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Fear of Flying |
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Introduction
|
 E was a successful man
who through hard work and perseverance
built up his own business. His wife, too, owned
her business. They had two fine children.
He traveled
frequently, and because of an odd premonition that he would someday die in
an airplane crash, he refused to fly. For shorter trips he drove his car.
For longer trips, he took trains, and even boats, to his
destinations.
One spring night
a pilot of a small plane experienced a complete engine failure. On top of
that, he lost his electrical system, and with it, the use of his radio and
navigation instruments. Mist filled the sky. The moon had not yet risen.
The plane went down helplessly and blindly in the darkness.
Though injured,
the pilot survived the crash. He still cannot remember anything that happened
as the plane struck the ground and plowed into a motel just outside of a
large town. There was only one casualty: a man sleeping safely in the bed
of his motel room. On that sad night, that man’s life-long premonition
that he would some day die in an airplane crash found its
conclusion. |
The
Facts . . .
and
the
Problems
|
Flying is generally considered to be one of the safest
forms of public transportation currently available in the United States.
Statistics compiled by the Department of Transportation have led to the
conclusion that airline travel is 29 times safer than driving an
automobile.
The problem
with the above statistics is that they do not stop people
from being afraid of flying.
Statistics do
not help because the fear of flying actually has little to do with risk as
such. If the fear of flying were actually caused by the potential for an
accident, then everyone who fears to fly would be even more
afraid—29 times more afraid, to be statistically exact—to drive
or ride in an automobile. But that is clearly not the case.
Anyone who
flies—even someone not afraid of flying—understands that there
is always some chance of an accident, just as with any life activity.
Relatively few accidents happen in aviation because pilots are specifically
trained to stay calm and to think clearly in an emergency—and they are
trained to handle just about every emergency imaginable.
But, without
their own specialized training, many passengers sit in the cabin worrying
about the dangers of flight. Despite the safety statistics, they become disabled
by fear and experience the psychological symptoms that make flying a
misery. |
Vulnerability
|
If you carefully read the information on this webpage,
you will learn that, although the fear of flying isn’t really about
the risks inherent in aviation, it is based in the uncomfortable awareness
that life is fragile and
vulnerable,
and that none of us—much like the man in the fictitious opening
story—has any real
control
over it, whether in the air or on the ground.
Because
we were not designed to fly like birds, whenever we get into a “flying
machine” we have to confront our deepest fears of human vulnerability.
It’s not so much that flying is “unnatural,” but that in finding
ourselves way up in the sky, sealed in a machine, we can hear our deepest
whisperings of vulnerability more clearly than anywhere
else.
Still,
even though none of us is ever “in control” of anything, we can
learn to be psychologically in command of our thoughts and feelings—and
trust in something greater than ourselves—more than we think. We can
learn to not be overwhelmed by fear itself.
Continue
reading, therefore, to experience your own “specialized training”
in flying without anxiety. |
Components
|
Technically, the fear of flying is a Specific Phobia,
one of several kinds of
Anxiety
Disorders. As an anxiety, the “fear” of flying is more concerned
with what might happen than with what actually is
happening.
|
If, for example,
you were sitting in a plane with smoke coming out of the engines while the
captain was trying to make an emergency landing, there would be a clear and
present danger, and anyone would be afraid. But if you were sitting in a
plane with all systems functioning normally and you felt afraid that something
threatening could happen, that would be anxiety. |
|
The fear of flying
has many components, not all of which are specific to flight itself. Some
of these components are anxieties about
• |
Heights |
• |
Enclosed spaces |
• |
Crowded conditions |
• |
Sitting in hot, stale air |
• |
Being required to wait passively |
•
|
Not understanding the
reasons
for all the strange actions, sounds, and sensations occurring around you |
• |
Worrying about the dangers of
turbulence |
• |
Being dependent on unknown mechanical
things to maintain your safety |
• |
Being dependent on an unknown
pilot’s judgment |
• |
Not feeling in
“control” |
• |
The possibility of
terrorism |
|
If your fear
of flying derives from a past
trauma
or accident, you might consider a consultation with a psychologist
specifically to resolve those “underlying” issues. You might also
be interested in
Wings
of Light, an organization formed as a support and information network
for persons whose lives have been touched by aircraft accidents. |
|
|
Symptoms
|
No one can be in control of his or her future, and so anyone
who worries unnecessarily about the future will
cause
physical and emotional reactions just as if something dangerous really were
happening.
