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| health > story page |         |
Afraid to fly? Help is at handDecember 23, 1999
By Harvey Black (WebMD) -- Ringing in a new century at 30,000 feet isn't proving to be a popular choice for Americans. So few people are buying tickets that some airlines are even reducing the number of flights scheduled on December 31 and January 1. "We don't believe the lack of bookings that night is directly related to customer concerns about Y2K," says Walter J. Aue, a spokesman for American Airlines. "But understandably, demand on most routes the evening of New Year's Eve just isn't there." Aue says it's not uncommon for an airline to cut back its schedules on holidays due to lower demand. Still, even some normally fearless fliers may have decided it's better to stay grounded this New Year's Eve -- just in case Y2K somehow affects air traffic control. For others, though, their fear of what might happen aloft surfaces much more often than once a millennium. The thought of putting themselves in that steel cigar makes them sweaty and nauseated, even though they know flying is just about the safest way to travel. In 1999, there was only one fatal commercial aviation accident in the United States involving a U.S. carrier, according to Paul Schlamm of the National Transportation Safety Board. Eleven people died in a crash landing at Little Rock, Arkansas. But for fearful fliers, statistics alone won't prevent their knuckles from turning white when that fasten-your-seat-belt light goes on. Experts estimate that about 10 to 16 percent of U.S. adults are afraid to fly. With so many people experiencing flight anxiety, it's not surprising that there are plenty of resources available to help lessen the fear of flying. Therapists specializing in fear of flying now offer long-distance telephone counseling. Fearful fliers can also find kindred spirits and support through online chats run by specialists. Whatever route you take to overcome your anxiety, the most important step is to fly, says psychiatrist John Greist, M.D., of Madison, Wisconsin, who has written about the fear of flying. "The process by which people get better is habituation -- they get used to it," he says. In therapy sessions, either over the phone or in person, therapists can teach people techniques and skills to help them deal with their fears. One technique, called systematic desensitization, is to have them gradually imagine themselves flying. Another uses virtual reality technology to recreate the experience of air travel -- complete with seats, noise, and vibrations -- in the safety of the therapist's office. In both cases, the aim is to get the client accustomed to the idea and the experience of flying. There are also skills for coping with anxiety, such as breathing exercises and relaxation techniques to use on the plane. One therapist urges his clients to become aware of what methods they already use to quell anxiety in earthbound situations, such as doing crossword puzzles, and use the same techniques to deal with their fears aloft. Tom Bunn, a social worker in Trumbull, Connecticut, is a retired airline pilot. He has his clients start their treatment with him by visualizing a returning plane taxiing to the gate. The client then visualizes getting off the plane, and finally meeting friends and family at the terminal. Bunn says it helps to start out with this positive experience. Most therapists tell those with a fear of flying to plan on having 10 to 12 sessions to help overcome their phobia, although some say six can be enough. Bunn and others work over the telephone; they say this approach can calm a fearful flyer enough to get on a plane. Reid Wilson, Ph.D., a psychologist at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, says that if a patient can only work with him over the phone, he will teach breathing and relaxation skills during three sessions. These skills, he says, occupy a person's mind so that thoughts of a flight's dangers are kept out. Just how successful are all these different therapies? Studies have found that more than 80 percent of fearful flyers who participate in some kind of anxiety-reduction program can overcome their worries enough to get on a plane.
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