Fear of Flying and What You Can Do About It
Getting on an airplane is a normal part of live for many, but for some the though of flying leaves them stressed out.
Fear of flying may be a complex psychological issue, but most people can take a few basic steps to first understand why they have that fear, and then take action to deal with the fear.
What is Fear of Flying? Without getting too technical, the fear of flying, is an anxiety disorder.
Such fears can happen during a flight, or even before a person gets to the airport.
Often, the fear has more to do with elements of the flying experience that has little or nothing to do with the risks associated with the flight.
Depending on the person, the fear of flying includes one or more of the following elements: * Fear of heights * Fear of being over water * Fear of the dark (flying at night) * Fear of the unknown * Concerns about accidents or from deliberate attacks * Being in an enclosed or crowded space * Being idle for long periods of time * Loss of personal freedom * The security screening process * Concerns about turbulence and other weather conditions * Not understanding the activities associated with a normal flight * Loss of control, or being dependent on technology or people * Underlying issues from past psychological or physical trauma How Many People Are Afraid of Flying? In 1980, two Boeing researchers found that 18.
1% adults in the U.
S.
was afraid to fly, and that another 12.
6% of adults experienced anxiety when they fly.
In short, about one in three adult Americans were afraid to fly.
The study was also interesting in that it provided details about why they avoided flying.
About half reported that fear was the reason, but only about six percent considered flying unsafe.
A more recent poll conducted by Newsweek Magazine in 1999 found that 50% of the adults surveyed who flew on commercial airlines were frightened at least sometimes.
How Does Fear of Flying Affect People? How people react to fear of flying is as diverse as the reasons why people have anxieties around the flying experience.
A common reaction is to avoid flying as much as possible.
There are a number of celebrities, including John Madden of video game and American football fame, who go to great lengths to arrange their personal and professional lives to avoid flying.
Other reactions include the kind of physical effects associated with a white knuckle flyer, such as sweating, rapid heartbeat and breathing, and nausea.
Other reactions can be more dangerous for the passenger and other on the aircraft, such as using drugs or alcohol deal with the experience, or being abusive to other passengers, the cabin crew, or to other airline staff.
Statistics and the Fear of Flying Often, the airline industry points to the statistics associated with flying risk to show that flying is safe and that passengers should not be afraid.
If you have anxieties associated with a part of air travel that has nothing to do with flying, like being afraid of being searched by security, these statistics don't mean anything.
If you're worried about things happening in the airplane, like severe turbulence or even crashing, statistics are also not that useful.
Even if the chance of something bad happening is a million to one, most people concerned about flying risks worry that their flight is going the be the one that doesn't end well.
What You Can Do About It If fear of flying is affecting you in a way that you don't like, there is no reason to accept it as normal.
If you want to take positive steps to deal with it, there are plenty of options available.
One of the first steps to recognize that you may have a problem.
The airline safety web site AirSafe has a Fear of Flying Warning Signs page at airsafe.
com/issues/fear/signs.
htm with a checklist to indicate if you may have the symptoms associated with flying.
Getting Therapy for Fear of Flying If after going through the checklist, you feel that your fear of flying has had a significant and negative effect on your life, you may want to do something about it.
If you can't deal with with your fear of flying stress on your own, you may want talk to a therapist or other expert who may be able to help you.
While many therapists who deal with fear of flying have credentials and experience either as a trained therapist or as an airline pilot, one of the few who has both is Capt.
Tom Bunn who runs the SOAR fear of flying program.
Fear of flying may be a complex psychological issue, but most people can take a few basic steps to first understand why they have that fear, and then take action to deal with the fear.
What is Fear of Flying? Without getting too technical, the fear of flying, is an anxiety disorder.
Such fears can happen during a flight, or even before a person gets to the airport.
Often, the fear has more to do with elements of the flying experience that has little or nothing to do with the risks associated with the flight.
Depending on the person, the fear of flying includes one or more of the following elements: * Fear of heights * Fear of being over water * Fear of the dark (flying at night) * Fear of the unknown * Concerns about accidents or from deliberate attacks * Being in an enclosed or crowded space * Being idle for long periods of time * Loss of personal freedom * The security screening process * Concerns about turbulence and other weather conditions * Not understanding the activities associated with a normal flight * Loss of control, or being dependent on technology or people * Underlying issues from past psychological or physical trauma How Many People Are Afraid of Flying? In 1980, two Boeing researchers found that 18.
1% adults in the U.
S.
was afraid to fly, and that another 12.
6% of adults experienced anxiety when they fly.
In short, about one in three adult Americans were afraid to fly.
The study was also interesting in that it provided details about why they avoided flying.
About half reported that fear was the reason, but only about six percent considered flying unsafe.
A more recent poll conducted by Newsweek Magazine in 1999 found that 50% of the adults surveyed who flew on commercial airlines were frightened at least sometimes.
How Does Fear of Flying Affect People? How people react to fear of flying is as diverse as the reasons why people have anxieties around the flying experience.
A common reaction is to avoid flying as much as possible.
There are a number of celebrities, including John Madden of video game and American football fame, who go to great lengths to arrange their personal and professional lives to avoid flying.
Other reactions include the kind of physical effects associated with a white knuckle flyer, such as sweating, rapid heartbeat and breathing, and nausea.
Other reactions can be more dangerous for the passenger and other on the aircraft, such as using drugs or alcohol deal with the experience, or being abusive to other passengers, the cabin crew, or to other airline staff.
Statistics and the Fear of Flying Often, the airline industry points to the statistics associated with flying risk to show that flying is safe and that passengers should not be afraid.
If you have anxieties associated with a part of air travel that has nothing to do with flying, like being afraid of being searched by security, these statistics don't mean anything.
If you're worried about things happening in the airplane, like severe turbulence or even crashing, statistics are also not that useful.
Even if the chance of something bad happening is a million to one, most people concerned about flying risks worry that their flight is going the be the one that doesn't end well.
What You Can Do About It If fear of flying is affecting you in a way that you don't like, there is no reason to accept it as normal.
If you want to take positive steps to deal with it, there are plenty of options available.
One of the first steps to recognize that you may have a problem.
The airline safety web site AirSafe has a Fear of Flying Warning Signs page at airsafe.
com/issues/fear/signs.
htm with a checklist to indicate if you may have the symptoms associated with flying.
Getting Therapy for Fear of Flying If after going through the checklist, you feel that your fear of flying has had a significant and negative effect on your life, you may want to do something about it.
If you can't deal with with your fear of flying stress on your own, you may want talk to a therapist or other expert who may be able to help you.
While many therapists who deal with fear of flying have credentials and experience either as a trained therapist or as an airline pilot, one of the few who has both is Capt.
Tom Bunn who runs the SOAR fear of flying program.
