The 'plane' truth about aerophobia

Just the thought of taking a flight sets off a series of physiological reactions for Sri Lankan expat John (name changed). The symptoms run the gamut from severe anxiety to hyperventilation and full-blown panic attacks. His sincere hope is that he wouldn't pass out if it came down to it but, in the same breath, adds that he probably will. Born and raised in the UAE, he hasn't taken a flight since the onset of his phobia when he was about six or seven years old. Not even once. The only way he's getting on a plane? "They'll have to deport me." The youngster laughs - but he's dead serious.

John speaks to us on condition of anonymity. "I don't really want anyone knowing that I have this fear - especially my employers. Travel is actually part of my job description, but I've managed to avoid overseas trips so far." He's not sure how much longer he can put off telling the boss or continue reporting sick every time they suggest a trip, but he is hoping to allay suspicions for as long as possible and is taking things as they come for now.

While phobias may seem extreme - even comic to some - they are all too real for those that suffer from them. By definition, these fears are irrational. But while throwing the dictionary at sufferers is hardly helpful, tracing the origins of these fears has proven far more fruitful. For John, therapy helped him identify the root cause: an incident when, as a child, he accompanied his dad to the helipad of a newly built hotel. "While my dad spoke to a friend, I wandered over to the edge of the helipad and looked over," he recalls. "I had this immediate terrifying sensation of almost falling over. I thought I was going to die. I've never done heights - or flights - after that." Not even for family vacations (John's entire family travels without him) or the love of globetrotting. "I do want to see the world, but the urge is not as great as my need to stay grounded," he says. "I don't really care to know what Bali looks like if it means I have to fly."

Aoife Duggan, senior first officer with British Airways, offers some insights. "The fear of flying can be an independent phobia, but also an indirect combination of one or more other phobias related to flying - such as claustrophobia (fear of enclosed spaces), acrophobia (fear of heights) or agoraphobia (fear of having a panic attack in a place one can't escape from)."

The pilot, who has been navigating the open skies for the last 10 years, also notes that the phobia transcends all demographical markers, including ages and genders. In town to help lead a Flying With Confidence course - British Airways' global programme to help fearful fliers tackle their aversion to aviation - Aoife tells of participants as young as four and as old as 90 signing up for the classes over the last 20 years.

What's more, surveys commissioned in the UAE by the airline last year found that 1 in 5 residents feared flying, while 39 per cent of respondents believed their fear worsened as they got older. There are many degrees that a person's fear of flying could escalate to, she explains. "Blind terror could mean that the most composed people on terra firma are transformed into a ball of nerves once on board or airborne."

Such is the case for recent graduate Sasha (name changed), who is well known in her family circles for needing to tightly grip the hand of whichever member elects to sit next to her on a flight. It doesn't help either that she used to spend hours watching aviation disaster videos online - a morbid exercise that both stemmed from, and further fuelled, her fears. It's the turbulence and all the strange sounds the plane makes that terrify her most, she says, relating a recent trip that, unfortunately, happened to take place during a storm. "I could see the thunder and lightning outside the windows; there was a lot of turbulence and, when the plane dipped at one point, I got so frightened I actually burst into tears," she confesses.

Pointing to the survey conducted last year again, Aoife assures that Sasha is not alone, as 31 per cent of UAE residents identified turbulence as the main cause of concern. Yet, she adds, "A boat stays afloat because it rests on a body of water, and an aircraft flies because it rests on a body of air. Just as the medium of water is subject to change and, as a result of the elements, can transform a glassy calm surface into a more turbulent sea, the medium of air responds in a similar fashion. Aircrafts, however, are built to more than withstand any turbulence they may encounter - and this poses no threat to its structure."

Most phobics are probably already familiar with the often-touted statistic that says the chances of dying in a road accident far outstrip those of dying in a plane crash. However, with the increasing number of 'incidents' we're being exposed to of late - from disappearing planes to windows cracking mid-flight - it is understandably challenging to reconcile these reports with research numbers. As Captain Tom Bunn, a pilot who has dedicated the last three decades to the development of effective methods for treating flight phobia, notes, when an anxious flier hears that only one out of 11 million flights crashes, they don't think of the 'abstract 11 million' - they imagine what people were feeling when aboard the one that crashed.

US-based psychologist Harriet Lerner knows the feeling all too well. In an article for Psychology Today, she says, "No amount of statistical evidence could compete with the terrifying scenarios I concocted in my head." She offers an almost radical solution: keep buying plane tickets. "Things become less terrifying the more we face them, and each time I got off a plane intact, I felt a little more capable of managing my fear," she says. "I flew so much that my fear eventually melted away. Experience gave me comfort where reasoning had failed."

From hypnotherapy to relaxation pills and cognitive therapy techniques, there are numerous resources today to help aerophobics tackle their fears. If nothing else, you could consider doing what Megan Fox does - and plug in to Britney Spears before take-off. Says the Transformers star, "I know for a fact it's not in my destiny to die listening to a Britney Spears album, so I always put that on when I'm flying because I know it won't crash if I have Britney on." To each their own!
Beat your fear with the 'Four Rs'

The 'Four Rs' method involves using your own biology to reassure your emotional brain that you are not under threat.

1. Deciding to REACT. Take the initiative to prevent yourself from spiralling down into the pit of anxiety, which can result in panic. For example, try snapping a rubber band on your wrist. The shock of the pain, along with saying "No" to the anxiety, can galvanise you into action.
2. REGULATE your breathing. By slow, methodical, abdominal breathing - particularly where the exhale is longer than the inhale - you can force your body into relaxation mode, which will then give you access to the thinking part of the brain (cortex).
3. RELAX your muscles. This will further reassure the emotional brain that there is no threat at hand, and enable you to go even deeper into the relaxation mode and stop the 'fight or flight' hormones from continuing to be flushed into your bloodstream.
4. REHEARSE a positive scene in your mind. This sort of mental visualisation will help you maintain your state of calm and relaxation, and keep your anxiety at bay.
- Courtesy: Patricia Furness-Smith, author and psychologist
karen@khaleejtimes.com