Generally, people
who experience a fear of flying report two basic kinds of
symptoms.
Physiological
reactions to fear and stress
include
• |
Muscle tension; tremors |
• |
Heavy, labored breathing |
• |
Heart palpitations; chest pain |
• |
Abdominal and intestinal
discomfort |
•
|
Sweating, weakness, dizziness, prickly
sensations, dry mouth, flushed or pale face |
Psychological
symptoms include
• |
Impaired memory |
• |
Narrowed perceptions |
• |
Poor or clouded judgment |
• |
Negative
expectancies |
•
|
Perseverative thinking |
|
Medical
Issues
|
Anyone who flies should be aware that certain medical
conditions—conditions not caused by psychological anxiety—can produce
symptoms that mimic the physiological reactions to anxiety or
cause additional anxiety.
• |
Vestibular
(inner ear) problems can cause disorientation,
dizziness, and nausea.
Ear
Pain |
The middle ear
is connected to the throat by a pathway known as the eustachian tube;
this tube equalizes the pressure between ambient air pressure and air trapped
within the middle ear. If the tube gets blocked, you can experience pain
known as “middle ear block” or barotitis. (Remember that
when an aircraft ascends, ambient air pressure drops, and when the aircraft
descends the air pressure increases; this is why ear pain is encountered
at either of these two times of flight.)
The safest and most common method of clearing an ear block is to move the
jaw and swallow at the same time—which is what happens when chewing
gum.
The next thing to try if gum doesn’t work is the Valsava maneuver: when
you feel a block developing, hold your nose shut and then blow gently as
in trying to exhale. The back pressure can force open the eustachian tube.
If this maneuver doesn’t help the pain, you can try using a decongestant
nose spray or an oral decongestant (such as pseudoephedrine) about an hour
before departure or an hour before arrival. (Avoid any medication that combines
the pseudoephedrine with an antihistamine, because this can cause drowsiness
that lingers for several hours. But then, maybe you want to sleep on the
flight—just don’t try driving afterward.)
|
|
• |
Sinus
Pain or, when it is very serious,
“Barotrauma of Sinuses.” This pain often appears around or above
the eyes, as in a headache on one side of the head. The pain results from
atmospheric pressure changes, just as with inner ear pain (described above),
only the pain involves congested sinus cavities. It usually happens during
descent, when the pressure of the air trapped in the sinuses cannot equalize
with the pressure of air in the cabin. Just as with ear pain, relief can
often be found by taking a decongestant (to open up the sinus cavities)
approximately an hour before arrival, before descent
begins.
|
• |
Muscular
pain, joint pain, and tingling, can be a
symptom of decompression sickness (DCS). DCS can result from
flying in an unpressurized aircraft at high altitudes, but in commercial
aviation, with its pressurized planes, DCS isn’t likely to be seen except
in scuba divers who have made recent dives. Nitrogen dissolved in body tissues
from the dive may not cause problems at sea level, but at altitude the nitrogen
can begin to emerge from tissues as bubbles. Such a condition requires immediate
medical attention. Oxygen treatment on-board may help, but hyperbaric treatment
on the ground may be required to recompress the nitrogen bubbles. (Just remember:
waiting less than 24 hours after a dive before flying can increase the risk
of DCS
considerably.) [1]
|
• |
Traveller’s
Thrombosis or, in popular jargon,
“economy-class
syndrome.”
