Now air transport is a quick and comfortable way to travel, but many people are forced to abandon it. The reason is aerophobia - fear of this type of transport. How to overcome aerophobia in an airplane is described in the article.
The concept
Considering the topic of how to defeat aerophobia, you should familiarize yourself with this term in more detail. It denotes the fear of flights and air crashes. Before the trip, nervousness appears, in difficult situations a person with a phobia is able to cancel the flight.
Typically, such fear arises after 25 years. In women, the fear of flights occurs more often than men. At the same time, a person could earlier easily travel by plane, but over time, obsessive fear arose. Aerophobia is based on the instinct of self-preservation.
Man is a "terrestrial" creature, so he considers a car or train a safer transport. Fear of the danger posed by an airplane can be stronger than a reasonable argument. The fight against aerophobia will be effective if proven methods are used.
In this case, a person may have the usual excitement before the flight, which is considered a normal reaction. This is the action of the instinct of self-preservation. This reaction is within the compensatory capabilities of the individual and has a positive conclusion.
A person's heart rate somewhat increases, blood pressure rises, breathing becomes frequent. All this is quickly normalizing. If fear overpowers compensatory mechanisms and a person is not able to cope with them, then this is a panic attack. And when they are constantly repeated, a phobia appears.
Causes
Why does aerophobia appear? It occurs for the following reasons:
- Fear is part of another phobia - fear of height or confined space. Often it develops if you want to control the situation.
- Rarely is a bad experience. This may be a past flight and unpleasant memories of him.
- Air crashes are usually discussed in the media. If a person is impressionable, aerophobia develops.
- Fear appears with a nervous companion who is not able to overcome the attack himself.
Flights are often made by residents of large cities, such as Moscow. You can get rid of aerophobia, most importantly, follow proven recommendations.
Symptoms
Like other phobias, this fear manifests itself physiologically. It is usually noticeable:
- anxiety, obsessive thoughts;
- disturbing sleep, nightmares;
- irritability, poor concentration of attention;
- impaired appetite, nausea;
- tachycardia and discomfort in the heart.
Before boarding or on the plane, these signs may intensify, panic attacks appear. There is severe sweating, trembling in the limbs, frequent urination. In this case, I just want to know how to defeat aerophobia.
Training
How to overcome aerophobia? If you need to fly, several recommendations are used that alleviate the unpleasant symptoms of fear. Remember that alcohol is not a suitable sedative. A small dose quickly disappears during the flight, and a large one can lead to negative consequences.
- You should arrive at the airport earlier than necessary to get used to the situation.
- Clothing should be chosen simple, which will help you breathe freely and will not constrain movements.
- It is advisable to fly with a loved one whom you trust. This will cope with anxiety.
- If possible, the ticket should be taken farther from the porthole, in the bow or middle of the plane.
- An interesting book or film is used to distract from obsessive thoughts. A conversation with a fellow traveler helps.
- There are effective meditations and podcasts that record and take with you on the road, which helps to relax.
These are the main recommendations on how to overcome the fear of aerophobia. Certain recommendations may help each person, while others may not be effective.
Self struggle
Panic is a physiological reaction. The heart accelerates the rhythm, adrenaline enters the bloodstream. The body begins to tighten, the muscles prepare to quickly respond to brain commands. On earth, discharge is performed through muscle activity. In the cabin, this will not work. The brain throws adrenaline, responds to imaginary danger, panic increases.
How to overcome aerophobia on your own? Begin with breathing. You need to close your eyes, lean back in an armchair, slowly exhale with your nose, saying to yourself in time with your breath: "I am able-to-en" or "I am weak-I-am." It is necessary to calm the breath, relax the stomach and neck. You should breathe shallow and slow. The exercise is repeated until the panic recedes. You need to know how to get rid of aerophobia yourself, and also believe in a positive outcome. It is important to use the power of will to relax the muscles of the body.
Help
Keep in mind that aerophobia is real. This is not a mixed phenomenon. A person who experiences such fear is subjected to a strong psychological and physical stress. Phobias are irrational, so do not prove or cite the facts. And jokes can cause an attack.
How to cope with aerophobia? It is necessary to create a smooth emotional background. You should talk in a calm, confident tone. You need to talk about abstract topics. You can watch a movie or magazine. It is important to distract from obsessive thoughts, which will help in the fight against panic. These are the main methods for eliminating aerophobia. How to get rid? Reviews indicate that these simple methods are effective.
Diagnosis and treatment
On the first flight, minor nervousness is a natural occurrence. But if fear does not disappear, you should think about how to overcome aerophobia.
You need to visit a psychologist in the following cases:
- For several days, fear arises, it is difficult to fall asleep, constantly tormented by tension. There are panic attacks that occur when you think about flying.
- The irrationality of anxiety is realized, but the attacks last, gradually intensify.
- Refusal of air transport even in the presence of important travel purposes.
