The Limits of Logic
Until the 2000s, we believed that thinking and behavior were primary and emotions were secondary. But with the advent of FMRI scanners, we began to understand much more.
Today we know that first the nervous system reacts to certain triggers with feelings, and only then our thinking brain tries to find a "logical" justification for this.
Smart People, Irrational Fear
All this was confirmed by my experience of working with thousands of aerophobes around the world. Absolutely logical, sensible people completely lost their ability to think rationally on board.
They turned out to be simply physically unable to act and think the way we planned during CBT sessions.
The Deeper Roots
Today it is obvious that people who require constant control over the world around them suffer from aerophobia. This need is the result of a loss of trust in this world. And the loss of trust in the world, in most cases, is the result of a loss of trust in parents at an early age.
Why the Airplane Triggers Panic
Without the ability to control a particular situation, a person needs the opportunity to escape from it. The airplane gives us neither the illusion of control nor the illusion of escape from an uncontrollable situation.
The psyche has no choice but to draw our attention to the loss of illusions that are so important for some people. That is, turn on the panic. And panic is accompanied by an instant shutdown of the ability to think logically.
Beyond CBT
This is why CBT, as a rule, is not sufficient for aerophobia, because appealing to logic is often useless.
Fortunately, today we have all the necessary tools to work with aerophobia, including at the level of the autonomic nervous system.