“Deep vein
(or venous) thrombosis is a condition in which a small blood clot (thrombus)
or clots (thrombi) develop(s) in the deep veins, usually of the leg. The
condition itself is not dangerous, but the complication of pulmonary embolism
(venous thromboembolism — VTE), can, of course be life
threatening.” [2]
It can be life-threatening because that little blood clot can be carried
in the bloodstream to another part of the body where the clot can block the
flow of blood to a critical organ, such as the heart—causing a heart
attack—or brain—causing a stroke. |
Actually, deep
vein thrombosis (DVT) has occurred as much in first class and business class
as in economy class, so calling it “economy-class syndrome” is
a misnomer.
Common sense
can explain why. All scientific evidence seems to point to the origin of
the problem as restricted mobility for long stretches of time. So
think about it. In cars and busses we stop for rest breaks every couple hours;
in trains we are free to walk around from car to car; and cruise ships are
like floating hotels. Only in airplanes are we literally strapped to our
seats for hours on end; even food is brought to us, because there is no dining
car. So it’s no wonder that DVT is associated with (not caused by) air
travel.
And consider
one other fact. If you make a long flight anywhere, you’re likely to
make a long flight back home—and the risk of DVT seems to be associated
with that second flight.
So if you have
the option, leave several days between long flights. Move around in your
seat as much as possible. And if you have predisposing conditions—such
as a blood disorder affecting clotting; cardiovascular disease; current or
history of malignancy; recent surgery; use of oral contraceptives; recent
lower limb trauma; pregnancy; age over 40 yr.; previous DVT; family history
of DVT—see your physician before travelling.
Which is worse?
Risking DVT by staying in your seat, or risking injury from sudden, unexpected
turbulence when not secured in your seat? Only
you can decide.
|
|
• |
Mitral
valve prolapse (MVP) can cause chest pain
and may contribute to panic sensations. (There may not be a clear link between
MVP and panic, so ask your physician for details.)
|
• |
Hypoglycemia
(low blood sugar) from not eating—commonly
due to loss of appetite because of a “nervous stomach”—can
cause faintness, irritability, muscle tension, and
anxiety.
|
• |
Allergic
reactions to plastics, carpeting, perfumes,
etc. can cause varying degrees of discomfort.
|
• |
Side
effects from prescribed or over-the-counter
medications can cause a variety of uncomfortable and anxiety-like
feelings.
|
• |
A lack
of oxygen at altitude may cause any number
of symptoms of altitude sickness, such as headache, irritability,
nausea, muscle weakness, fatigue, slightly blurred vision, and faster or
shallower breathing.
That’s
right—a lack of oxygen, technically known as hypoxia, can be
noticed because even though the aircraft cabin is pressurized, it is usually
pressurized only to about 8,000 feet. Unless you’re used to living in
the mountains, the physiological effects of even this modest altitude can
be significant. The effects of hypoxia may not be noticed on short flights,
but many persons can experience symptoms on long flights; that is, after
5 hours at altitude.
Also, if you’re a smoker, the carbon monoxide in tobacco smoke
diminishes your blood’s ability to carry oxygen, and so the hypoxic
effects of altitude will be more intense for you than for a
nonsmoker.
|
|
• |
Dehydration from the very dry air in the aircraft cabin may cause headache,
dizziness, and fatigue. Protect yourself by drinking plenty of plain water:
about a cup (8 oz—or 250 ml) per hour. In general, unless
you have kidney problems, this moderate water intake should be
beneficial.[3] Avoid alcohol, colas, and caffeine. |
If you believe
that any of these conditions may apply to you, discuss them with your
physician.
Never take any medication
inflight which you have not first tested for adverse reactions while safely
on the ground. |
|
Trapped?
|
Clearly, the fear of flying can be associated with many
different symptoms. You might even experience some of these symptoms in
situations other than flying and not be nearly as incapacitated as when you
are flying in an airplane.
In fact, this
is the key to the whole problem. In other situations, you have much more
freedom to change things. If it’s stuffy in a car, you can open a window.
You can talk to the driver. You might be the driver. Even riding in a bus
or train is usually less troubling than flying.
