Flight phobia is one of the specific phobias. In other words, it is one of the extreme states of fear felt against some situations (closed space, open space, social environment, disease, etc.) or objects (thousands of objects such as snakes, elevators, needles, dogs), which are actually irrational to the person himself. The incidence rate in industrialized countries may vary between 10% and 40%. In fact, almost 95% of individuals traveling by plane may feel slightly afraid, while only 5% enjoy this action.
Flight phobia can be experienced at different intensities. We can call those who are unable to get on a plane or who feel extremely uncomfortable as "phobic". Experiencing milder anxiety can be called "flight nervousness". When someone with a phobia has to board a plane, they may experience intense anxiety along with various physical symptoms such as heart palpitations, difficulty breathing, fear of death or losing control, and difficulty in controlling the body.
Flight phobia, like all phobias, emerges through unconscious mechanisms. Our unconscious; Automatic learning is related to the reflex responses we develop against these learnings, muscle memory, and the emotional codes that accompany our conditioning. Therefore, it is very active in our childhood and these functions are programmed in a very permanent way. Anatomically, we can say that it is localized in the lower brain. Our conscious functions (such as logic, reasoning, speech, abstract and analytical thought) are related to the upper brain (cortex). The categorical wall that we accept as existing between the lower brain and the upper brain causes phobias to not be resolved by reasoning. In other words, it is useless for a person with flight phobia to know that airplanes are the safest means of transportation, and for those around him to constantly suggest and give advice that there is nothing to fear in flying.
So how is it that some people have been afraid of flying since they can remember, but some have no discomfort? Or what happens when someone who has made hundreds of flights over the years is unable to get on a plane one day? At this point we need to talk about the concepts of tension and sensitivity. Programs that are strongly formed in the unconscious since childhood They don't actually disappear. Everything we like, dislike, fear will only fade away over time. However, it may come to the agenda again in the future under certain conditions. These conditions are related to people's tension levels. Encountering unexpected situations in life, overlapping problems, important milestones that bring many new responsibilities (getting married, having children, getting promoted at work, etc.), pushing the limits of our strength, increases our tension. Increasing our tension causes us to become sensitive again to our unconscious programs and fear codes that have been extinguished over time. Therefore, we cannot explain flight phobia as cowardice or lack of courage; it would be more accurate to say that it is just like a food allergy. Instead of the food that causes allergy, we have simply become sensitive to our old fears.
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