Overcoming Fear of Flying

Lesson 4: Take a Deep Breath and Fly

Measuring your Fear

When I took a fear of flying course, one of the first things the psychologist in the program did was have us measure our fear on a scale of one to ten, one being the least comfortable and ten being most comfortable. We would tell her how we were feeling just sitting in class (most people were at a six or seven) and then we would go to the simulator where many of them dropped down to a one or two. Some said they were at zero and a few said they weren’t even that high. In the simulator, some people started to feel extreme anxiety.

Interestingly enough, different people felt their fright level change at different times. For instance, I wasn’t too bothered by the simulated turbulence, while others dropped way down on the one to ten scale. But when we envisioned taking off, my comfort level dropped. Different parts of the flight can bother different people at different levels.

The anxiety scale used in Conquering your Fear of Flying is similar to the one our psychologist used. It’s quick and simple and starts at zero. 0 – 1 is calm, 2 – 3 is relaxed, 4 – 5 is average anxiety, 6 – 7 is very anxious, 8 – 9 is terror, and 10 is panic. It's useful to note that this scale can measure the anxiety you’re feeling in any situation you perceive as threatening, not only flying.¹

There’s an extensive checklist in Conquering your Fear of Flying with a list of symptoms and feelings that you mark according to the frequency you have them and then you get a total score to measure your anxiety. For instance, some of the physical symptoms you may experience are: palpitations, rapid breathing, trembling, nausea, tense muscles, higher blood pressure, and many more. Another questionnaire measures your fear of specific aspects of the flight such as: boarding the plane, engine noises, flying at night, flying over water, and so on. These two checklists can give you a good look at your fear and a starting point for eliminating it.

In Flying without Fear, Duane Brown uses Joseph Wolpe’s SUD (Subjective Units of Disturbance) Scale², which measures your comfort or fear level from one to one hundred. Whichever method you prefer, it’s a good idea to make a chart and list any physical symptoms you’ve experienced or imagine you would if you flew, and also a list of every aspect of flying you can think of, even packing your suitcase the night before.

What’s the purpose of measuring your fear? Once you measure your fear and see it on paper, you’ll have a better idea of what you’re most afraid of and what your reactions at different times are. Then you’ll know when to use the relaxation and coping strategies we’re going to learn in the next few lesson sections to overcome those feelings and reactions. The whole idea is to learn how to stop the feelings associated with fear and replace them with comfort. Phobias are a hard habit to break, but it can be done. Let’s begin.

¹Anxiety and the relaxation techniques are not limited to fear of flying. You may find them useful in many other situations.
²From The Practice of Behavior Therapy by Joseph Wolpe

Optional Reading
For this section, please read at least one of the following:

• Flying Without Fear, pages 39 & 40
• Conquering Your Fear of Flying, pages 92 – 102 (Chapter 8)

  1  2  3  4  5  6