The reality is
that flying can feel like being trapped—trapped in the airplane until
it lands.
And so it might
be said that your symptoms are your
“out-of-control” reactions to feeling trapped and out of
control. |
Freedom
|
A person who has overcome the fear of flying still knows
that anything could go wrong with the flight—just as someone driving
a car surely knows that an accident could happen at any time. What this person
has overcome, therefore, is the escalating spiral of ever-worsening symptoms
triggered by one or more of the anxiety-provoking components of airplane
flight. |
Cognitive
Coping
Strategies
|
Research that has examined the cognitive coping
strategies used by persons who are afraid to fly tells us that, in general,
four specific coping strategies seem to be most associated with flight
anxiety:[4]
1. |
Rumination,
which refers to thinking over and over again about the situation |
2. |
Self-blame,
which refers to thinking a lot about mistakes you have made |
3. |
Acceptance
(or resignation), which refers to thinking that you have no other option
but to helplessly accept things as they are |
4. |
Catastrophizing,
which refers to thinking about how awful the situation is or could
become |
This means that
if you are afraid to fly, you are likely to spend a lot of time being
preoccupied with worries about flying before the flight even happens,
and you can get caught up in dwelling on all the physical and
psychological symptoms you’re feeling once the flight begins. Plus,
you will likely blame yourself for your failures and weaknesses, you
will be telling yourself that you are helpless to do anything about
those weaknesses, and you will be thinking of all the bad things that
could happen.
Here, then, is
some advice about how to change these anxiety-provoking ways of
thinking.
Rumination—expand your awareness beyond the unpleasant
situation:
I’m thinking about the flight again, and it’s
still two days away. Let it go. Take a deep breath. Come on, get back to
work.
Look. It’s a nice view. Sitting here paralyzed won’t make the
plane any safer.
Self-blame—remind yourself that you are doing the best you can
and that progress takes time:
Yes, I was very nervous the last flight. But since
then I have learned some new techniques for coping with anxiety.
I did the best I could. I’ll get better with
practice.
Resignation—give yourself credit for your own good
sense:
I’m not really helpless. I can take slow, deep
breaths. I can practice progressive muscle relaxation or
autogenics.
Catastrophizing—acknowledge your fear, and then challenge
it:
OK. I will be afraid as I’m boarding. But have
I ever run away from other problems before? No.
OK. Maybe I will feel nervous. But I do have things I can do to relax.
All things will pass.
Yes, I can imagine a lot of awful things that could happen. But the reality
is that none of these things is likely to happen. |
Children
And
Fear
Of
Flying
|
Sometimes children develop a fear of flying. But unless
the fear can be traced directly to a
trauma
or accident, before seeking treatment specific to the child, it would be
advisable to think of the child as just one part of a larger
family
system.
So consider whether
the child’s anxiety relates in some way to family conflicts.
For example,
children who have to fly from one divorced parent to another for visitation
can develop anxiety about flying which relates primarily to feelings of
helplessness and abandonment. In other words, the fear is not about flying
so much as about what flying signifies: the
despair
of being shuttled from one parent to another like a sack of
potatoes.
A child’s
fears can also be an
unconscious
expression of a parent’s anxieties. It’s odd, but sometimes a
child’s symptoms reflect things the parents are struggling with but
are trying to keep hidden.
So always consider
what the child’s symptoms mean psychologically within the greater family
context. The child’s fear of flying may not be about flying at
all. |
Other
Issues
To
Consider
|
When someone flies across the country, it’s not usually
for the benign reason the chicken crossed the street: to get to the other
side. Human travel usually involves desires and expectations. And often those
desires and expectations involve unpleasant emotions such as hurt, anger,
and uncertainty about fulfilling obligations.
Now, because
flying does have some risk to it, those unpleasant emotions can get
psychologically transferred to the process of flying. That is, rather than
acknowledge our “dangerous” emotions, we focus on something else
that seems dangerous: flying itself.
