New ways for fearful flyers to think about turbulence

About half of fear of flying patients list inflight turbulence as one of their primary fearful scenarios that keep them from flying, not flying as much as they could, or using medication (including alcohol) to handle the unpleasant sensations. Recalibrating how we interpret turbulence can start a process of learning to better manage our sensations while the plane does what it’s been designed to do - maintain its equilibrium through moving air!

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I've listed below the topics, links, and descriptions of my other videos. Take a look, make some comments and write to me about your issues and I'll see if they can become part of a new video!

UNDOING YOUR ANXIETY - knowing hope to change Part 1
   • Undoing your Anxiety - knowing how to...  

Why am I getting worse the more I fly/
   • Why am I getting worse the more I fly?      • Why am I getting worse the more I fly?  

(In this video, I want to answer a question many fearful flyers find quite perturbing: “How is it that the more often I fly the worse I’m becoming - aren’t you supposed to get better at things with practice?”

More New ways to deal with inflight turbulence
   • More New ways to deal with inflight t...  

I share some handy practical things you can do to help you modulate your arousal and contain your anxiety. You still need to be of the belief “Turbulence might be uncomfortable but it’s not unsafe” to get the most our of the video

Undertanding self-talk in managing anxiety - Part 1
   • Undertanding self-talk in managing an...  

In this first of a series, I describe how I help patients understand the various ways they can feed anxiety by how their “self-talk” can automatically switch on their threat-responding brain-based mechanisms, in the same way that we switch on our smartphone’s Siri or Alexa.

Understanding self-talk in managing anxiety - Part 2
   • Understanding self-talk in managing a...  

In this second of a multipart-part series I describe the idea behind the concept of “cognitive distortions”, as well as the ideas of appraisal of if out threat response - which gives rise too yucky sensations - is an overestimation of the presence elf danger comb lined with an underestimation of our ability to cope and recompose ourselves.

Explaining those falling sensations some people experience after take-off
   • Explaining those falling sensations s...  
While some people enjoy takeoffs for their noise and sensations, fearful flyers can sometimes feel quite apprehensive, and believe the plane is falling as it climbs away from the airport. Quite unnerving! In this video I try to explain what’s happening from the plane and passenger perspectives.


Using apps which predict inflight turbulence - useful or keeping your fears going?
   • Using apps which predict inflight tur...  
More and more people find apps on their smart devices helpful for travelling. More recently some of these apps (of which there are many) go out to the published forecasts and show the expected turbulence on an upcoming flight. But is this really useful or even necessary? Certainly flight crews want to know about weather en route but how useful is this for fearful flyers? You might be surprised by my explanations!

Fear of Flying: Understanding "Safety Behaviours"
   • Fear of Flying: Understanding "Safety...  

Many patients with anxiety have inadvertently setup safety behaviours which unfortunately reinforce their fear-based avoidance behaviours. They are left with the paradox that they more they do their behaviours, the worse they’re becoming, not better. This video helps to explain safety behaviours, how they form and are maintained and what to do about it.

Fear of Flying: Issues of control and how to deal with them
   • Fear of Flying: Issues of control and...  

Many patients with anxiety have expectations that if certain conditions can be met - “I must be in control of everything if I’m to fly” - then all will be well. But I want to challenge this idea, and in this and other videos will look at patients’ demands to be in control to avoid discomfort, and offer some useful strategies

Fear of Flying: Distraction as an anxiety tool is over-rated - seeking effective strategies
   • Fear of Flying: Distraction as an anx...  

Many patients with anxiety have expectations that if certain conditions can be met - “I must be distract myself from unpleasant thoughts and sensations if I’m to fly”, then all will be well. But I want to challenge this idea, and in this and other videos will look at patients’ use of distraction to avoid discomfort, and offer some useful strategies


Fear of Flying: Challenging myths of being calm, using distraction and being in control
   • Fear of Flying: Challenging myths of ...  
Many patients with anxiety have expectations that if certain conditions can be met - “I must be calm if I’m to fly”, then all will be well. But I want to challenge this idea, and in this and other videos will look at patients’ calmness, their use distraction to avoid discomfort, and the demands for control, all of which require some pushback!