European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 16, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Fear of Al Rio by Anita Gosch flying flying flying flying flying flying flying flying flying flying flying flying dying flying flying flying flying flying flying flying flying flying flying flying flying flying stall writer whenever Amiko Fuchner boards an air plane she Leos like she s slopping into her own Collm. Before the plane leaves the ground. Fuchner s hands begin to sweat her body trembles All Over and her heart pounds so last and so hard she thinks she s having a heart attack. Each time she flick filch nor s Leai intensifies. I m just so afraid up there i feel so vulnerable says the 37-year-old executive from suburban Frankfurt West Germany. Whenever the plane rattles or whines or makes some kind of noise and i Don t know what that noise is i think of of something s wrong the noise is different now the rumbling s higher than before and i concentrate on that and the fear just gels  Robert Heiss a Young businessman irom Frankfurt has wanted to go on vacation for years a real vacation like to a Mediterranean Island maybe or even to the United states. But Heiss keeps putting Oil his dream vacation his Lear of Hying keeps him firmly on the ground. I flew once before and it was a very bad flight Heiss says. Mostly i m afraid of the confined space. And of course you can t open the  Fichtner and Heiss arc not alone in their fear of flying. According to a study by psychologist Barbara f6se, 30 percent to 50 percent of All airline passengers do not enjoy flying about 20 percent to 30 percent have a downright fear. Fose also Lound that the ratio Between men and women who Lear Hying is exactly 50-50. Fear of Hying is a Lear you can admit to More readily than any other Lear. It s a socially More accepted Lear Fose says. What s More difficult is that moment when you say of now i m going to do something about it and that s the whole Point you have to do something about it  Fichtner and Heiss decided to do something. They recently joined nine others in a two Day Lear of flying seminar at the Frankfurt Airport. The seminars Are conducted in German and take place most weekends at major airports throughout Wesl Germany. Fose who also works on the ground personnel Crew Lor the German Lufthansa airline conducts one weekend seminar each month. The psychologist does t claim to rid the participants of their fear of Hying instead she teaches them to come to grips with their Lear and to put it in the proper perspective. Fear is to the mind what Lover is to the body. We need Lear As an Early warning signal Fose says. It s of to to afraid except you have to be Able to Deal with your fear just like you have to Deal with a lever or it la become critical. In the seminar people learn to Deal with their Lear. You Havo to realize that you have this Lear and that you need to have this Lear and that each person has his own level of Lear in various situations. But the fear cannot control you to such an extent that you re unable to act or that it makes your Lile  learning to Fly in an air plane without destroying oneself mentally or physically is the Short term goal of the seminar. The Long term goal is to eventually lose the fear altogether it gradually becomes less and less important As a warning signal until it finally disappears. But the seminar participants need to achieve both goals by themselves. I Don t bring them to the goals Fose says. I just show them the Way. They have to got there by  the underlying reason behind Lear of flying. Fose says is Lear of death and dying. Fear of Hying is More or loss the consciousness of coming into Contact with death. In that sense it s actually a displaced oar of  she says. But not Only fear of death rather also Lear of dying or the phase going toward death because of the coverage in the Media Fose continues the possible association Between dying and Hying is always in the Backol your mind. You re not aware As much of the association Between dying and driving a car because you Don t read As much about it in the papers. Also people drive constantly whereas they Don t lend to Fly that  nevertheless accidents do happen and when Hoy do they re covered by the Media. How does one handle stories about plane crashes or terrorist actions the fact that a person is acutely aware of these incidents and accepts them just goes Back to that person being afraid says Fose. It s like someone who says. We Only have Lousy weather he does t remember the Good weather but every time it s bad it confirms his belief. In a Way in s understandable because your inner sell wants to be  Fose adds that people must learn to accept the Lack that nothing in Lile is without risk. The first step in conquering fear of Hying is to recognize the immediate cause of the Lear and to Deal with that cause. For some people like Fuchner the inexplicable noises a plane makes during Takeoff and Landing leave them confused and frightened. When those noises change or the volume increases or decreases panic sets in. Other airline passengers like Heiss Are overcome by Claustrophobia. The cramped space inside an air plane and the feeling of being trapped trigger a whole array of panic symptoms. In the seminar Fose with the help of an airline Pilot discusses some 25 potential causes of Lear including air plane mishaps like engine failure and doors accidentally opening Pilot incompetency and or Aliguo. Turbulence and lightning air pockets and Lack of airspace acts of terrorism Claustrophobia and fear of Heights. The Pilot explains aerodynamics air currents and More in Short How something As big As a air plane stays in the air. It s important to list All the reasons Why � person might to afraid of flying and to go Over Why they should t actually cause fear says Fose. Because a person might learn t Deal with those two or three things that he knows make him afraid and then just Belor to gets on the plane All those other things pop into his  once the psychologist has gone Over the list of Lear inducers the seminar participants have the Chance to visit an airline hangar an to tour a real air plane. Back in the seminar room Fose teaches them relaxation and deep breathing techniques. Then using a Lape recorder she reproduces the sounds made during an actual High in order to desensitize the participants. In the afternoon of the second Day. The participants try out what they be Learned they join Foo on a Short return flight on a commercial airline. Fuse says it s virtually impossible to lost one s tear of flying on one s own. The group experience is important so people realize thai there Are others in the same boat. Knowing that he was not Alono helped participant Heiss. I Lound Oul thai i m not the Only one who Breaks Oul into a sweat or who does l wan to Start a vacation on an air plane he says. I know thai Here Are other people who hav the same feelings i do  that s some Hinc that really helps  Foo advises that As soon As people select even a slight ear of flying they should try to come to grips with it. Because the More they Fly the worse in gets. Each unusual occurrence or inexplicable noise the causes Lear can Lodge in the Back of one s mind and Over time build up to the Point where panic sets in. It s like a Sno plow Fose says. When you keep pushing it the pile gels higher am higher and then in gets More and More difficult to push. And once that Mountain is there it s almost impossible to get rid of  alcohol and drugs Are not the answer Fose says. Because of the air pressure indic an air plane they May either have a Strong i effect than usual or no effect at All. The length of time it takes for people to lose their Lear of Hying varies according to Page 14 the stars and stripes tuesday i