So, as strange
as it might sound, even an adult’s fear of flying may have nothing to
do with flying per se. Consider the following case
vignette.
|
A 32 year old
woman calls the office, leaving a message in which she requests treatment
for fear of flying. She says that the last time she had to fly she couldn’t
board the plane, and she was such a nervous wreck that her husband had to
drive her home. She now has recurring fantasies that she is on a plane which
crashes.
When you call
her back and request more information, she says that the last flight on which
she flew encountered
turbulence.
One of the male flight attendants was injured by a beverage cart, and one
of the female flight attendants who came to his aid started crying. The woman
mentions that when she told this to her husband after the flight, he was
not very sympathetic and they had an argument.
You ask if she
can remember exactly what her husband said that was “not sympathetic.”
She hesitates, then replies that he told her, “Oh, the flight attendant
was just upset because the two of them were probably having an
affair.”
You then ask
for some general information about recent events in the woman’s life.
She replies that she and her husband were married two years ago. For the
last year they have been trying to have a baby. About six months ago the
woman received a job promotion which required her to fly frequently across
the country. She adds that she had no trouble making any of these flights
until the problem with the turbulence. |
|
Although this
case is fictitious, there are several clinical possibilities that can be
considered.
• |
The woman is
ambivalent about her job promotion and fears that it might affect her marriage,
and so the fear of flying symptoms serve
unconsciously
to prevent her from fulfilling the duties of her new job and call into question
the promotion itself. |
• |
The woman is
afraid that her husband may be dissatisfied with the marriage and may be
having an affair—or thinking of having one—and so the fear of flying
symptoms keep the woman at home near her husband. |
• |
The woman is
afraid of not being able to have a baby, and the thoughts of a plane crash
may be an unconscious expression of her fear that she will die
childless. |
• |
The woman may
be feeling hurt by her husband’s behavior, for any of the reasons above,
or for other reasons. But, because she cannot acknowledge the full extent
of her angry response to feeling insulted, abandoned,
and helpless, and because she may even feel guilty for having thoughts and
feelings of revenge, she visualizes the plane crashing as an expression of
an unconscious desire to punish her husband—or herself. |
Any—or
all—of these possibilities could be an explanation of the fear of flying
symptoms. And none of them has anything to do with flying itself.
Therefore,
if you have a fear of flying, before seeking treatment you might want to
ask yourself several questions (along the lines of the vignette presented
above):
1. |
What exactly
were the circumstances of the flight on which the fear of flying symptoms
first appeared?
|
Why were you
flying?
What happened just before the flight?
What happened during the flight?
What happened just after the flight?
(Try to recall the facts, as well as the
exact words of anything that was said.) |
|
2. |
What was happening
in your life before the fear of flying symptoms developed?
Did you experience any major life changes before the fear of flying symptoms
developed?
Did anything happen that left you feeling uncertain or conflicted before
the fear of flying symptoms developed?
Had anyone done anything to you that had left you feeling emotionally hurt
and angry before the fear of flying symptoms
developed? |
| |
|
3. |
What exactly
might a fear of flying prevent you from doing?
|
How do you really
feel about not doing it?
Maybe you don’t really want to do it.
Or maybe you feel guilty about doing it. |
|
Who knows? You
might end up in treatment for something other than fear of flying, or you
might be able to solve the problem yourself without professional
help.
|
Treatment
|
Considering all that has been said on this page, treatment
for the fear of flying can take several forms.
