The Question That Haunts Fearful Flyers
We often hear the question, "Okay, I've got that turbulence is safe. But what if it's not turbulence, but something else?"
When a plane shakes, it's turbulence. The other causes of shaking can rarely exist, mostly in theory. Today, with a probability of one in hundreds of millions of flights.
Probability vs. Possibility
A healthy psyche is not concerned with the question "could it be that it's not turbulence". It is not interested in one-in-a-million probabilities. It is not evaluating possibility, but probability. Because anything is POSSIBLE.
A correctly working psyche instead deals with the question "what is the most likely cause of shaking?". The answer is - the turbulence. And it is perfectly safe for buckled up passengers and for the plane as well. That's enough to trigger the calming down mechanism.
The Search for Absolute Guarantees
If the psyche isn't working properly, it may need absolute guarantees. And there are none.
An incorrect psyche doesn't care if the risk is 1 in 10, 1 in 10,000 or 1 in 10,000,000. It sees only the number. The result is an intense fear, up to and including panic attacks.
Behind the search for absolute assurance of absolute safety is a general feeling of insecurity that about 30% of people live with. It originates at an age when our brains are just forming an understanding of what is safe and what is not.
Breaking the Circle
The thought "What if it's not turbulence" has another reason. Anxious people see "threat" in everything. Including their feelings. Their feelings are "supposed" to be "right".
When we feel fear, we look for its cause, alas, in external factors, not in internal ones. Therefore, this thought allows us to make our fear "logical" and our emotions "right."
The circle closes, because if I am "in danger," it makes me even more afraid. Breaking this vicious circle is difficult, but possible. You just have to want to and get professional support.