At one consultation, the psychologist determines whether this fear is associated with other phobias - fear of confined space, fear of heights and others. The reason may be in impaired activity of the heart and blood vessels, as well as the vestibular apparatus. If the psychologist believes that these disorders are present, then you need to contact a cardiologist, neurologist or otolaryngologist (depending on the problem).
Psychotherapy is an effective way to overcome aerophobia. Short-term psychological practices are used - the cognitive method, hypnosis and NLL. A noticeable improvement, a decrease in anxiety occurs on the 2nd day of training.
Pills do not help get rid of this fear. Medications only muffle symptoms and are not able to eliminate the cause of fear, and with regular use, dependence develops. In complex cases and with depression, medication is warranted, but only after consulting a specialist.
Psychotherapy
Aerophobia treatment is performed using effective techniques. It should be picked up by a psychologist after the first consultation:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy. In this case, the image of the flight is recreated. With repeated repetition, the intensity of emotions is able to become dull, the ability to relax appears. This method changes the established psychological connections. Flying can be associated with peace and tranquility. The more there are “virtual” flights, the easier it will be to overcome fear on the plane.
- Hypnotherapy helps to plunge into the past, find the primary source of the problem and eliminate aerophobia. Often this is not related to the sky. Having determined the cause, it will be easier to overcome fear and ensure the stability of the psychological state. Relaxation under hypnosis will help eliminate panic attacks, enter into relaxation.
- Neuro-linguistics is another treatment for aerophobia. This is a special branch of psychology, neurology and linguistics.
These are effective methods to help overcome aerophobia. According to reviews, they help many people to overcome their fear.
Medicines
Usually, aerophobia does not require medical treatment. The latter is prescribed individually based on the condition of the person. It is better to take pharmaceuticals in urgent need when other methods are ineffective.
The course of treatment should be short in order to prevent side disorders of the nervous system. All medicines affect the nervous system. They use drugs from new generation antidepressants, light anxiolytics, sometimes drugs of the benzodiazepine group, which have an inhibitory effect on the nervous system.
Common fears
Fear appears due to the cliches of mass media and cinema, which have little to do with reality:
- The air transport comes off the wing. This situation is impossible. The wing design can withstand any load. In practice, this part does not always break off even when it hits the ground.
- Turbulence. Movie writers often use the word. Shaking occurs when the air around the fuselage is somewhat heterogeneous, for example, due to temperature differences. There has been no catastrophe in history that has been associated with turbulence.
- Engine failure. Transport does not fall stone. With 1 engine, it will fly 2 hours, and without traction - 40 minutes.
- Lightning. In a high atmosphere, lightning often hits an airplane. This is taken into account in the design, so there will be no harm. Passengers do not feel an electric shock.
- Chassis failure. The aircraft does not need landing gear to land. At airports there are special lanes for landing, pilots are constantly training.
- Lack of visibility when landing. Even in good weather, an airplane is planted on instruments, it is much more reliable than relying on an eye and good visibility.
Of course, planes are falling. But when comparing the risk of a plane crash with the risks of everyday life, the sky is safer. According to statistics, the aircraft is considered the most reliable place in the world.
Forecast
The prognosis of such a phobia depends on its duration and severity of seizures. Concomitant phobias are also taken into account. The more of them, the more difficult it is to recover.
As with other diseases, timely treatment of aerophobia will be more successful. Therefore, a positive outcome will be for those people who as soon as possible began to fight fear.
The consequences of no treatment
In extreme cases, this fear is dangerous. The mental state with each trip is more unstable, a person feels a panic state even when on the ground.
The consequences include nightmares in which the plane crashes, passengers die. This leads to insomnia, a nervous, irritable state. Still fear prevents a person from fulfilling daily duties. Relationships with loved ones can spoil, problems at work appear.
With phobia, the risk of problems with the heart and blood vessels increases. Such people are more likely to suffer strokes and heart attacks. Neurologist needs courses of treatment, which will help with the help of effective methods to improve the condition of a person and stop being afraid of flights.
Fear of flying after a plane crash
With participation in an unsuccessful landing, it is more difficult to eliminate aerophobia. This also applies if a person has witnessed a plane crash. But still, with the professional help of a therapist, fear can be eliminated.
Every 2-3 seconds in the world there is a take-off or landing of the aircraft. Currently, there are 8-10 thousand airliners in the sky. The safety of these flights is ensured by hundreds of thousands of people. Still helps with this computer and navigation technology.
Prevention
Prevention of the appearance of fears is important in childhood, when a child studies the external culprits of phobias. Responsibility for this lies with the parents, who must determine the fear even during its inception. You can not punish a phobia, it is better to immerse yourself in an anxious state and prove the absence of danger. Under the action of an alarm provocateur, you need to accustom a child to it.
To prevent the emergence of new ones and aggravate old fears, psychologists advise adults not to root phobias. You should deal with them earlier, it is better to entrust this to the therapist. Then the recovery process will be faster and more efficient.