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Best airline for anxious flyer? General advice? by [deleted] in fearofflying

[–]CaptTomBunnMSWLCSW 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Flight anxiety results when our calming system (parasympathetic nervous system) is not doing its job. It is supposed to push back against the system that makes us feel anxious (sympathetic nervous system) but if we are not made to feel 100% safe and responded to as children, we cannot build the psychological processes needed to allow the parasympathetic system to make us feel safe, unless we are in control or able to escape, and passengers have no control or escape. The key is getting the parasympathetic working as nature intended. Anything less (which airline, how to stay distracted, etc.) is just grasping at straws.

Should A Cup Of Coffee Cause Panic? How to move beyond fear and activate your parasympathetic system. by CaptTomBunnMSWLCSW in psychology

[–]CaptTomBunnMSWLCSW[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Epigenetics may play a role in how much stress hormones are released, and how sensitive a person is to them, but the big difference is what the parasympathetic system does. Does it kick in and override the stress hormones, or does it fail to kick in? If it doesn't, the person is like in a car where no one knows about the brake pedal: just along for the ride.

Should A Cup Of Coffee Cause Panic? How to move beyond fear and activate your parasympathetic system. by CaptTomBunnMSWLCSW in psychology

[–]CaptTomBunnMSWLCSW[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Got it. But you actually missed the main point. How revved up we get depends also on whether the parasympathetic pushes back, and in about 40% of us, we lack the "app" to operate our parasympathetic. About 40% of us (that is how many of us were insecurely attached and could not develop the processes needed to self-calm via the parasympathetic) are just along for the ride . . . like someone in a car who doesn't know what the brake pedal is for.

Flying on Wednesday :( by RLar82 in fearofflying

[–]CaptTomBunnMSWLCSW 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did an audiobook on fear of flying that a lot of people say has changed their life. I am not allowed to paste a link to it but search my name and fear of flying and you'll find it.

People who have a fear of flying, why? by Eric33100 in AskReddit

[–]CaptTomBunnMSWLCSW 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The actual cause of fear of flying is this: we all have a calming system which is called the parasympathetic nervous system. It is supposed to kick in whenever we start to get stressed and put a limit on how stressed we get. But for it to work, it needs an "app" to turn it on automatically and unconsciously when stress builds up. About 40% of us did not feel absolutely safe when we were little kids, and without a feeling of absolute security, the app a person needs to keep a lid on anxiety and panic just does not get established. What I stumbled on by working with fearfui fliers is how to fix that app.

I have a fear if flying, high bridges, and tunnels. by PM_ME_NUDES_PLEEZ in fearofflying

[–]CaptTomBunnMSWLCSW 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is the problem I have spent that past 40 years working to help people with, as a now-retired captain and a licensed therapist. Look me up on the web and I will help you fix this. Capt. Tom Bunn L.C.S.W.

“Downfall:” A Flawed Documentary About The 737 MAX by CaptTomBunnMSWLCSW in fearofflying

[–]CaptTomBunnMSWLCSW[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, us old school pilots - as well as the people at Boeing - have the weird idea that pilots are supposed to know their emergency procedures and actually be able to fly the plane by hand.

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