With the development of passenger transportation by air, a new type of fear has emerged - aerophobia. A lot of people suffer from this ailment, which prevents them from traveling or moving around the world at work (business trips), which means living fully. Many people think that it is impossible to cope with a phobia, that this is a burden for a lifetime, refuse to travel or use another mode of transport, while restricting their capabilities. However, you can get rid of fear by putting enough effort into solving this problem and thoroughly understanding it.
Where did the fear come from?
The development of the media and the availability of information, coverage of all incidents on the Internet and on television creates fear in the minds of people. Seeing numerous air crashes, a person involuntarily associates an airplane with a danger to life. Previously, in Soviet times, there was a ban on the dissemination of such information to the masses, people simply did not know about the accidents and the numerous victims. Therefore, the development of aerophobia has become widespread only in recent decades.
But not only awareness of the misfortunes that have occurred can act as the cause of aerophobia. How to get rid of her? Find out what fear was the root cause: it may be a fear of confined space (claustrophobia) or height (acrophobia). In general, the appearance of such fears is a sign of emotional instability, a tendency to panic states, the result of stress, overwork, depression. In each case, the manifestation of a phobia has its own reasons. A person may be afraid of the technical malfunction of the aircraft, natural phenomena or the human factor (the pilot will not be able to cope with the control), which will entail an inevitable disaster. Aerophobia may include a fear of manifestations of one's own body and the inability to cope with them, fear of panic and loss of control, fear of lack of timely medical care.
Symptoms
If a person discovers that he has aerophobia, how to get rid of this phenomenon? In fact, many are afraid to fly on airplanes - this is a natural fear associated with fears for their lives. The norm is when this fear is controlled and invisible to others. If during a flight a person’s state is akin to panic, they speak of a phobia. Psychotherapists work a lot on this problem, and many methods have already been developed for overcoming the disease independently, with the help of a specialist, as well as medical treatment. But first you need to make sure whether it is aerophobia. How to get rid of its manifestations, the specialist will decide, finding out the true cause of its appearance. But you can determine the alarming symptoms yourself and immediately pay attention to them:
- long before the upcoming flight, a feeling of anxiety, panic mood sets in;
- pathological nervousness, unusual for a person in the usual state;
- the study of cases of air accidents, close attention to accidents of a similar plan;
- palpitations increase, muscle tone intensifies, breathing goes astray, increased sweating of the palms is observed.
These are the main symptoms of aerophobia. How to get rid of pathological fear of flying? First you need to find out its cause.
Causes of Aerophobia
Fear can arise for purely individual reasons unknown to anyone, even to its owner. But you can summarize the most common cases of a disease known as aerophobia. How to get rid of fear? Find out its reason:
- Traumatic experience, an unpleasant incident that once happened to a person and was deposited in consciousness, causing fear and panic. You can draw a parallel with a child bitten in childhood by a dog who, throughout his life after this episode, panics at the sight of an animal. Aerophobia may not be related to the flight itself. There were times when people, while on the plane, were in a tense emotional state due to personal problems or troubles at work. But the brain somehow connected these sensations with flight, thereby giving rise to aerophobia.
- Initially, a person who did not feel fear can adopt it from the environment: when everyone around is panicking, it is difficult to control yourself. Rarely, but still there are times when the cause is news releases or disaster films that cause aerophobia. How to get rid of such fear? To begin with, stop watching footage that is not intended for people who are especially sensitive in an emotional sense.
- Another reason is the accumulation of negative emotions and thoughts associated with flying. It’s like the development of a chronic disease - the constant, systematic effect of negative associations ultimately leads to phobia.
Associated fears
Under aerophobia, the so-called mini-phobias can be hidden when a person is afraid of something specific that could happen to him in an airplane. These obsessions haunt a person during the flight and before him, drawing terrible pictures in his imagination.
