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THE THERAPIST PSYCHOLOGIST BOOK STORE
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Flying Without Fear By Duane Brown ( New Harbinger Publications )
Release Date: 1996-04
Average Customer Rating:
List Price: $14.95
Price: $10.17
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 Good book, but it won't work for everyone ( klarsen1 )
The problem with any book about the fear of flying is that "knowing the facts" isn't the root of why people are afraid to fly.
In fact, knowing the facts can have the opposite effect for someone who is already afraid; for instance: would it help you to know that turbulence has caused only a small number of planes to crash, or would it scare you even more?
I fly a fair amount, but became a jittery flyer when my flight hit an air pocket over NY and "took a dive." Not to the ground, but far enough to scare the bejesus out of me.
For the next few flights, I nervously waited to hit an air pocket again - which, of course, never happened, because it's so rare. Still, it was hard to shake that feeling of helplessness you have when a mechanical beast is out of your control (and we Canadians still tend to think of planes as "giant metal birds," ha, ha).
I read this book, and it was well researched and interesting, but it didn't really help. For me, doing the following was much more useful:
1. Reminding yourself that if flying was that dangerous, you'd be afraid to walk down the street for fear a plane would fall on you.
2. Asking yourself: if I were on a bus, and not a plane, would these bumps be scaring me? Almost always, the answer is "no."
3. Embrace the irrational fear by taking it to the level of the absurd. When you get on a plane, tell yourself, "Well, I'm going to die. Goodbye world. Goodbye friends. Goodbye loved ones." Make your peace. And...live to see another day. This one, oddly enough, actually works best for me, because it highlights the complete ridiculousness of the fear. "I'm going to die!" followed shortly by "Hmmm...the plane landed safely...", repeated often enough, seems to do the trick eventually.
The best advice in the book is to find the thing that you'd most love to do in the world, book a flight, and do it. For me, it was buying tickets to see Ricky Gervais doing standup in New York (and, yeah, he was awesome). The excitement of doing what you love trumps being afraid any day.
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 Some Good information but didn't improve my attitude about flying ( reggio )
This book has some informative material but for me that didn't help much. I am able to fly but I don't think I'll ever like it.
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 Learn facts, learn how to relax and fly with much less fear. ( principessazh )
I am what you would call an experienced aviation connoisseur: I have worked for 4 different airlines (in reservations), one of my closest friend has been a flight attendant for a very long time and I have to fly for work all the time--you could say I'm a very frequent flyer. And yet, despite all the things I know about airlines, airports, and how flying works, I used to be absolutely terrified of flying. Flying together with someone else was okay, but flying by myself was usually pure and abject terror.
After the umpteenth flight spent either gripping the chair or in the toilet throwing up every half hour, and feeling like I was about to lose control in general, I decided I needed to do something about it and went to the bookstore to check for self-help books. This book is what I picked up, and this book is what has helped me get over my fears to the point where I now fly reasonably relaxed, with little fuss and no terror, and I feel almost good while doing it.
One of the most important things the book taught me is that fear of flying has a lot to do with the fear of losing control, and that there are also ways to manage my anxiety attacks. I used to think I was the only one looking out the window counting the screws in the wing to make sure they're all still there, or thinking that if I just concentrate hard enough, the plane won't crash... turns out, I'm one of many, and I just needed to learn to let go, and to accept that other, very highly trained people are in control for the duration of the flight. Interesting stuff.
The only warning I have is that this is a book written with a US-American audience in mind. If you're not from there and don't know the US market, might be better to stick with different book. Also, it could probably stand to be updated/revised, as a lot of the data is a bit old. Overall, though, I am VERY thankful to Dr. Brown. Thanks for allowing me to fly again!
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comprehensive book to overcome fear of flying
This is the best book on fear of flying on the market today. As a phobia counselor, I have purchased this book over and over again for people to read. The book addresses the psychological reasons for the fear of flying in a well written, understandable manner. Then it gives wonderful tips for how to handle the anxiety from that fear whether it be wanting to be in control, claustrophobia, height phobia or fear of crashing. The second part of the book is written by a pilot who explains everything anyone would want to know about how a plane flies, turbulence, what the noises are, etc. The more a fearful flyer knows about his reactions to his fear the better off he/she will be. This book covers it all.
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The Complete Package
For international buyers, just note that the author is speaking to an American audience. Most of his statements are in the context of the US Airline industry. Although his claims might be more difficult to apply in your local context, generally, they should hold true for most major airlines across the world.
Nevertheless, Flying Without Fear is a complete package. It builds its thesis by letting you understand the physiological nature of your fear and providing you with techniques to cope with them, specifically in relation to pre-flight anxiety. The techniques he provides are very, very effective. In fact, you can apply them to other stressful situations in your life. :)
It then provides you with a very detailed FAQ on how the airline industry guarantees your safety - from pilots, to flight crew, mechanics and air traffic controllers - which most likely will alleviate all your worries. After which, the author provides another detailed FAQ on the science of flight. Both chapters will hopefully dispel all irrational beliefs that produce the anxiety.
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Addiction
