In Brief
- A 2006 poll indicates that 27 percent of American adults are at least somewhat afraid to fly in an airplane; 9 percent are “very afraid.”
- People with aviophobia worry obsessively that they will crash or even die of their own fear. In extreme cases, an individual suffers a full-blown panic attack, which can include physical symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain, nausea and dizziness. Such intense fear may cripple careers and prevent people from visiting family or friends.
- Fear of flying often yields to treatment with do-it-yourself DVDs, hypnosis or virtual reality. Perhaps the most effective therapy, however, involves confronting the fear with facts and exposing patients to what they fear—by putting them on an airplane.
Karsten Kramarczik, a magazine art director from Schriesheim, Germany, never liked to fly. Even as a child, he found that the prospect of enclosing himself in a long metal tube and hurtling through the ether at nearly the speed of sound made him shiver. Nevertheless, for much of his life Kramarczik forced himself to get on airplanes. Then, four years ago, doubt mysteriously turned into full-blown panic on a trip to Barcelona. He has not flown since.
According to a 2006 USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll, 27 percent of American adults are at least somewhat afraid to take to the skies; 9 percent are “very afraid.” These statistics suggest a recovery since the September 11, 2001, attacks, shortly after which a Gallup poll indicated that 43 percent were wary about getting on an airplane, including 17 percent who were “very afraid.”
This article was originally published with the title Nerves in Flight.
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2 Comments
Add CommentDo it your self treatments maybe mildly effective for those who fly with mild anxiety but for those who suffer the duration of the flight or who avoid flying all the together research indicates that clinical treatment with behavioral specialist is necessary. Further as a clinical psychologist who has successfully treated over 200 individuals with flying phobia I advocate for strict behavior therapy using Virtual Reality.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisRegardless of the knowledge of statistical safety of flight, some people surely become extermely nervous. This is not only in the case of flight, however, because of the presence of people frightened with subway or a closed-room. These obsseive mental state needs counsel therapy and, in some severe cases, psychotherapeutic drugs.
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