Do not panic That helps against fear of flying

Do not panic: what helps against fear of flying

03/01/2015

Tachycardia, inner restlessness, shortness of breath: Many air travelers often experience typical symptoms of fear of flying even before they board the plane. But this fear of flying (aviophobia) can be completely overcome, my psychologist. Among other things, an anti-panic course can help.

Panic fear of flying

Tachycardia, tremor, dizziness, shortness of breath: These and other symptoms are typical in people who are afraid of flying (also known as aviophobia). Basically, the aircraft is a comparatively safe means of transport. This usually also know those affected, but still they give up partly because of their panic fear on vacation trips by plane. The problem is often exacerbated by reports of disasters, such as the crash of the passenger plane in Southeast Asia a few days ago. But there are ways to overcome or at least contain fear.

Every third person suffers from aviophobia

Thomas Schulz, an emergency doctor at the Martin Luther Hospital in Berlin, is a private pilot in his spare time and flies paragliders and small airplanes. As the news agency dpa reported, the hobby pilot got earlier at the thought of heart rate and wet hands: He suffered from fear of flying. According to the Allensbach Institute for Demoscopy, every third person - whether occasional or frequent flyer - suffers from aviophobia. According to the information, fear of flying belongs to the group of specific phobias. This means that anxiety only occurs in specific situations, such as on the plane. Then stress leads to overactivation of the nervous system and sweating, wet hands, shortness of breath, nausea, nervousness to panic attacks. But also negative thoughts like: „Where do the sounds come from??“ can come up.

„Fear is an information deficit“

„Fear is an information deficit. It is the uncertainty of what might happen“, so Schulz. „Fear of flying can theoretically and in most cases also be tackled practically by dealing with the topic of flying and eliminating information deficits.“ Andreas Mühlberger, Professor of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy at the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, explained: „Anyone who wants to cope with the fear must face it and actually fly after psychological preparation.“

Distraction during the flight

However, you first have to know the causes of fear of flying. These are diverse, as the psychologist Karin Bonner explained. She has been the director since 2001 „Seminars for relaxed flying“ at Lufthansa. „Fear of flying is caused by a dramatically classified flight experience that may be completely undramatic, objectively speaking“, so the expert. Often these are turbulences, but also the spatial narrowness. It is helpful to start the journey without stress and to distract yourself on the flight, for example by talking to the neighbors, a book or music. In addition, it may be useful to communicate the on-board staff with his fear. The flight attendants can take special care of the passengers concerned.

Strategies for coping with anxiety

In some cases, relaxation methods help people to take the fear. However, if these are not enough, experts often recommend flying anxiety seminars. In it psychologist Bonner explains how a plane works, why it can take off at all and why turbulence in the descent is for example quite normal. An integral part of such seminars is usually the teaching of strategies for coping with anxiety. It teaches breathing exercises and relaxation techniques to control the typical reactions of the body. Particularly suitable are progressive muscle relaxation and autogenic training. Usually at the end of fear of flying seminars on a joint test flight.

In the middle of the plane it shakes a little less

„The passenger, who wants to take a hand, prefers the window seat, the guest with panic attacks the aisle seat“, explained seminar leader Bonner. „The fact is that it wobbles a bit less in the middle, because there is the focus of the aircraft.“ The expert also recommends asking yourself concretely what you are afraid of flying. „Often it is not the entire flight but only partial areas such as start and turbulence.“ Bonner advises to write realist knowledge about this area in short sentences on index cards and to keep them in mind before and during the flight. Those who face their fear of flying will eventually lose it too. (Ad)