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Afraid of flights? You must read this article Israel today

2022-05-17T14:32:28.643Z


The pulse rises, the stress and with it the anxiety. But instead of staying on the ground and giving up the vacation, there is a way to cope • "The engines do not shut down, the air pocket will not drop the plane and the wing will not break," reassures El Al captain Poppy


A lot of people are afraid to fly, running the plane before takeoff increases the pulse, the disengagement from the ground stops the breathing and every little noise, closing the wheels and air pockets, causes quite a few people to fear that sometimes even makes them give up the flight.

What do you do to cope?

We spoke with flight attendants, pilots and professionals to give you the best tools to deal with flight anxiety and be able to relax overseas without fear, read on and start packing.

Alon Poppy, a pilot at El Al and author of a guide and SimpliFly app for dealing with flight anxiety, says: "A lot of people are afraid to fly and unfortunately a very large part of them will not try to overcome it. This fear, like any other fear, will only grow over time and deepen their dig. In the fear.There are quite a few ways to deal with it, from NLP, through CBT and a lot of them are good and important to understand - you can overcome the fear of flying.The way I act, is to give people knowledge.

"Many times, this fear sits mostly because of lack of knowledge. A very simple example is the quietness of the engines after takeoff - people do not know that the engines run at very great power in the first place and after takeoff we regulate the power, it is not that the engines failed and we are about to fall, as people sometimes think Even the air pockets that people are very afraid of are not really dangerous, people often try to understand as a result of a certain noise or vibration of one kind or another and interpret it as a danger - do not try to do it when you do not have the right knowledge, you just scare yourself.

"My tip is to understand that in any fear I have, even before the flight, to understand that my fear is 'false alert', the engines do not shut down, the air pocket will not drop the plane because my pockets do not drop planes, the wing will not break and more. Give up! "

Captain Poppy also offers

"Israel Today" readers free use of the app until the end of June with the code: HAYOM-1A75D4.

Fear can be overcome.

Illustration, Photo: GettyImages

"Flight - safer than any vehicle"

Ariel Bar-Asher, a pilot at Arkia, explains why there is no reason to be afraid of flying: From air pockets it is perhaps one case a year on all the planes of all the airlines in the world.The wings are so flexible that people do not even describe how much.The flight in general, much safer than any car ride, the regulation on aviation is at the highest level in the world, than medicine. "A pilot undergoes several trainings each year, training, advanced training, etc. Aircraft undergo preventive maintenance, it does not matter if something breaks down or not, as soon as a particular component ends its life it is automatically replaced even if it is in excellent condition."

Inbal Baruch Dinari, a cognitive-behavioral psychotherapist, explains how to deal with flight phobia: "Flight phobia is a very common anxiety and like any specific anxiety, is a powerful and irrational emotion that can paralyze a person both during and before the experience. Anxiety brings with it a variety of physical symptoms. Unpleasant such as palpitations, sweating, dizziness and also emotional and mental flooding that causes a lot of suffering, and often even causes a person to avoid flights at all.

"In order to get rid of the flight phobia, it is recommended to turn to therapy that addresses the mental, behavioral and physiological parts of the person and thus allows him to regain internal control over anxiety. For example, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has a research-based therapeutic protocol that requires active participation and practice Which yields satisfactory results in a relatively short time. " 

If you are standing before a flight and have not yet dealt with anxiety, there are a number of effective tools that may alleviate the symptoms of anxiety but it is important to remember that they will not make it to the finals:

• Breathing practice - inhalation through the nose and slow and long exhalation through the mouth (like putting out a candle).


• Listening to pleasant and relaxing music, practicing meditation, listening to a podcast or watching a movie.

• Chewing


gum that produces saliva in the mouth, an action that helps calm the nervous system


• Use of medication (only after consulting a doctor)


• Updating the staff of flight attendants who will be able to respond if necessary


, On the experience.


• Imagine a familiar image of a relaxing and familiar place. It is recommended to prepare this toolbox, each one and what suits it, before the flight and practice them for a while so that when necessary it will be possible to pull out the appropriate tool.

A good way to do this is by preparing a folder on the phone with a relaxing music list, instruction in meditation or breathing, empowering sentences and a description of a relaxing and pleasant place. "

Change the line of thought

Keren Sadeh, director of service and safety in flight at Israir, with 25 years of experience, talks about ways to help those who are afraid of flight anxiety: "When I have a passenger who is afraid of flying, I start talking to him and trying to understand where it comes from. Other things - I ask which hotel they fly to the destination, talk about the attractions that are in the destination, the partners with them on the trip and all sorts of questions that are not related to fear of flying, often also questions about life, it helps a lot.

"When my eldest daughter was born and my water went down and I got into anxiety, the midwife did the same thing to me, it's a method, just think of other and fun things, think of the destination, the expected vacation and the good things that await you. I always tell them I will supervise them and reach them. Occasionally know how they are.A lot of people ask about airbags, I explain to them that it is really not dangerous, it is all about air currents and that is why they are felt a lot during takeoff and landing and of course can be felt at altitude, now we had a flight to Marrakech that had quite a few airbags "But the pilot explained to the passengers and told them there is no danger and it is an integral part of the flight, a bit unpleasant but not terrible at all. I personally feel safer in the air than on the road, the statistics in favor of planes versus road accidents and a much safer plane."

Reli Cohen, chief flight attendant at Arkia, explains the tools provided to flight attendants to help passengers who are afraid to fly: "Already during the basic course, we combine the topic of flight anxiety and how to deal with it. We teach flight attendants how to help passengers relax and succeed. An anxious passenger is identified already at the "boarding" stage. Some passengers refuse to get on the plane and stay on the stairs. Our starting point is that we do not give up any passengers. "The pilot provides details such as the flight route, the altitude of the flight, what the weather forecast is on the way. The meeting with the pilot and the detailed data usually succeed in achieving the best result."

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Source: israelhayom

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