Psychiatry and fear of flying

By Dr. Elliot Weinberg

If you have flight phobia you do not have to be crazy to see a psychiatrist, in fact it might not even help!

The use of advanced medical techniques is really reserved for those who have made every reasonable attempt to overcome their apprehension on planes and have totally failed. Further indication is the importance of flying. If fear of flying is keeping one from an occasional vacation it may not have the importance to enter into short-term medical treatment. On the other hand if one's job or social or marital life will fall apart, then the high level of success that we obtain through various techniques makes sense.

All psychiatrists may not be experienced in this field but many of us are. Undoubtedly every major city has a number of qualified experts.

The use of psychiatry is specifically mentioned because the psychiatrist is a medical physician. This means that there are available a wide range of techniques all the way from standard psychological treatments: behavior modification, hypnotherapy, cognitive therapy, etc., to the use of medication in some cases that will bring the patient into a full state of comfort before and during flights.

Specific treatments and case histories will follow in a further column.

Any questions or comments can be directly posted to NoCig@aol.com

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