Editor’s note: This segment was rebroadcast on May 13, 2025. Find that audio here.
Recent plane crashes in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Toronto may be making you feel slightly nervous about getting on a plane.
But the odds of dying in a plane crash are actually much lower than other forms of transportation, such as driving in a car. It’s about a 1 in 13 million chance, compared to a 1 in 95 chance for a car crash.
But if that isn’t a comforting notion, what can you do when you’re feeling anxious about flying?
It’s common for humans to feel anxious about flying because it’s unnatural for us to be up in the air, says psychologist Andrew Rosen, founder and director of The Center for Treatment of Anxiety and Mood Disorders.
“Being at 30,000 feet is still a very unfamiliar state of being for a human being,” Rosen says. “We don’t have wings, so being off the ground is inherently threatening compared to walking with our feet on the ground.”
5 questions with Andrew Rosen
Why do people experience flight anxiety?
“Most people who are more sensitive to the issue of flying have a little bit more of an issue of wanting control. Those are the people who insist on being the one to drive the car instead of being in the backseat. Those are the people who like to make the plans. They like to know where they’re going, what time, and they’re just more aware of wanting as many variables under their presumed control as possible.
“So getting on an airplane accentuates the fact that at least for this amount of time — whether it’s 1 hour or 10 hours — I have no control over this part of my life and that in and of itself makes it more likely anxiety when it comes to hearing things on the news about plane crashes then it really feels like I’m giving up control of my viability, my life, and no human being or any organism wants to put themselves and their survival in jeopardy. And that’s what it feels like for this person that I’m getting on an airplane. I am giving up control. I’m allowing myself to be vulnerable to mortality any minute.”
How does learning about how planes work help alleviate flight anxiety?
“Most people don’t understand why a plane is safe. They don’t understand aerodynamics, what keeps a plane up in the air. Most people who are afraid of flying or even people who aren’t afraid of flying think that a plane can just kind of drop out of the sky for no reason. They don’t understand the concept of aerodynamics and that wind actually under the wing keeps the plane from falling. It can’t fall, actually, while it’s moving.
“When we’re gonna do something that is unusual, we do a little research. If you’re going to buy a home, you do some research about buying a home. If you’re going for a medical procedure, you might wanna understand what am I in for? Why is this procedure safe for me? Even if you spend 10 minutes understanding a little bit more about how a plane works and why it’s so safe can help you. Otherwise, you’re just trying to ignore in effect or not have bad thoughts about something that you are thinking is dangerous.”
How can people alleviate in-flight anxiety during landing or extreme turbulence?
“Understand why turbulence is not dangerous if you have your seatbelt on. Understand that what goes on in the landing process involves noises that you may be unfamiliar with, but those noises are actually just typical noises that one would expect to hear.
“And then to calm the nerves there are certain relaxation techniques that we can use, relaxed breathing techniques. There are certain apps that you can put on your phone that help with meditation or calming. It’s a method that you can easily employ that can actually calm down that part of your nervous system that’s getting you so frightened.”
Can taking anti-anxiety medication help?
“Yes, we have patients who really really have a very tough time with flying even with the techniques and some of the things that we recommend, and for those patients who want to fly, need to fly, we have certain medications that they can take just before the flight. And it will have a significant impact on reducing the physical aspects of the anxiety, you know, the heart racing and the jitteriness and the over breathing. And these medications are very helpful and they disappear pretty quickly from the system so that when you’re now in the place that you were traveling to, they kind of leave your system and you feel back to normal.”
How do you know when to seek professional help for flight anxiety?
“One is if you really realize you’re starting to avoid situations that involve flying. So whether it’s, ‘I don’t really like to go on vacations anymore because I don’t want to get on an airplane.’ Or indeed if your job involves flying, and now you’re avoiding either situations or even promotions that might cause you to have to fly. If it’s interfering with your lifestyle or your work then definitely [seek professional help].
“If flying takes a big toll on you and you’re exhausted because of the experience and beforehand your stomach has really been bad or you’re getting headaches or you know, physical symptoms that are really difficult, then you should get some help with it. If it’s just I get a little jazzed up beforehand and sometimes I get nervous on the flight, then you just can rely on some of the things that we just talked about whether it be reading or some of the techniques that you can download on your phone.”
Samantha Raphelson produced and edited this interview for broadcast with Micaela Rodriguez. Raphelson also adapted it for the web.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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