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At least a third of the world’s population suffers from fear of flying. About 14% do not dare to sit in an airplane at all, and another 10% make a serious effort over themselves. And this despite the well-known fact: airplanes are one of the safest modes of transport. According to statistics, the real probability of death in a plane crash is estimated as 1 in 45 million. Besides, it’s a convenient transport, allowing to get as quickly as possible to any point of the planet. No wonder that many people with aerophobia dream of not being afraid of flying.
Reasons for Fear of Flying
Why are people so afraid of flying on a plane that sometimes they can’t even overcome their fear? There are several reasons for this situation:
- Modern man got his fear of being over the ground from his ancestors along with other genetic information. At one time, people were frightened by “iron birds,” which is why many people flinch when they hear the sound of an airplane.
- When an airliner rises into the air, the body realizes that it is out of the familiar environment. Passengers with panic attacks and phobias experience a sense of dread.
- Some are frightened by movies they’ve seen before, casino slot games that are related to plane crashes, or books they’ve read about plane crashes or material about crashes in the media.
- Fear often arises during the first flight, here the fear of the unknown comes into play. Sometimes this experience is unsuccessful or the body takes the usual motion sickness for the danger and gives the appropriate signal to the brain.
- Often this is explained by the unwillingness to trust their lives to strangers – pilots, as well as by mistrust of the large number of unknown devices and appliances. Aerophobia can be a consequence of long-term depression, severe stress or psycho-emotional distress not related to flying at all.
Scientists have identified a genetic predisposition for such a phobia. If someone in the family suffers from a similar disorder, this propensity may be inherited.
More prone to fear impressive people for a long time fix attention on the previous events of a negative nature.
Manifestations of Aerophobia
Aerophobia is characterized by a variety of symptoms of a physical, somatic and psychological nature. Manifestations of the first two include:
- Heart palpitations.
- Development of tachycardia.
- Soreness in the chest area.
- Increased sweating.
- Vomiting and nausea.
- Frequent urination.
- Tension headaches.
- Redness or pallor of the face.
- Tremors in the legs and arms.
It’s possible to determine whether a person has aerophobia by a number of signs. The presence of irrational fear of flying is indicated by panic long before the flight, suspicions that the flight attendant and pilots are hiding something, thoughts about inevitable death when the airliner hits turbulence.
People with this disorder feel extremely uncomfortable throughout the flight, huddling in their seats during takeoff and landing, constantly listening to the engines, trying to hear signs of failure.
Other symptoms of a psychological nature include:
- Increased irritability a few days before departure.
- Refusal to fly at the last moment.
- Categorical reluctance to use air transport.
- Obsessive thoughts of crashing an airplane.
- Consumption of special sedative medications.
- Increased irritability.
Prolonged state of stress after a flight is also an indicator of aviation phobia.
How to Overcome Fear
Since air travel saves a lot of time and energy, many people try to overcome their fear of flying by air. Obedience to one’s fears leads to the development of serious illness, so you should try to conquer the irrational fear. The best way to do this is simply to distract yourself from anxious thoughts and your own phobia, to switch to something else.
To stop being afraid of flying on an airplane you need to:
- Try to set the right mood beforehand, at least not to read summaries of plane crashes or watch movies on the subject.
- Choose a flight with a comfortable departure time (some people prefer to fly at night, for some it is easier in the daylight).
- Check in in advance and ask for a seat farther away from the portholes.
- Don’t land in the tail section, where you feel most of the turbulence.
- Give up the desire to drink something alcoholic before the flight, do not abuse coffee and sedatives.
- Find something interesting to do (download a game to your tablet, take a fascinating book, crossword puzzles.
- Listen to soft music on headphones to drown out the noise of the engines.
- Listen to music during the flight
Overcome the fear easier during communication with the neighbors in the cabin, even if some of them have the same fear. It’s even easier to do – go to sleep during the flight.
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