So, we decided: we need to find out what aerophobia is based on. "How to get rid of the fear of flying on airplanes?" - a question that will be easier to resolve by sorting out your fears. Their list is quite long:
- Claustrophobia. A man is afraid of confined spaces, which include the cabin of an airplane.
- Fear of heights. A person cannot get rid of the thought that he is high above the ground, which leads him to a state of panic.
- Lack of control. A person cannot cope with the thought that what is happening to him does not depend on himself, but on outsiders, strangers.
- Fear of physiological manifestations of the body. A man is afraid that he will feel sick during the flight, which often happens to passengers. There is a fear of creating an uncomfortable situation for yourself and others.
- Agoraphobia. A person is afraid of a large crowd of people and getting psychological trauma from them.
- Fear of terrorism or hijacking. Especially relevant in our turbulent times. It is formed under the influence of facts from the media.
- Fear of turbulence. Often arises from a lack of understanding of its nature and the real risk of an airplane crash for this reason. Self-education, the study of natural phenomena and the structure of the aircraft will help here, training courses, which can be found on the Internet, are not superfluous.
- Fear of flying over water. Here the root cause is aquaphobia, which must be treated first.
- Fear of night flying. Based on the fear of the dark, a person in such a situation is more sensitive to his defenselessness.
- Fear of death.
The development of aerophobia can be the result of the physiological characteristics of the body, a violation of the regulation of emotions or even pregnancy.
How to overcome fear? Tips
"What if aerophobia torments?" or "How to get rid of the fear of flying on an airplane?" - questions that are often asked by people suffering from this ailment. There are several tips, following which, you can facilitate your stay in the hated transport and make the flight more comfortable:
- Before the flight, it would be nice to take a sedative course, after consulting with your doctor.
- Come to the airport in advance to get used to the surroundings.
- For flight, choose loose, comfortable clothing that does not tighten and does not constrain movements.
- If possible, take a fellow traveler along with you, a close person you trust, so it will be easier to deal with anxiety.
- Remember once and for all: an airplane is a relatively safe mode of transport, compared, for example, with the same car on which the risk of an accident is much greater.
- If severe aerophobia is bothering you, how to get rid of it will be prompted by various online courses and trainings. Use them before your flight.
- When buying a ticket, choose a place away from the porthole and closer to the flight attendants delivering food and drinks.
- Do not take a place in the tail of the aircraft, turbulence zones are felt there more strongly.
- If you feel an approaching state of panic, close your eyes, try to distract from everything that is happening, meditate, turn on your favorite music in the headphones. You can watch a movie on the gadget or meet and start a conversation with a fellow traveler.
When aerophobia disappears, or How to get rid of the fear of flying on an airplane
Answers to painful questions can be given by special courses designed to help those suffering from a phobia. Training can be a real solution to the problem, because a person begins to understand aviation issues, and the fear of the unknown becomes irrelevant. Having understood how the airplane is arranged, what sets it in motion and how it all works, a person forgets what aerophobia is. How to get rid of the fear of flying, can tell people who themselves have learned to fly or who dared to jump with a parachute, sorting themselves. Take similar courses offer some airlines and travel agencies. Many are engaged in self-education, which is also very useful in the fight against fears. Gaining knowledge, for example, about turbulence, it is much easier not to panic in an airplane if it occurs. However, it all depends on the person himself and the degree of his phobia. Some people, even having received the necessary knowledge and skills, are not able to overcome panic. In this case, you need to comprehensively tackle the problem, adding psychological and drug therapy to the training.
Aerophobia Psychotherapy
Frequently asked questions to psychologists: "What should I do to prevent aerophobia?" or "How to get rid of the fear of flying?" Experts offer several effective ways to combat the disease.
- Hypnotherapy. The technique returns a person to those events in the past that caused fear. Sometimes it happens that the source of fear is not connected with the plane. Having identified the cause of all troubles, the psychologist will begin to eradicate fear and stabilize the patient's condition in a critical situation for him.
