How to manage your fear of turbulence? An expert gives his advice after the Singapore Airlines tragedy

AVIATION – The images are everywhere, the testimonies follow one another. On Tuesday May 21, passengers on a flight from London to Singapore experienced hell when violent turbulence shook the plane in mid-air, leading to the death of a 73-year-old man and several injuries. An extremely rare event which can reinforce the phobia of flying in some and create new fears in others.

So how do we deal with turbulence when it arises? And, above all, how to manage the stress and anxiety they can cause? In order to answer these questions, HuffPost contacted Xavier Tytelman, co-founder of the Fear of Flying Treatment Center.

For this former military aviator, the first element to remember is that “the risk for an aircraft during turbulence is non-existent”. “There is no risk for the device, he adds. It’s too strong, it won’t fall and pilots won’t lose control. There will be no crash »according to him.

Keep your seat belt fastened

But the London-Singapore flight showed that there are risks for passengers during violent turbulence. According to testimonies, the injured were mainly people standing during the tremors who had not had time to sit down and fasten their seat belts:

According to Xavier Tytelman, “As long as you are strapped in, there is no risk of injury. Generally speaking, when you are seated, you might as well keep your seat belt fastened, there is no reason to undo it. » The expert also wants to put the frequency of such shocks into perspective: “There are five flights per year out of thirty million during which there is such severe turbulence. You should not focus your behavior on the possibility of experiencing this. »

Whether you’re afraid of danger or not, experiencing turbulence during a journey is never a pleasant experience. Among the tips for reducing discomfort: choose a seat at wing level rather than at the rear of the aircraft where the shaking is felt slightly more and where the noise from the engines is higher and can contribute to stress.

Inform yourself, breathe, visualize

But the main thing for the co-founder of the Fear of Flying Treatment Center is to “de-dramatize”. For those who have had an anxiety-provoking experience or are afraid of flying in general, he recommends three combined approaches to reduce stress or even put an end to their phobia.

First step: recall the facts. Turbulence will not cause a crash, the plane is strong enough to withstand it. We must then ensure that these rational responses take precedence over our negative thoughts. “It’s our emotional brain that doesn’t like flying, explains Xavier Tytelman. Our rational brain knows the statistics, it knows that the plane is reliable. So you have to calm the brain’s emotions and this happens, for example, through breathing techniques. We must also force the cortex to remain functional with cognitive techniques”such as writing in a notebook before and during the flight.

Third step that can complement these methods: take part in a flight simulator to allay your fears through visualization. “In the same way that a horror movie can impact you negatively, a flight simulator can impact you positively”estimates the expert.

The latter leaves us with one last piece of advice: do not use avoidance techniques, such as pretending during the flight that you are not on a plane or imagining yourself elsewhere to calm yourself down. “Denying the situation, in the long term, reinforces phobias”he concludes.

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