Non-Pharmacologic Treatments for Fear of Flying

Flight has become accumulatively common in industrialized countries, even so not all passengers enjoy flying [1]. From the advent of human beings, people have been looking up at the immeasurable stars and planets of the sky. The crucial question has always been how to conquer the distance, how to reach the sky without being damaged or killed and land safely on the ground. At the present, although commercial flights have become one of the safest forms of transport, they are still exciting and anxiety provoking for many people. Fear of flying is a matter of discussion, because an estimated 10-40% of adults within society show type of fear in reaction to air travel [2]. There is a difference between term “fear of flying” and problems arising from anxiety disorders, phobic reactions, Traumatic stress exhaustion, psychosis and motivational changes. Fear is a set of acute emotional manifestations experienced by people encountering a dangerous situation. This factual and special danger exists in external reality. Fear can have some adaptive function when it remains limited and controlled, since it forewarns the organism of a danger and provokes its state of Alertness. In phobic FOF, the person counts the fear as irrational, nevertheless tries to avoid the situation. Phobic reactions might be due to the personality predispositions, maladaptive training and stress conditioning patterns [3]. Fear of flying (air travel phobia, flight phobia, and aerophobia) is categorized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) as a specific phobia, characterized by a marked, persistent, excessive fear which is precipitated by the experience or immediate prospect of air travel [4]. The most tangible behavioral reaction to the fear of flying is avoidance. It is represented in one of three ways: the person who (a) will not fly; (b) will fly under an absolutely urgent condition or (c) will fly when required but shows anxious reflections when doing so. Anxious flyers may exhibit a set of safety behaviors such as insisting on having a specific seat (aisle or exit seats for ‘quick escapes’ or window seats to facilitate avoiding interaction with others). They may interrogate an airline staff about the weather, delays, technical problems or the pilot’s qualifications. In addition, hostile or aggressive behavior among some travelers may also be fuelled by anxiety. There are also some evidences that fearful flyers have an increased aspiration to use medication and alcohol when flying to get rid of distressing symptoms and perhaps to anaesthetize their anxious feelings [5]. Cognitive responses to flying comprise a fear of crashing, death, mutilation, loss of self-control and social embarrassment. Those who have specific phobia of flying are afraid of external threats such as crashing, death and heights. The people whose fear of flying is also accompanied by panic disorder with agoraphobia (PDA) are inclined to get afraid of the somatic symptoms of anxiety. Other cognitive responses to air travel revolves around separation anxiety, rumination on recent traumatic or stressful incidents or media coverage. There is also some evidence that mothers with young children may be subject to catastrophic thoughts on the consequences to their children if the mother were to die in an accident while flying [6]. The purpose of the present survey was to review the important Non-pharmacologic treatments for fear of flying up to the present. This study is in the same way as some studies. Accordingly, some Non-pharmacologic treatments for fear of flying were assessed through this systematic review article. The general conclusion from the information provided by the former studies, shows that a growing number of treatment facilities offer treatment programs for fear of flying, including combined treatment, Hypnotherapy, EMDR, Relaxation, information Providing, Cognitivebehavioral treatment, cognitive therapy, exposure therapy, Computer-based exposure therapies, Implosion therapy, Flooding, Systematic desensitization and Psychodynamic therapy. Nevertheless, little is known about which specific method or element of treatment programs works best; In addition, Psychological therapy should be employed under unique circumstances and according to the needs of individuals rather than applying identical treatment packages to any case.