I'm about to get on a plane...actually, two planes in a row. I'm nostalgic for the excitement I used to feel when I flew years ago. It's been replaced by a sense of dread, and not because a couple of planes hit the World Trade Center in 2001. Not because I'm afraid of crashing. The skies just aren't very friendly anymore, and the airports are grim scenes reminiscent of high-class penitentiaries, but what do we have to be penitent about? We just shelled out hundreds of dollars for this experience!
Just to add to that feeling of detention, airlines are actually considering clamping "safety bracelets" on every passenger, so if someone makes a threatening move they can be stunned instantly by any flight attendant carrying a remote control. Use of the bracelet will also eliminate the need for boarding passes, so we can all be more efficiently herded onto the plane. They'll probably be sleek devices with the airline logo on them, and the kids will be fascinated. "Can't I take it home with me, Daddy?" But the idea gives me the shivers.
Big deal, you might say. If you behave yourself it should be no problem, right? But all it takes is one thin-skinned flight attendant who decides to play cop, and one mouthy passenger... I know a former flight attendant who used to dope the drinks of passengers who offended him. Everybody was doing it, he said with a shrug.
Anyway, I'm getting this flight over with before they cuff me. Wish me luck.
6 comments:
You could use your mugshot as your profile photo. See? There is always a bright side. Have a safe trip!!
Safe travels and keep your chin up as you take this journey to your MOM........she's lucky to have you and your sister!
I'm glad to hear that you didn't get left behind at the border...how was the crossing? Did it take much time?
When the Jet Blue people got trapped on an airplane, not allowed to leave, and waited many hours for departure, I made a personal vow: I will allow 2 hours MAXIMUM for the plane to take off AFTER it leaves the gate. Then I will personally test the evacuation slide chutes. If the pilot has any balls, he would declare an emergency and go back to the terminal, it is after all his sovereign territory. When the FAA gets enough of these 'emergencies' they will update the air traffic system to handle the traffic. Now however with the fuel increased costs, fewer flights will ease the strain on the system, and I probably will not get to test the evacuation chutes.
Warned and documented.
There is a great deal of misunderstanding about the cause of fear of flying. It is not caused by a bad flight; most people on a bad flight don't develop fear of flying. Difficulty with flying is caused by insufficient ability to regulate feelings when facing uncertainty.
Research since the advent of the functional MRI just eight years ago has helps us understand how the brain works. We now recognize that the ability to regulate feelings is learned and that the part of the brain that does this regulation requires stimulation of the right kind during the first two years of life. The right kind of stimulation requires a caregiver who is empathically attuned to the infant and responds to the infants signals, rather than simply providing for the infant according to an agenda set by the caregiver.
If the child is afraid, the caregiver needs to tune into the child's fear in a way the child really knows the caregiver feels the same way. Thus the child knows he or she is not alone.
Then, the magic happens; the caregiver then lets the child know that -- though the child's fear is 100% shared -- the adult has an additional point of view, which is that it is not the end of the world; it will work out alright.
Many of us, obviously, didn't get such optimal early development. Thus, when facing uncertainty, we control our anxiety by being in control of the situation, or by having a way to out of it.
That works fairly well on the ground -- except for annoying those who regard us as control freaks. But when flying, there is uncertainty, of course. And, not being in control and not having a way out, there is no way to regulate the feelings.
Therapists try to help with CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), but anxiety can develop so rapidly that CBT techniques cannot keep up with the anxiety build-up.
Hypnosis is pretty "hit or miss". If it helps on one flight, it can fail to help on another flight.
Medications are not to be recommended -- according to the World Health Organization -- because when sedated, the passenger doesn't move around enough to protect against DVT, Deep Vein Thrombosis. If a DVT clot forms, it is a serious and potentially life-threatening problem.
Also, use of medications -- according to research -- is only helpful in very mild cases of fear of flying. In more severe cases, medications make the flight worse!
I have tried to give a good understanding of the cause and cure of fear of flying in a video at
http://www.fearofflying.com/video_hs.shtml
Ale - They don't let you keep your mugshot, that goes into the file of all the bad things they know about you!
Babs - Claro! She's lucky, for sure. I think about what it would be like for her if we weren't around...
Cyn and Mike - That's the next blog.
Bob - I heard about a guy who used the chute and all the uproar it caused. With your new stun bracelet, they'll have you immobilized in microseconds and when you wake up you'll be wearing a different kind of bracelet.
Capt Tom - I have absolutely no fear of flying. I have some anxiety about the people who take control of your life while you're flying. I'm concerned about passengers who might have panic attacks and exhibit "suspicious" behavior because they've temporarily lost their composure. I have a lot of resentment over the way we are herded and rushed and made to behave like cattle. The flyng experience is one of the best examples of "1984" I can think of.
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