What is it?
The fear of flying or aerophobia is an excessive worry about air travel. It is believed to affect one in ten of the population, however some studies suggest that the proportion is much higher. Fear of flying can be linked to the fear of aeroplanes or it could be an aspect of other psychological problems such as panic attacks, claustrophobia or post-traumatic stress disorder. People suffering from fear of flying often suffer increased anxiety and panic attacks at the thought of flying and many avoid air travel as a result of this.
People suffering with fear of flying commonly fall into one of two groups. Firstly, some people fear an “internal loss of control”. For such individuals, their fear of flying stems from a fear that they will lose control of their emotions during flight and therefore embarrass themselves in front of fellow passengers. These people may express concern about suffering a panic attack, loss of control of bodily functions or become hysterical. For others, the fear is associated with external factors such as turbulence, bad weather or a fault with the aeroplane.
The reassurance that air travel is one of the safest methods of travel usually does little to reassure the sufferer that air travel is safe and many people will avoid flying at all costs. This avoidance can affect their personal and professional lives, with people being unable to travel for business or to see friends/family.
It is common to find that many people who once flew without any problems can become uncomfortable travellers and go on to develop a fear of flying. For many people when they look back to the time when their fear of flying began they can find that they had quite a lot of stress in their lives. If they took a flight and experienced an ‘out of the blue’ panic attack, they can fear that they will have another next time they fly and so the pattern of anticipatory anxiety and avoidance can begin. One other factor is that some individuals will experience increased anxiety following the consumption of alcohol while on holiday – alcohol withdrawal can sometimes cause similar symptoms to anxiety (e.g. shaky, short of breath, feeling dizzy) and this can trigger increased anxiety and panic attacks in some on the return flight home.
DIY Self Diagnosis
If you can answer ‘yes’ to the majority of these questions you may be suffering with a flying phobia.
- Do you have high levels of anticipatory anxiety prior to a flight?
- Does you experience bodily symptoms prior and during flying, such as hyperventilating, sweating, churning stomach and dizziness?
- Do you avoid flying wherever possible, and if able to only fly under duress?
- Do you picture catastrophic scenes while flying that cause you significant distress?
- Is your fear impacting on your relationships or work due to an inability to attend holidays or meetings?
- Do you worry that you might lose control when flying and spontaneously open the aeroplane door or draw attention to yourself?
Anxiety UK strongly advises that people seek further information and guidance from their GP who will be able to make a formal diagnosis.
How we can help
Anxiety UK is a user-led charity with more than forty years experience in supporting those living with anxiety. By becoming a member of Anxiety UK, you will have access to a range of benefits, including:
- Access to reduced cost therapy within two weeks of submitting your therapy request
- Access to our helpline (available Monday-Friday, 9:30 am – 5:30 pm) staffed by volunteers with personal experience of anxiety
- Receipt of four issues of Anxious Times, our quarterly members” magazine
- Access to the members only section of our website, featuring regular support surgeries facilitated by anxiety experts
- Access to specialist helplines, including the psychiatric pharmacy helpline and the psychology information helpline
And many, many other benefits that will help you manage your anxiety long term. To become a member of Anxiety UK click here or ring 08444 775 774 today.
Want to know more?
The Anxiety UK site has information on a range of resources to provide more detailed information and help.
The purpose of Stress Free Flying is to help you enjoy a more pleasurable flight experience from the moment you decide to travel to when you touch down at your destination.
Split into easy to follow sections this CD will give you the tools to deal with stress as well as calm and relax you. Following valuable advice from Diana each track includes specially selected soothing music for you to enjoy. You can purchase this CD by clicking here.
Personal experiences
Do you suffer from a fear of flying and want to share your experience with other people? Post your personal experience in the comments box below where it will be sent to our moderator for approval. Many people find this part of the site very useful when trying to understand their disorder so your comments really do make a difference. Please note, all comments submitted to the Anxiety UK website may be used by Anxiety UK for (but not limited to) publicity and promotional material.
“Flying is a real pain as in my heart I am a wanderer and traveller. I love the thought of experiencing new cultures and places. However, my fear keeps me stuck here. It all begins with the fact that I can”t get over having to walk through a “terminal” “¦ how much more warning do you need?!! But seriously, the lack of control and being inside a pressurised container, trusting a complete stranger to get me somewhere, I just can”t get past this fear. At least if a bus crashes there”s at least a chance of survival. I know people say helpful things like “there”s more chance of winning the lottery than dying in a plane crash” but I say that”s what everyone who dies in a plane crash tells themselves too.”
Zoe, Anxiety UK member
I found Zoe’s comments very true of myself and wondered if anyone has any good advice on how to get past this. I guess the only ultimate answer is to fly but how do you get the strength to get on a plane ?
