Can you overcome the fear of flying?

For some people, thinking about flying on an airplane can be a terrifying experience.. Suddenly they are flooded by a series of dark thoughts, usually related to the possibility of losing their life. These thoughts occur involuntarily and are difficult to modify. There are those who, for personal or work reasons, are forced to travel, making the flight a moment of great stress and discomfort.

In more severe cases, avoidance can be resorted to, giving up experiences as rewarding as get to know other places, visit family or friends who live far away and even take your loved ones' jobs. dreams. But it is important to mention that everyone can fly, if the problem is faced appropriately.

The Psychology of Phobias

Fear is a primary emotion that alerts us and prepares us to face dangerous situations, real or imaginary.. As soon as we feel fear, physiological, bodily and behavioral responses are activated. The body immediately assists us by releasing adrenaline and cortisol, that is, it prepares to react to stressful situations.

Blood pressure, heart rate and sugar are raised so that blood arrives with energy and in sufficient quantity, especially to the muscles; In this state of emergency we are ready to face danger, or prepare to flee.

If fear is a natural human condition that helps us respond assertively when faced with danger, why for some people can fear become their worst nightmare? Fear stops working in our favor when the dangerous situation is not justified.. That is to say, walking down the street and suddenly seeing a lion is not the same as walking down the same street “thinking” that a lion is going to appear.

At this point we can refer to pathological fear or even a phobia. Phobia, specifically, refers to “intimate fears projected onto an external object. It is an intense and disproportionate fear of a situation or stimulus that, in principle, should not trigger that reaction.”

The fear of airplanes

The pathological fear or phobia of flying is a very limiting mental prison and many people suffer from it. The question is, can the fear of flying be cured? The answer is: definitely yes. No person was born with a fear of flying, it is “a condition that was triggered” because different factors were mixed in their psychic structure. of a social, personal, real, imaginary and/or collective order.

The fear of flying begins at the base of the brain where the hippocampus is, that is, our primitive brain, Our brain is like a search engine, it stores information and, in a certain circumstance, recovers and uses that information. information. For example, we are preparing for a trip, packing our suitcase and suddenly we remember a bad experience on a flight, a movie, a news story. some air disaster and thus anxiety is automatically activated, the adrenaline discharge begins, the brain relives the situation that was experienced in another moment.

Fortunately, we also have the frontal lobe, which is our thinking brain and it knows that the airplane is one of the means of transport with the lowest accident rate, that is, the plane is one of the most common means of transport. insurance; but we still feel fear, and it is because the structure of our brain is dissociated: with a part of our brain We understand that the plane is safe, but elsewhere, a number of memories or misinformation trigger anxiety.

The treatment of this condition consists of reprogramming the brain. That is, instead of the brain evaluating the experience of flying only through old images or bad experiences, it works so that count on the resources that allow you to evaluate the situation in a different way and thus lose fear and regain confidence in the flight. In other words, the person can align the rational being with the emotional being to activate a new response to the stimulus.

Techniques are used that allow the patient to identify disturbing or painful memories in order to process and redefine them; identify erroneous beliefs, irrational automatic thoughts and how to deal with them; Specialized breathing, relaxation and visualization techniques are used. It is also very important to provide the patient with professional information related to the world of aviation, both technical, operational and technological aspects.

If your fear of flying or being on board an airplane overcomes you, consider that with professional intervention it is possible for you to overcome it and enjoy the freedom and pleasure of traveling. At “Poder Volar” we work with the method created by Dr. Plá, with this method we have helped thousands of passengers each year to regain their freedom.