• |
You might
simply need factual
information
about principles of flight and flight safety, such as
turbulence. You can begin by reading my page
Principles
of Aircraft Flight. You can also get similar information for free from
other websites, or you could buy any number of online courses, or you could
participate in a group fear of flying program offered through airlines. For
more information about these alternatives, see my page
Fear
of Flying Treatment, and its Additional Resources
section. |
• |
If information
alone is not sufficient, then you might want to treat the
symptoms
of your fear of flying by changing your
negative
thinking or by learning a relaxation technique. I offer two free self-help
training courses on this website, one in
Progressive
Muscle Relaxation and the other in
Autogenics. |
• |
If a basic
symptomatic treatment is not sufficient, then you might want to try exploring
the psychodynamic
aspects of your anxiety, as outlined in
the section above called Other Issues to
Consider. |
• |
If a basic
symptomatic treatment is not sufficient, and if your own psychodynamic
exploration does not help you, then you might want to add a more
clinical
approach. You can follow the free self-help
treatment guidelines I offer for
Systematic
Desensitization, or you can consult with a psychologist or other mental
health professional for treatment of a
phobia,
or you can seek treatment to help you better understand your emotional
life. |
• |
Finally,
if your anxiety is based in an existential
fear of death more than an anxiety about
flying, you might want to consider the idea of
spiritual
healing. |
|
Fear
Of
Flying:
In
Pilots?
|
As I have described above, in my clinical experience I
have found three basic causes for a fear of flying: (a) a lack of information
about basic aviation procedures, (b) some sort of psychological trauma resulting
from an aircraft incident or accident, and (c) a symbolic transference of
an interpersonal conflict to the experience of flying. There can also be
a fourth reason for a fear of flying, a reason found only in pilots: flight
training issues regarding a lack of confidence.
Now, when
wondering why a trained pilot would become fearful, we can rule out the first
possibility.
Psychological
Trauma
This second
possibility is
self-evident,[5]
but still it can be obscure. In one
case,[6]
a military pilot in training exhibited severe insomnia
the night before his training sessions; after a thorough medical investigation,
it was determined that he had a tendency to gray-out under high +Gz and was
afraid to tell his instructor, fearing that it would be a sign of weakness.
Anyway, once this all came to light, he was given some special assessment
and all worked out well.
Symbolic
Transference
This third
possibility is the most complex and, often, remarkably
fascinating.[7,8,9]
Consider, for example, the following
case.
|
A pilot suddenly
develops a disabling fear of flying when thunderstorms are forecast and becomes
obsessive about gathering minute bits of weather information.
Further history reveals that this airline captain also likes to fly aerobatics
on his own time. In fact, the adventure and thrill-seeking aspect of flying
drew him into aviation in the first place. Because of this independent,
adventurous aspect of his personality he has never felt completely comfortable
with all the mundane responsibilities of family life. But then, four years
ago, his daughter was born, and this immediately threw him into conflict.
The part
of him that wanted to be a good father started struggling with the independent
thrill-seeker part of his personality. All kinds of questions came up. “Am
I really capable of looking after a child?” “Do I have the ability
to be there for her as she will need me to be there for her?” “What
if something happens to me while flying? What will become of her?”
So he ends up obsessing over the weather (as if outsmarting the weather will
prevent the accident that could take him away from his child) in order to
obscure and hide the real issue: Is he willing and able to make the changes
and sacrifices in his life to accommodate this new child?
Thus the thunderstorms symbolize the “gathering storm” in his marriage,
and his fear of being near them symbolize his own risky attitude to life
that could destroy his own life if he doesn’t “change course”
very quickly. |
|
Professional
pilots in general, however, especially those with a military background,
tend to be very much focused on a goal-directed, rational approach to
life [10]
and so can suffer a considerable lack of emotional
intelligence—so this concept of psychological awareness may take some
effort for them to grasp.
Training
Issues
The fourth
reason for a pilot’s flight-related anxiety can derive from any aspect
of flight training. It’s often seen in regard to landing procedures
when many decisions have to be made quickly in a short time in often changing
conditions (i.e., crosswinds). An especially good example, though, can be
found when a pilot, newly trained in Instrument Flight Rules (IFR), must
fly in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC)—that is, in weather
conditions with such limited visibility that the pilot must rely exclusively
on the instruments to fly the airplane. A pilot might confess that he feels
afraid of the weather conditions and will wonder why this is so, because
it would seem that with his IFR training he should feel more comfortable
with worse weather than before.
