Fear of Flying Explained
May 28th, 2009
In the year 2000, over 1 Billion people flew on commercial airplanes. Over 18 Million flights resulted in only 20 fatal accidents. In the same year, there were over 41,000 traffic accidents. Clearly, it is logical to say that travel by plane is much safer than by car.
And yet, many people who have no problem speeding from here to there in their car every day are afraid to step onto an airplane to the point that they experience physical and mental symptoms when they have to do it.
Key to remember is that although the risks involved with flying may seem to be the root of the fear, it is probably something different altogether. The fundamental cause, as with all phobias, is anxiety, which can be set off by many different things.
For one, there is very little control that an airline passenger has on a commercial flight. If the cabin is hot, you can’t open a window. If it is cramped, it is difficult to make more space. We can’t hit the brakes or control the plane in any way when there is turbulence. In a car we are typically driving or know the driver personally, which makes us feel more secure than a plane, where we can’t even see who the pilot is.
With minimal control over the situation, things that would otherwise be just annoying take on gargantuan proportions on a plane. A delay on the runway results in our minds racing with all the horrible possibilities why the plane hasn’t taken off yet. The snug surroundings become more and more constricting until it feels like the plane has closed in on us. And our anxious minds turn a little turbulence into an out of control tailspin crash.
There are those who subconsciously beat these anxieties before they ever experience them on a physical or mental level. However, many more encounter some form of anxiety when flying, which may vary in degree from uncomfortable, to disturbing, right up the scale to full out panic attack.
The good news is that there are ways to conquer your fears without drugs or expensive therapy. As with all anxieties, the first step is to understand the cause of the fear, and then it can be faced.
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Posted in Health and Fitness | 
Tags: aerophobia, afraid to fly, fear of flying, flying phobia, Health and Fitness, health and wellness, self improvement
