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Guilt Reactions: As a general rule, our guilt prevents us from behaving in a manner that will either hurt others or ourselves. "Pathological guilt" prevents us from doing things that are neither neutral or beneficial towards ourselves. Such is the plight of the fearful flyer who has guilt at or near the center of his or her fear of flying. Generally speaking, individuals with pathological guilt are prone to self deprivation as a means of atonement for real or imagined sin and indiscretion. Additionally, the wish for or the actual experience of pleasure is a common trigger for the sense of guilt (of which anxiety is a part). These emotional forces team up to the psychological formula: avoid the pleasure = avoid the guilt. We need only to add a few words to this formula to grasp the application to the flight environment; that is, avoid the pleasure (of flying) = avoid the guilt (that would be induced in the flight environment). This dynamic can be especially confusing to flight crews who attempt to reassure a fearful flyer with these dynamics by saying "Don’t worry, this is going to be very enjoyable for you", only to discover that the fearful flyer becomes more anxious and upset! |
