What are the reasons that cause aerophobia?
Normally, when a specific situational phobia appears, as is the case of aerophobia, it is caused by several factors. At some point in the person’s life, an unpleasant event related to airplanes happens or is imagined, such as a flight with turbulence, images on television, listening to a commentary, etc. Almost immediately, an anticipatory and catastrophic thought appears: What if the plane crashes? What if I suffer a panic attack and I cannot be rescued? What if…?
These types of thoughts generate negative emotions such as fear, insecurity, dread, loss of control and some others. The person begins to perceive negative physical sensations such as stomach pain or heat. Subsequently, almost immediately, the person begins to perform checking behaviors that confirm (since the person thinks this is true) these catastrophic thoughts. For example, the person accesses the internet and searches for news about plane crashes.
Days later he reads a news item that says that the airplane is the safest means of transportation and feelings of tranquility appear, but just that week he hears on the radio that during a flight some passengers had to use oxygen masks. This news triggers the whole process again (anticipatory thoughts, negative emotions…).
What is virtual reality applied to the treatment of aerophobia?
Virtual Reality (VR) is an aid to treatment. During the exposure phase to the feared situation or object, we can create an immersive experience for the person. For this, special glasses and biofeedback are used, which is a device equipped with sensors that we place in one of the hands, which allows us to obtain graphs of the degree of activation of the person at the moment of exposure. These graphs can be used in subsequent sessions to establish a comparison and adjust the exposure to the feared situation for each person.
Why can this treatment help to reduce the fear of flying?
Because it allows the person to experience more real sensations. Imagining the flight situation in consultation is difficult, since it will depend on the person’s capacity for imagination and suggestibility. In addition, the Psious VR program allows to control several variables to progressively increase the degree of difficulty during the exposure.
When we perform “in vivo” exposure these variables will depend on each specific flight situation as they are beyond our control. The use of VR during treatment is less costly than traditional exposure in both personal and material terms.
What is the result of the treatment?
The result is very positive as shown by different studies, among others by Botella, C., Osma, J., García-Palacios, A., Quero, S. & Baños, R.M. from 2004 “Treatment of Flying Phobia using Virtual Reality: Data from a 1-Year Follow-up using a Multiple Baseline Design”.
I would like to emphasize that VR is not the treatment but a tool that helps us. The treatment consists of teaching the person to become accustomed to the sensations experienced during the flight situation, but, above all, to live in the present and learn to live with this degree of insecurity before and during air travel, in a way that allows them to enjoy their day-to-day life.