These concerns
are very understandable, and, in fact, they show really good, common sense
to be “afraid” of bad weather. Weather is a powerful force and
only a profound respect for it will allow a pilot to fly in difficult conditions
and stay alive.
Unlike
the case presented above, involving a symbolic transference, the psychological
principle underlying anxiety about a training issue is this: We cannot
feel comfortable and confident doing anything until we have acquired some
experience in performing the task under our own authority. Flight instruction
teaches us, but personal experience on our own solidifies our
confidence.
So, in
this sense, the only way to get comfortable flying in IMC is to get experience
flying in IMC. But remember good common sense about weather. There’s
no point in risking your life trying to get experience. The solution, then
is to get some experience flying in IMC along with another IFR pilot who
has more experience than you currently have. This isn’t a matter of
training—it’s a matter of mentoring.
You could do
this in any of three ways.
1. |
You could ask
an experienced IFR pilot to allow you to fly with him when he makes flights
in IMC. You can volunteer to serve as an informal co-pilot. Then buy him
lunch in gratitude. Or pay him for his time. |
2. |
You could ask
an experienced IFR pilot to act as a sort of informal advisor and to accompany
you on IFR flights that you must make in IMC. Again, buy him lunch in gratitude,
or pay him for his time. |
3. |
Pay an instructor
to accompany you on IFR flights in IMC, but as a mentor, not as an
instructor. |
In doing
this, learn to set aside any “pride” in yourself that having your
IFR rating makes you “qualified” to fly in IMC. Keep in mind that
any license is only an acknowledgment of minimum qualifications, and that
real competence comes through wise and safe experience. So there’s nothing
“wrong” with you for needing some extra guidance in IMC. Your seeking
out extra guidance, in fact, shows that you respect the weather—and
that you respect your own life. |
Related
Fear
of
Flying
Resources
|
Here is a list of related Fear of Flying self-help resources
available on this website, all offered in
freewill, with no advertising and no sign-up
gimmicks.
WEB
PAGE |
CONTENTS |
Rx |
Basic Principles of Aircraft
Flight |
|
Explains in simple, easily understood
language how airplanes fly, what movements and sounds to expect in flight,
and what turbulence really is and how to stop the panic it
causes. |
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Complete training program for
physiological and mental relaxation with guidance for changing unwanted
behaviors. |
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Progressive Muscle
Relaxation |
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Complete training program for
physiological relaxation using a simple muscle tensing/relaxation
procedure. |
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Systematic
Desensitization |
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Explains the Systematic Desensitization
procedure, using Fear of Flying examples, so that you can desensitize yourself
to flight anxiety. |
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Hypnosis and Cognitive
Psychology
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Explains how to change negative,
self-defeating thought patterns.
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Gratitude
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Has this web page been helpful? Then please help support this
website in gratitude, as a “down-payment” on the success of your
hopes and dreams!
|
Notes:
1.
Freiberger JJ, Denoble PJ, Pieper CF, Uguccioni DM, Pollock NW, Vann RD.
The relative risk of decompression sickness during and after air travel following
diving. Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine 2002;
73:980–984.
2. Bagshaw M., Air
Transport Medicine Committee, Aerospace Medical Association. Special Committe
Report: Traveller’s thrombosis: A review of deep vein thrombosis associated
with travel. Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine 2001;
72:848–851.
3. Well, actually,
if you really work at it, you can put yourself into a state of water intoxication
(hyposmolality/hyponatremia). But if you drink only a glass (8 oz—or
250 ml) of water per hour you would be well below the maximum recommended
½ qt/hr (500 ml/hr) in moderate temperatures and easy work load. See:
Kolka MA, Latzka WA, Montain SJ, Corr WP, O’Brien KK,
Sawka MN. Effectiveness of revised fluid replacement guidelines for military
training in hot weather. Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine
2003; 74:242–246.
4. Kraaij V, Garnefski
N, van Gerwen, L. Cognitive coping and anxiety symptoms among people who
seek help for fear of flying. Aviation, Space, and Environmental
Medicine 2003; 74:273–277.