Hi Ian
Talking therapy would be the best way to manage the fear of flying. Anxiety is often the result of irrational thoughts and beliefs. These thoguths then trigger our body to react and change our behaviour. Try to identify these irrational thoguths and challenge some of these thoughts and replace them with more realistic one. A therapist would be able to do these with you and help you manage the anxiety. The tecniques involved varies between therapy services. For more information, please take a at our Get Help session. Focring yourself to fly would trigger the anxiety and is not recommended. Remember you can always call us on our helpline to speak to one of our volunteers.
Andy
I completely refuse to fly now and I have missed out on so much because of it, even a close family wedding, i have been given free flights to try to encourage me to fly but i just wont get on the plane and this effect my work and personal life – i dont think my problem is with being on a closed plane with load of people my main worry is about the plane crashing and I die? has anyone any tips
Hi Sharon
Sorry to hear you are having a bad time at the moment. Anxiety is generally caused by irrational thoughts/beliefs. These irrational thoughts and beliefs will trigger our body to react and also change our behaviour. One thing I would suggest is to identify some of these irrational thoughts and challenge them. e.g. how many planes take off everyday? and how many of them do crash? I would not force myself to get on a plane if I am really anxious about it. Forcing yourself will only exaggerate the anxiety. I believe talking therapy would benefit your alot. Have you thought about getting professional support and, perhaps, speak to a therapist? Please take a look at our Get Help and find out the help and help available to you. You can also call our helpline if you wish to speak to someone about your fear of flying.
Andy
I have always had a fear of flying. It stems from the fact that I get travel sick, which makes me panic as I don’t want to get sick in public. Even though I take travel sickness tablets and the doctor has prescribed me things to try and keep me calm, it just doesn’t work. I’m not sick but the thought I might be and that I can’t get off the plane terrifies me. I recently just got back from a holiday and it was the worst I’d ever been. I became hysterical and couldn’t calm down before the flight. I forced myself to get on the plane as I wanted my holiday and then I wanted to come home but I was so embarrassed that I got so upset. I just want to get on a plane without panicking.
my first comment is that a fear of flying is not irrational because as human’s we are not built for flying… however, flying is incredibly safe and there are really great books that you can read. i found books more useful than talking. in fact my first 2 flights after cbt were two of the worst i’ve ever had! i am tempted to try hypnotherapy and maybe the cds recommended here. i guess it’s horses for courses and despite knowing all the facts it’s the sensation and the thoughts i have that i am unable to banish that cause me anxiety. it doesn’t stop me flying but it does make me swear to myself each time that i’ll never fly again.
Hi Susan, can you tell me titles of the books you read so I can try them and if possible it would be good to hear how you got on at hypnotherapy as I have thought of this myself but I wont try it because I dont want to have to do a flight to test if it works. thanks
Hi Sharon
I’ve read the book by Allen Carr and I’ve ordered another book and also a CD so I’ll let you knonw about those once I’ve used them. The Allen Carr book was good and to be fair I should have read it again before my flights. But it’s more just pointing out the obvious and telling you how things work (which is incredibly useful) whereas I think I need techniques for meditation/deep breathing etc. Definitely worth buying. He also does an excellent book for quitting smoking (a lot of my friends have used it) Good luck!
hi, i am just replying to your post last september and wondering did you try the cd’s, book or hypnotherapy for your fear of flying as I still have not tried to fly and i would really like to try this year, thanks
I have a terrible fear of flying, the second type (“the fear is associated with external factors such as turbulence, bad weather or a fault with the aeroplane”) except I am a fairly frequent flyer! I have family that live in the americas so I have had to force myself onto that plane. I feel that close to the date of my flight I try to push the thought of flying to the back of my mind, i avoid thinking about it at all costs. when i first developed it i remember being on a 10 hour flight my mum forced me onto (“ive spent so much money on this flight etc”) and i actually spent the entire time awake, in a hyper anxious state, saying the rosary over and over (im not a particularly religious person). needless to say, we landed safely. now ive forced myself onto many flights and its calmed down a bit, ive even managed to get some sleep, however as soon as we hit turbulence it all comes flooding back and i convince myself something awful is about to happen. not quite sure how i can progress from this. some may say maybe i dont suffer it as badly because i can actually make it on the plane, but im telling you when i slip back into it (for e.g. bad turbulence) i really do convince myself that im going to die, and its a horrible, horrible feeling. however as soon as i land and experience the benefits on my trip (seeing family, having an amazing holiday) i quickly forget about it. so i guess ive learnt to endure this temporary awful sensation by thinking beyond it and almost telling myself ive got no other choice but to take the flight.
Hi Liz
This must be very distressing for you. Have you tried talking therapy in the past? Clinical hypnotherapy and cognitive behavioural therapy can help you manage the anxiety. We offer them at reduced rates to our members and you can find out more on the Get Help session.
Andy