With all the recent plane crashes occurring in the U.S. this week, many of us are both heartbroken and on edge. Witnessing the devastating collision of a passenger plane and an army helicopter near Washington DC, as well as several other crashes in the news, can undoubtedly stir up some flight anxiety.
If you’re anything like me, you might have already struggled with the fear of flying—and these recent tragedies can act as triggers that confirm these lingering doubts and worries. Also called aerophobia, this fear is one of the most common phobias, affecting over 25 million adults in the U.S. alone.
How to Better Manage Your Aerophobia
According to the Cleveland Clinic, “People with aerophobia may be scared about different aspects of flying, such as take-off, landing or getting locked in the plane. You might know that your fear is irrational—statistics show that air travel has the lowest death rates among other forms of transportation—but you can’t reason your way out of the anxiety.”
However, after seeing recent headlines, the fear might even feel a little more rational than we thought.
Dr. Gail Saltz, clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, spoke with CNN about this common phobia, noting some common symptoms like a racing heart, sweating, trembling, dizziness, shortness of breath, chest pain, etc.—you know, the usual panic attack symptoms.
As a result of the extreme anxiety, you might have the desire to avoid flying altogether, Dr. Saltz noted, causing you to miss out on important milestones or adventures. Avoidance is an attempt to protect ourselves, but sometimes, we have to learn to deal with uncertainty and take healthy risks.
Galtz added that exposure and response prevention is a great form of therapy for aerophobia and many other phobias, as well as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
According to Psychology Today, this form of therapy “is designed to gradually reduce the anxiety that feeds obsessions and compulsions. One way in which this is thought to happen is through a process called habituation, whereby people become less physiologically aroused by triggering stimuli or obsessions after being repeatedly and safely exposed to them.”
Of course, you can expose yourself to your fear at your own pace while working with a trusted professional. I once opted to drive 12 hours to a wedding instead of hopping on a flight because I knew I wasn’t ready. Looking back, I recognize that forcing myself to fly while having a full-blown panic attack would only have made the fear stronger.
And eventually, I was able to get myself on a plane and feel more accustomed to flying.
Moral of the story: don’t be so hard on yourself, and when you feel ready, try to get back on that plane. There’s a whole world out there you won’t want to miss out on.
And if you need a little dose of reassurance, here’s a video from a flight attendant who offers some comforting facts about flying.
The post Aerophobia: How to Manage Your Fear of Flying appeared first on VICE.
