Feeling Anxious about Flying? Some Tips to Help
BU psychologist Brooke Rogers shares some helpful strategies for dealing with flight anxiety
Nervous about flying? You’re not alone, says Boston Medical Center psychologist Brooke Rogers. “Fear of flying is very common in the population in general,” she says. The trick is to not let your fear prevent you from living your life—and Rogers has some strategies to help. Photo via iStock/Ivan-balvan
Feeling Anxious about Flying? Some Tips to Help
BU psychologist Brooke Rogers shares some helpful strategies for dealing with flight anxiety
So, the headlines are…not great.
If you’ve been paying attention to the news lately, chances are you’re feeling at least some degree of anxiety about flying for your next trip. (In case you’ve been avoiding the news, there have been several fatal and non-fatal airplane crashes around the country since January.) If you were already a nervous flier to begin with, you may be—understandably—extra apprehensive about hopping on a plane in the near future.
But anxiety about flying is perfectly normal—especially now, says Brooke Rogers, a Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine clinical associate professor of psychiatry and director of psychological services for addiction at Boston Medical Center.
“Fear of flying is very common in the population in general, and people experience that to varying degrees,” Rogers says. “Anytime something scary happens and is repeated by media outlets, of course our anxiety around that particular thing increases. It makes sense that you would have an increased fear of flying right now—or if you never had a fear before, that you might be more fearful after watching TV footage of planes crashing.”
But tackling a fear of flying is about more than just distracting yourself with movies or podcasts (although those can sometimes be helpful tools, Rogers says). BU Today spoke to Rogers about grounding techniques, what to do when turbulence hits, and when to seek professional help for your flying fears.
Q&A
with Brooke Rogers
BU Today: Flying is tricky, because there’s so much that’s out of your control when you’re in the air—which can be worrying for anyone. How do you differentiate between “normal” anxiety over flying and a more serious problem?
Rogers: I think most people experience some level of anxiety when flying. I think that’s sort of healthy, particularly when we’re seeing a lot of media content that’s saying, “Yes, sometimes planes crash.” But when it comes to fearful things, there’s a threshold between a healthy amount of anxiety that still allows us to function, and an unhealthy amount that keeps us from doing what we need to.
Where psychologists start to see a need for more intervention is if people are having full-on panic attacks [over flying]. That’s when anxiety rises to a peak within about 10 minutes and involves several physiological symptoms, like shortness of breath, a racing heart, sweating, trembling, feeling like you’re going crazy or losing control of yourself, or feeling like you might die. If that’s happening when flying, that might be a reason to seek additional support, like psychotherapy and/or medication as recommended by a provider. Cognitive and behavioral therapies can be really effective for this type of anxiety, and I would encourage people to look for a therapist who specializes in those approaches to treatment.
BU Today: What are some techniques to try to keep yourself grounded (excuse the pun) while you’re in the air?
Rogers: I think a lot can be learned from acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), which stresses the importance of living aligned with values. If you’re trying to anchor yourself, think about: why are you flying in the first place? Maybe you’re visiting a family member who’s ill or you’re going to Disney World for the first time with your nieces. It can be helpful to think, I know this is uncomfortable right now, but it’s aligning with something larger that I want for myself. Another strategy from the ACT approach involves the idea that the things we think aren’t necessarily true. Let’s say you’re thinking, Oh my goodness, the plane is going to go down!—well, maybe, but maybe not. It can be helpful to tell yourself that thinking a bad thing will happen doesn’t bring that thing into existence.
From a practical standpoint, what are some tips and tricks for getting through a flight? For one, you can remind yourself that statistically speaking, driving actually has a much higher accident risk than flying. Specific sensory things can also be beneficial in making you feel comfortable and safe in your own body. There are a variety of ways to do that: wearing comfy clothing, carrying a soft blanket or pillow, or having items on hand that address different senses, like gum, scented chapstick, or roll-on essential oils. Those can all help take you down from your thoughts and back into your body.
[If you feel yourself freaking out], there’s a grounding technique called the 5-4-3-2-1 technique, which involves looking around and naming five things you can see, four things you can hear, and so on. Then of course, there’s the distractions of in-flight movies and shows and such. While I do think there’s a risk of becoming too dependent on distractions, having something else to keep your mind busy can be helpful sometimes.
BU Today: You mentioned medication earlier—what are your thoughts on using substances, like prescription anxiety meds or alcohol, to get through a flight?
There are different ways to think about that. First, [you should identify] what the overarching goal is. If the goal is to become comfortable with flying, then always needing medication sets you up to not ever really feel comfortable flying without it, right? Another thing I’ll say is that a lot of these medications are very habit-forming. There’s always concern that if you’re giving someone who doesn’t like feeling anxious something that removes all feelings of anxiety, they’ll become dependent on that thing. Even people who don’t [tend toward] substance-use disorders can become reliant on a substance that’s doing something helpful for them. And let’s say you’re a person who’s like, “Yeah, I can fly, but I always need two drinks when I do.” Well, okay, how is that going to work for you long-term? Is that healthy when, say, you have a toddler with you and you’re their primary caregiver on a flight?
I also think about a scenario where someone forgets to bring their medication with them—well, there goes your one solution to manage anxiety. That’s why I like people to have as many coping tools in their toolbox as possible. Medication can be part of that toolbox: for some people, [flying medicated] is a strategy that works for them. It’s just good to have other strategies, just in case.
BU Today: What about those times when there’s a bout of significant turbulence, and you feel your heart rate start to spike. What can you do to keep from panicking in the moment?
That’s such a natural human reaction. I don’t want to overpathologize feeling scared during turbulence—it is scary! Our bodies are supposed to respond to that; we’re not supposed to feel calm in that situation. That can actually be helpful feedback: telling yourself it’s normal to feel anxious when that happens, you’re not the only one, and it’s not embarrassing to be scared.
One thing that can happen whenever we feel anxious is that we tend to breathe more from our chest, rather than our belly. That increases your flow of carbon dioxide and reduces your oxygen balance, which gives you that [panicked] feeling and builds your anxieties. Remembering to take a few deep breaths is very helpful in those moments.
BU Today: Any final thoughts?
A lot of the suggestions [you might hear about getting through a flight] are really avoidance suggestions. The therapist in me is like, “No, we don’t want to avoid our fears! We want to confront them!” I’m not an ACT-only therapist, but I think there’s a really valuable lesson to take from ACT: you may always have a certain anxiety, but you can still do things. You can fly while having some anxiety about it, because you ideally have skills to manage that anxiety.
The last thing is that someone’s baseline anxiety puts them at increased risk for having any sort of experience be more anxiety-provoking. What I mean by that is someone who has finals coming up might be more anxious when on a plane versus someone who’s headed out on vacation, right? Whenever I’m working with someone around a situation that they fear, I stress that the couple of hours before are really important. Are you getting enough sleep? Are you drinking water that day? Are you eating a healthy meal? Preparing yourself—almost like an athlete—for an event that might cause you anxiety can help reduce your initial level of anxiety and make for a more successful outcome.
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