Aerophobia

Aerophobia could be described as the extreme fear of flying. A person who has aerophobia may be scared of flying in an aeroplane or even different aspects related to flying like take-off and landing. Another term for fear of flying is aviophobia. Statistics suggest that air travel is one of the safest modes of travel compared to travelling in a car, bus or a train. Most people are not scared of the possibility that the aeroplane might crash; they just feel anxious being on a plane. People even get anxious by thinking of flying in an aeroplane.

Aerophobia symptoms

A person suffering from aerophobia would try to avoid flying in an aeroplane. They might try to take another means of transport, such as a car, train or a bus, even if it causes inconvenience. However, some aerophobia symptoms are:

·    Upset stomach

·    Nausea

·    Sweating extremely

·    Feeling chills

·    Shaking

·    The person may have increased heart rate

·    He may face difficulty in breathing

·    The person may even have a panic attack during the flight.

Causes of aerophobia

Researchers believe that there is no specific cause for fear of flying. It is unusual for a person to develop aerophobia from a traumatic experience on an aeroplane. However, some factors that may have caused a person to develop a fear of flying are:

1. Experience a flight crash or a traumatic flight- A person could even develop the fear of flying by watching news coverage about a plane crash. E.g. Many people may have experienced a fear of flying after witnessing the attack on September 11.

2. Genetics- Phobias are developed in many people because their parents or siblings suffer from them. It is very common for children to fear flying because their parents have it. It is also possible that a person may pick up aerophobia from a friend. However, the phobias that a child may have is mostly influenced by parents.

Researchers also suggest that many factors may trigger a fear of flying in a person. Some of those factors are turbulence, lousy weather, take-off, etc.

Aerophobia treatment

It is difficult to diagnose the fear of flying as there is no particular test. The case of aerophobia may be mild or very severe. A lot of people use therapies to overcome their fear of flying, but it depends on the severity of aerophobia in a person. A doctor can treat the phobia with the help of therapies or medication, or even both. However, some commonly used treatments are-

·    Cognitive behavioural therapy- The primary aerophobia treatment that is mainly recommended to a person suffering from phobias such as fear of flying is cognitive behavioural therapy. The purpose of CBT is to change the way of thinking that contributes to fear in a person. Negative thoughts associated with the fears may be causing trouble. The therapist may try to convince the person about the positive sides of air travel and aeroplanes.

·    Exposure therapy- Exposure therapy is very helpful in overcoming fears. The person suffering from aerophobia would be exposed to his fear in a controlled environment where he feels safe and could manage his fear. There are different degrees of exposure, and the person goes through them stage wise. He may be exposed to virtual reality or a flight simulation where he may learn how to deal with his fear, and eventually, he would be asked to travel in an aeroplane.

·    Individual therapy- A one-to-one person therapy or hypnotherapy is sometimes used to help a person overcome his fear of flying. It is found that a program based on internet exposure to flying proved to be very effective in the treatment of aerophobia.

·    Medication- In some cases, medications could be prescribed to alleviate the symptoms related to aerophobia. Many people get panic attacks and feel nausea or anxiety before flying; in that case, medications are required to ease the symptoms.

Conclusion

Aerophobia is the fear of flying, and it is also known as aviophobia. It is a kind of anxiety disorder that may cause a person to get scared of flying or feel anxiety. People who suffer from fear of flying mostly try to avoid travelling by aeroplanes. They may take a car, bus, or train so that they don’t have to board an aeroplane. They may feel nausea, sweat too much, start to shake or their heart rate increases during a flight. It could be caused due to many reasons, such as a traumatic experience or genetics. Therapies and medication are used to manage the symptoms of aerophobia.