Fear of Flying or Aerophobia is a delicate medical condition which has raised concerns primarily due to increasing aviation accidents and security issues over the years. Bad experiences of flying need not be necessarily bracketed with aviation accidents, but could also be referred to incidents experienced at airports, or with people whilst travelling.

Adverse incidents give birth to post-traumatic stress. The person is unable to cope with incidences and loses control over his emotional self. The anxiousness of experiencing a similar unpleasant incident again, causes deep-rooted fear to develop even though the probability of a similar incident is small.

Aerophobia is a well-defined phobia in itself. However, its roots can be traced to complex psychological issues or a combination of existing phobias. Fear of water, closed or open spaces, crowds, heights and anxiety disorder may result in Aerophobia.

Symptoms of Aerophobia:

  • Panic attacks and Vomiting at the very mention of flying
  • Post-traumatic stress symptoms such as depression, anxiety relating to flight and air travel.
  • Nightmares
  • Flashbacks
  • Anxiety disorder
  • Fear of water, closed or open spaces, crowds or heights

Treatment Options for Aerophobia:

Therapy:

Cognitive behaviour therapy, Hypnotherapy and Systematic desensitization are methods involved in treating patients suffering from Aerophobia.

  • Cognitive behaviour therapy: When a patient confronts an underlying fear or a stressful situation, his nervous system goes through a series of changes causing the phobia to come into the forefront. Cognitive behaviour therapy works on this very thinking process or approach of the patient towards a situation and rationalises the situation.
  • Systematic desensitization: In Systematic desensitization the patient is exposed to his fears whilst he is in a deep state of relaxation.
  • Hypnotherapy: In hypnotherapy, the patient is put under a deep spell of relaxation where his sub-conscious mind is in control. Communication between sub-conscious and conscious mind restructures the patient’s belief, approach and perception towards situations and incidents.

Medication:

Drugs offer respite to a certain extent, although it depends on the patient’s honesty towards the treatment to work to its full potential. Anxiety-driven drugs are not a permanent solution and are to be used with other treatment options.

There are other therapies as well that are proved to suppress Aerophobia. Herbal remedies, Musical Therapy, Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP), Relaxation Therapy, EMDR Technique, Psychotherapy, Time Line Therapy and Aromatherapy are among them.