The fear of flying – what makes those thoughts feel so overpowering?

Most of us watch or listen to the news, so chances are we’ll come across aeroplane related headline stories at some time – and the ones that make the news are generally bad news!. But though it may seem like there are loads of these stories, the reports cover the world, and include even small private planes. How many car accidents around the world do you come across making headlines?

For those of you who are afraid of flying, just thinking about booking a ticket and stepping on a plane can feel as likely as a return flight to Mars – and it’s fascinating that they’re now talking about a future one way mission to Mars…. Though getting back is still a very long way off.  What will we find there, one wonders. Thinking about the Universe brings to mind the well-worn cliché – “We are not alone”. And with this in mind, it can be reassuring to know that the fear of flying is actually shared by many, many people worldwide.  You’re not alone!  But if you’re never done something, then what is it that stops you from giving it a go?

Quite a few people say they just know they won’t like something – and aren’t prepared to even try it. We all know people with food fads, who won’t sample anything outside the normal range of what they know they like. So what is it that puts these thoughts, images in our heads before we even try things out? It can be that you feel particularly vulnerable at a point in your life, and so believe the chance of something happening, despite being very unlikely, could actually occur – and that it will be just your luck and your flight.

A story which caught my attention was the BBC’s One Show on Monday evening when they covered the story on the police investigating whether a man found dead recently on a west London street was a stowaway who fell from a plane, who had hidden himself in the landing gear of a plane flying to Heathrow.  How often do you hear of this?

Yes we do hear about frightening plane crash stories like the one which took place this month.  The airliner that came down in the ocean while on arrival to Denpasar-Ngurah Raj Bali International Airport. But it’s really important to remember that all 108 passengers and 7 crew survived, though very sadly 45 people were injured. 

So what do we do with all this information and how do we relate it to our life’s ambitions?  Do we just put our ambitions to one side and give ourselves an easy excuse that we just can’t do it, or do we face it head on and find a way of dealing with it?

Isn’t getting on a plane and travelling to some far flung destination or even taking a short flight for a weekend trip worth doing?  What about the old friend over in Spain that you chat with on Skype every weekend – or the new job you’ve taken that could well involve a lot of travelling overseas?  The world is a small place and getting even smaller.  The option of travelling will grow ever greater, to the point where more and more of us will have to move around to get work, so overcoming this very real fear of flying could make all the difference to your life.

Elaine Iljon Foreman BA (Hons), M.Sc., AFBPsS   BPS Chartered Psychologist

Consultant Clinical Psychologist specialising in the treatment of fear of flying.