Often called aerophobia, fear of flying is basically a phobia of being on any kind of flying vehicle. This is one of the most well-known and common phobias around even though it is relatively safe compared with land transport accidents. Though the risk is very small, many experts believe this phobia to be a rational reaction to the idea of the horror of an aircraft accident. The severity of the condition can vary from simply being afraid of getting on a plane, to having a full blown panic attack at simply the idea of air travel.
What Are the Causes of Aerophobia?
The fear of flying may begin as a sole phobia on its own, or it can be a result of other phobias which all come together to contribute to this particular fear. Fear of heights, fear of water, claustrophobia and panic attacks are all examples of phobias that can contribute to create a fear of flying. Aerophobia can also be caused by the memory of a traumatic event that has happened involving air travel. You may have had a horrible experience take place on a plane, or even gone on a flight to a traumatic or difficult event which left you with bad and upsetting memories of the process. The media also plays an important role in putting fear into people as it sensationalises all air travel mishaps and creates a very dramatic and dangerous outlook to air travel as a result. Due to the commonality and smaller nature of land accidents, they do not receive the same type of coverage, thus not raising the same type of fear in the public.
How Can you Treat Aerophobia?
Many people who have phobias about specific things will generally avoid them and try to limit their knowledge and dealings with that particular type of thing or event. Being afraid of the unknown is sometimes worse than knowing all the details, educating yourself on the facts and the realities of air travel incidents and the type of thing you can expect can work wonders to ease the fear you feel about flying.
If simply dispelling all the myths and ideas is not enough then the next step would be to seek out some kind of therapy to help with your problem. The most effective type of therapy is cognitive behaviour therapy which helps you to change your beliefs and assumptions of a certain situation. Another type of therapy is called systematic desensitization and hypnotherapy which are psychiatric techniques commonly used to help with many different kinds of phobias.
The final step to recovery, if these methods have no worked so far, is to try medication. There are some very effective relaxants or depressant drugs available which can help to relax the nervous system in times of stress and deal with the associated anxiety.
Whichever way you find works for you, it is important for an individual to try everything they can to overcome this kind of phobia in order to live their life to the fullest and get the most enjoyment and pleasure they can from the opportunities in this world.