TULSA, Okla. — After two tragedies, and many more close calls in aviation nationwide, many are feeling heightened stress and anxiety around flying.
The crash between an American Airlines passenger jet and a military Black Hawk helicopter claimed the lives of 67 people. Before that, though, there hadn't been a similar incident in sixteen years.
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With almost twenty years of experience in psychiatry and medicine, Dr. Stevan Lahr of Family and Children's Services said it's a very common fear patients seek treatment for.
The fear of flying is called aviophobia, and according to the National Institutes of Health, 40% of people have it.
"I think probably anyone in our role has seen someone who has had a fear of flying," he said. "Especially any time there's a news story that involves anything aviation related, you're going to see an increase in people talking about it, thinking about it and it will reawaken those feelings."
While it's a regular concern many face and seek treatment for, Dr. Lahr said the good thing is it's fairly treatable.
Dr. Lahr walked 2 News through some of the techniques he uses for aviation anxiety.
“Sometimes just looking at the facts and giving yourself some information helps lower the anxiety," said Dr. Lahr. "Also, your own experience. Have you ever been on a flight before? How did that go? Reminding yourself, 'Hey, I’ve had these thoughts in the past that I was a little bit anxious to get on a flight, and everything was fine.'”
Questions to ask yourself, to self-soothe flight anxiety
- Are you in immediate danger?
- Is flying safe?
- Have you been on a plane before?
- What was that experience like?
While a major event and news coverage, Dr. Lahr said, can increase awareness of an anxiety, a lack of control can also play a role. But, he also said there people have more control than they realize.
"You can choose airlines based on your comfort level. You know you have lots of options, there’s other forms of transportation lots of the times so you can really kind of make a plan.”
Looking up facts about flight to ease one's mind is another tactic Dr. Lahr uses.
If all else fails, licensed professionals are available to help process through those stressors.
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