- Behavioral Therapy. It also allows you to identify the situation that caused panic in the human mind, to understand what event was the impetus for the occurrence of aerophobia.
- Neuroimaging. It suggests that fear was the result of not one specific case, but chronic exposure. This could be a violation of an emotional nature in childhood, which prevented the development of the right prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for managing emotions.
- Virtual Reality Therapy. A person using computer images is placed in a stressful situation for him. It is carried out strictly under the supervision of a psychologist.
If aerophobia occurs, how to get rid? Therapy using one of the methods will help to cope with fear. The main thing is to choose a qualified specialist.
Will medications help?
The first question when aerophobia occurs is how to get rid? There is no cure for fear. You can only alleviate your anxiety and prevent panic. To do this, in advance, about ten days before the flight, you should drink a course of sedatives, such as infusions of valerian, motherwort, glycine. Immediately before the flight, more potent drugs will come up, causing blurred consciousness. Such therapy should be used only as a last resort, with severe panic conditions. Often, the use of such drugs is prohibited, so as to prevent addiction. Some doctors recommend drinking 50 grams of cognac for general relaxation. You can’t drink a lot of alcohol. If you still suffer from aerophobia, how to get rid? Medicines do not give treatment for phobia, they can only alleviate the emotional state during a particular flight. For a more effective result, you need to use complex therapy, using all possible methods of dealing with the disease - training, talking with a psychologist, medicines. Then there is a chance to eradicate the problem, and not hide it behind a temporary intoxication of consciousness.
Supporting literature
What to do if aerophobia occurs? How to get rid? Medications do not solve the problem, but only temporarily help reduce emotional stress. Books for independent training can be a good help in the fight against fear. For example, “The Easy Way to Enjoy Air Travel” by Allen Kara, a well-known author of many works on the treatment of addictions and phobias. The book readily explains that fears are based only on myths and prejudices, which the writer is trying to debunk. The reader is given reasonable facts that a phobia has no real reasons for itself, it is just a game of imagination. The author sets the goal of fully informing a person in a matter that worries him and interferes with a normal life. Carr examines each individual case, be it fear of heights, turbulence, or a terrorist act, and explains why one should not be afraid of it. The only negative is that the author constantly refers to British pilots and airlines, which may be uncomfortable for the Russian reader. But, as reviews show, the work of this talented person helped people from all over the world cope with their problems.
Another book - "Aerophobia" by Russian author V. Ershov - is also popular. It tells about humanity, which always strove into the sky and wanted to fly like birds. But when the opportunity arose with the development of aviation, fear took hold of people. The author considers domestic issues and reveals the fear of Russian passengers. For aerophobes, this is a useful reading, not wasted time. Among all kinds of tools and means of practical solution of questions about how aerophobia is treated, how to get rid, books are a sure way to switch your consciousness to a positive wave.
Fly without fear
So, you were tortured by aerophobia. How to get rid? Treatment is convenient and effective in special courses. They are designed for aerophobes suffering from an ailment of varying degrees and etiology. Courses by Aleksey Gervash “We fly without fear” are especially popular. They are held in the center of the same name, created to treat aerophobia. Founder - Alexey Gervash, a pilot and psychologist at the same time, who received education abroad. The courses consist of three visits to the center, which include theoretical knowledge, practical skills, analysis of examples of dangerous situations in the air and their solutions.
The lessons are completed by a fixing flight, after which the project managers promise an almost one hundred percent deliverance from phobia. The only negative is the high price of the courses. But a person for whom constant flights are a necessity is worth spending one time and living peacefully. Courses are designed for people who want to get rid of a phobia and strive for it, make efforts. Without willpower and desire, no training, of course, will help. If you can’t attend classes in the center, you can take a special interactive course developed by Gervash. It is released on disk, you can order the product in the online store. If you really want to live a full life, fight your fears - persistent efforts will certainly give a positive result.