case of nervousness but will do precious little for someone with a full-blown phobic panic attack.
Fortunately, there are methods which will permit even the most overanxious of white knuckled airline passengers to put to rest their panic and experience flying without fear; best of all, this may be accomplished without the need to take prescription drugs or engage in lengthy sessions of psychotherapy which are not only time consuming but quite frequently also very expensive.
