- For other uses, see Fear of Flying
Fear of flying is a fear of air travel. It is also known as aviatophobia or aviophobia. Commercial flight has become an important, for many people even essential, part of life, and yet the seeming unnaturalness of human flight continues to cause a significant proportion of the public to feel anxiety before, during, or while thinking about flying—this despite that driving in an automobile is statistically many times more dangerous[1].
There are many things that cause one to fear flying, including a fear of closed in spaces (claustrophobia), such as that of an airplane cabin; a fear of heights (acrophobia); a feeling of not being in control (since a passenger is not piloting the plane and can't get out at will); previous traumatizing experiences while in flight; fear of hijacking or terrorism; fear of deep venous thrombosis; fear of turbulence; etc. While most people who are afraid of flying but to whom flight is a convenient way to conduct necessary business manage their fears well enough that they are able to fly, they may spend considerable time and emotional energy thinking about the dangers that may befall them during flight.
A few people are nearly incapable, however, of getting on a plane, and must use cars, trains, buses and ships – all of which are slower and usually less safe than airplanes – to achieve long distance travel. Some people blame the media as a major factor behind fear of flying, claiming the media sensationalizes airline crashes (and the high casualty rate per incident), in comparison to the perceived scant attention given the massive number of isolated automobile crashes.
Like many phobias, fear of flying may "generalize" to cause fear of flight-related situations or stimuli. Many individuals with a strong fear of flying report anxious symptoms or panic attacks when discussing air travel, when seeing airplanes overhead, when visiting airports (even when not embarking on air travel themselves), or when watching television programs or films that depict air travel.
Some airline and travel companies run courses to help people get over the fear of flying – for example, Virgin Atlantic's "Flying Without Fear".
Fear of flying may also be treated by the use of psychoactive medications. For individuals experiencing anxiety due to a phobia, the standard psychiatric prescription might be any of a number of different psychoactive medications such as benzodiazepines or other relaxant/depressant drugs. Psychiatrists are sometimes reluctant to prescribe any medication for the treatment of fear of flying due to the need for patients to medicate irregularly.
Some individuals with fear of flying may self-medicate with other psychoactive substances—particularly alcohol, which is served in many commercial airline cabins—in order to deal with their anxiety. Most mental health professionals would advise against consuming alcohol as a medication both due to the strong risk of dependency (alcoholism) and due to the particular physiological effects on the body of air travel. In a pressurized cabin, the lower-than-normal oxygen content of the air will cause an alcoholic beverage to have a significantly enhanced effect on the body--resulting in a perhaps surprising level and rapidity of intoxication from only one or two drinks.
On the other hand, some professionals believe that if an individual is capable of controlling his or her drinking—i.e. is not an alcoholic—and consumes only a small amount at a time, that an alcoholic beverage before or during a flight may be beneficial as a short-term treatment of the fear of flying. Most would still advise a more long-term strategy of systematic desensitization therapy.
Notable people who have had or have a fear of flying
Real people
- Isaac Asimov
- Dennis Bergkamp
- David Bowie
- Maurice Clarett
- Wayne Coyne
- Doris Day
- Brandon DiCamillo
- The Dalai Lama
- David Eddings
- Agnetha Fältskog
- Aretha Franklin
- H.R. Giger
- Fat Joe
- Jackie Gleason
- Whoopi Goldberg
- Jackie Jensen
- Jimmy Johnstone
- R. Kelly
- Tony Kornheiser
- New Found Glory (contemporary pop-punk band, once joking in an interview how members need to be drugged in order to fly, ala *The A-Team
- Edgerrin James
- Kim Jong-Il
- Benn Jordan
- Stanley Kubrick
- Leo Laporte
- Li Ao
- Loretta Lynn
- John Madden
- Alexander Mogilny
- Alex Pettyfer
- Alan Price
- Robert Smith
- Matthew Sweet
- Mr. T
- Billy Bob Thornton
- Ritchie Valens
- Lars von Trier
- Thomas Ravelli
Fictional characters
- Jonathan "The Duke" Mardukas: Charles Grodin's character in Midnight Run. He claims to have this phobia, among others.
- B. A. Baracus of the TV series The A-Team. He is often drugged or otherwise knocked out by his friends so that they can get him onto a plane.
- Adrian Monk from the TV series Monk. He did achieve getting on a plane by the end of the first season however.
- Carla Tortelli from the TV series Cheers.
- John Doe from the TV series John Doe.
- Raymond Babbitt in the 1988 film Rain Man. An autistic man who refuses to fly on any airline for fear of it crashing--except Qantas, which he claims has never had a crash.
- Alex Browning from the film Final Destination.
- Wendell Urth, a housebound detective created by, and sharing his fears with, Isaac Asimov.
- Jack Ryan, protagonist of most novels by Tom Clancy.
- Marge Simpson , although she later overcame her fear of flying, before being involved in a minor air crash. (Episode 2F08, "Fear of Flying")
- Maris Crane, of Frasier, due to a bad experience of being "bumped" from first class.
- Father Ted from the TV series Father Ted.
- Tyler from the 2006 smash-hit movie Snakes on a Plane.
See also
- Phobia
- List of phobias
- Fear of Flying is the title of a novel by Erica Jong.
- Fear of Flying is an episode from The Simpsons.
- The Rammstein song "Dalai Lama" is about fear of flying.
External links
References
- ^ United States Department of Transportation. "A Comparison of Risk" http://hazmat.dot.gov/riskmgmt/riskcompare.htm Accessed June 12, 2006