5. Dyregrov A, Skogstad
A, Hellesøy O, Haugli L. Fear of flying in civil aviation personnel.
Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine 1992; 63:831–838.
6. Rouse DM. Cases
from the aerospace medicine resident’s teaching file. Aviation, Space,
and Environmental Medicine 2002; 73:713–714.
7. Jones DR. Flying
and danger, joy and fear. Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine
1986; 57:131–136.
8. Strongin TS.
A historical review of the fear of flying among aircrewmen. Aviation,
Space, and Environmental Medicine 1987; 58:263–267.
9. Voge VM. Failing
aviator syndrome: A case history. Aviation, Space, and Environmental
Medicine 1989; 60(7, Suppl.):A89–91.
10. Picano JJ.
An empirical assessment of stress-coping styles in military pilots.
Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine 1990; 61:356–360.
Additional
Resources
Government/Safety:
AGC
— Quarterly Enforcement Report provides information from the
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) about which airlines have been fined
or disciplined by the FAA in the last few years.
Aviation
Accident Statistics are compiled by the FAA.
NTSB Aviation
Accident/Incident Database provides searchable database information
from The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Passenger
Injuries and Injury Rates, by year, are compiled by the NTSB.
Medical Issues:
Altitude
Illness from THE MERCK MANUAL, Sec. 20, Ch. 281.
Decompression
Sickness from THE MERCK MANUAL, Sec. 20, Ch. 285.
Mitral
Valve Prolapse from THE MERCK MANUAL, Sec. 16, Ch. 207
Mitral
Valve Prolapse from MitralValveProlapse.com
Motion
Sickness from THE MERCK MANUAL, Sec. 20, Ch. 282.
Other Fear of Flying
Websites:
Fear
of Flying Treatment from this website, explains the various treatment
options for fear of flying and provides links to other Fear of Flying
websites.
Track Current
Flights:
Flight
Tracking from TRIP.com.
TrackStats
from fboweb.com.
Travel Help:
AirSafe.com
provides safety information for the airline passenger.
Air Traffic Control System
Command Center provides real-time FAA updates about airport delays
around the US.
British Air-ways
Health is a comprehensive source of advice about health matters
related to air travel.
eHow
to Overcome Your Fear of Flying provides links to many helpful
tips related to commercial flying.
Relief Band
— sells a product for drug-free relief of motion sickness.
Useful Tips for
Airline Travel — from the Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA).
PDF format.
Virtual Hospital: Psychiatry: Fear of Flying —
helpful information from the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
Virtual Naval
Hospital: Patients HomePage provides a broad range of medical
information for the consumer specifically relating to Wellness
issues.
Within A Guide to Psychology and its
Practice:
Autogenics
Training explains a self-taught relaxation technique. Why pay for
something somewhere else when you can get it here for free?
Aviation Links
of special interest to pilots and the General Aviation community.
Basic Principles
of Aircraft Flight explains basic aerodynamics, including
turbulence, in relation to commercial flight.
Fear of Flying
Treatment explains the various treatment options for fear of
flying.
Progressive Muscle
Relaxation explains a self-taught relaxation technique. Why pay
for something somewhere else when you can get it here for free?
Stress explains
the psychological and physiological aspects of “stress.”
Systematic
Desensitization explains a simple, self-taught treatment for fear
of flying. Why pay for something somewhere else when you can get it here
for free?
Terrorism
explains the psychology of terrorism.
CONTACT ME
INDEX of all subjects
on this website
SEARCH this
website
BOOKS by Dr. Richmond |
|
A Guide
to Psychology and its Practice |
www.GuideToPsychology.com |
|
Copyright © 1997-2024 Raymond
Lloyd Richmond, Ph.D. All rights reserved.
San Francisco |
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All material on this website is
copyrighted. You may copy or print selections for your private, personal
use only.
Any other reproduction or distribution without my
permission is prohibited. |
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