TRANSCRIPTS OF TWO 20 MINUTE LEARNING ANNEX VIDEO INTERVIEWS
A Trisha McMillan, Interviewer
B Rob Schapiro
FLY WITHOUT FEAR
A I am talking to Rob Schapiro, a retired airline pilot who is the creator of the popular FLY WITHOUT FEAR lecture series. Rob, why did you develop the FLY WITHOUT FEAR course?
B Trisha,I flew passengers around the world for more than 30 years. After seeing fear of flying affect so many people, I decided to try to do something about it.
I researched the issue for many years and made some very interesting discoveries about the nature of anxiety. More important, I discovered anxiety in the brain has a flaw we can exploit to control anxiety.
I developed a special technique to rapidly control anxiety and started the FLY WITHOUT FEAR lectures to teach it to sufferers. I started lecturing last year at one venue and now I present at 8 different places. It’s proving very effective and popular.
A If we were at the airport and I'm to take a flight in 20 minutes and am feeling very anxious, could you help me?
B Well, the FWF course is three lectures of 1.5 hour each but I’ll try. First I’m going to help you relax. I want you loosen your neck and shoulders. Let them go completely. Become aware of your breathing. Return your breathing to a normal regular pattern. Keep relaxed and breathing normally.
I want you to try empty your mind of all anxious thoughts, especially thoughts related to flying and how bad you feel. If anxious thoughts enter your mind, just ignore them. Allow them to drift away. Don’t react to them.
Also don’t get upset about any physical symptoms you might be experiencing such as racing heart, sweating or headache. They are actually harmless and if you keep your mind is clear, they will fade away by themselves.
A OK, I’m feeling calmer. Now what?
B Great, I’m going to tell you a little about anxiety and aviation. Do you know what the strangest thing I discovered is? People with flying anxiety are not really scared of flying.
A That is very hard to believe.
B I have the same reaction with all my classes! So I tell them “ imagine you’re on a flight and feeling very anxious. Next to you is a guy who seems totally at ease. When the cabin door closes, he just yawns. On take off he is almost asleep. The jet hits turbulence, he doesn’t even notice.If you could be exactly like that guy when you fly", I ask them, "would you still hate flying?”
No, they all say. In that case we wouldn’t mind flying at all.
Then you’re not scared of flying! I tell them. It’s the anxiety and awful feelings you have when you fly that you hate and fear. Once those are gone, you are perfectly happy to fly. Flying is not your problem. Anxiety is the problem.
Flying is simply triggering your anxiety as driving cars or elevators might trigger someone else’s anxiety. Flying is a common anxiety trigger as it crosses so many instinctive human fears.
A Rob, what do you mean by that?
B Trisha, let’s take a quick look at the human brain. For our purposes we’ll divide it into 2 main regions. The thinking outer brain and the instinctive inner brain.
When we are communicating verbally or thinking logically such as now, we are using the outer brain or cortex. It’s the part of our brain which makes us humans unique and special.
A OK, so what does the inner brain do?
B Our inner brain is similar to all other mammals. It controls drives and functions necessary for survival with instinctive genetic wisdom which is handed down through the genes from generation to generation. This includes instinctive human fears such as being trapped, death, the dark and heights.
It adds to this data bank throughout our lifetime by storing good or bad emotional memories. The inner brain is also the source of emotions such as happiness, sadness, jealousy or fear.
A So where does anxiety come from?
B One of the main functions of the inner brain is to protect us from harm. It is constantly looking for signs of danger by comparing your current situation with its instinctive data bank and stored memories.
When it senses imminent danger it sets off the fight or flight mechanism to chemically prepare the body for action. The symptoms anxiety sufferers experience are the result of this mechanism being triggered inappropriately.
Symptoms such as rapid heartbeat, sweating, feeling hot or cold, upset tummy, raw fear or a strong urge to run away and many others are common.
It’s important to realize these are just chemically induced feelings or sensations and have no actual power to harm the sufferer no matter how bad or strong they feel.
A Why does inappropriate anxiety happen if there is no actual danger?
B That's a good question! Because the inner brain believes there is danger even though in reality there is no danger. The sufferer then confirms its wrong belief by acting as though they are in real danger. This deepens and prolongs the anxiety event or panic attack.
A But isn’t flying is somewhat dangerous?
B I don’t think so and neither do the insurance companies. An airline pilot can purchase life insurance at exactly the same price as an office worker. Therefore they statistically consider the jobs equally dangerous.
A I didn’t know that.
B Let me tell you a little about aviation. A modern airliner is one of the engineering wonders of the modern age. Its main design philosophy is called planned redundancy. This means if something on the jet is important, it is duplicated many times to reduce the impact of failure. Also, the pilots plan constantly for possible problems. Every flight is planned expecting something important to go wrong. We never assume things will work perfectly, even though they mostly do.
A The noises on a jet seem to alarm anxious passengers. They always think something is wrong.
B That’s because they’re not that familiar with in flight noises. If passengers want to know if a noise is unusual, they should simply look at the cabin staff. They are very familiar with all the usual noises so if they don’t seem to care about a noise, you shouldn’t either.
A But aren't the passengers lives are in the hands of an unknown pilot?
B That's true, but a commercial flying license is the most regulated license in the working world. A pilot’s performance standard is set by international agreements and the training and testing never ends.
Every year besides their normal flying a pilot must pass 2 simulator checks ,2 FAA medical checks, a line check and ground school refresher to maintain their license. And that’s once they are already qualified on the jet, a process that can take months.
Compare that with the requirement to get a driver’s license which you keep for life. Many people who are anxious on a plane will happily share the road with drivers who are tested once for 10 minutes at the age of 17. Your pilot is a much safer bet.
A Flying anxiety suffer their worst fear in turbulence when the plane drops a few thousand feet in an air pocket.
B I must ask you to trust my 34 years of flying experience when I tell you turbulence is a comfort issue 99.9 % of the time. There is no danger. And also there is no such thing as an air pocket. The plane never drops 1000 or even 100 feet. What the passengers are experiencing is the jet flying through some unstable air.
A Then why does it feel so bad?
B Think of what happens in your car if you drive at high speed over an unseen pothole. If you didn’t have your seatbelt on, your head might hit the roof. But the car dropped maybe 3 or 4 inches? It’s the same principle. The jet flies very fast through an area of rough air so the bump feels hard but in reality the plane hasn’t dropped at all.
A What causes the unstable air? Is it dangerous?
B Quite a few things can cause it. Rising air, changing winds or temperature, another jets wake or thunderstorms. Now flying into a thunderstorm can be dangerous so pilots use radar to avoid entering them. Sometimes it’s also a little bumpy in the vicinity of thunderstorms when pilots fly around them but remember, turbulence is simply not dangerous. It’s just a nuisance. If you keep your seatbelt on, you are completely safe.
A But Rob, jets crash all the time. I see it in the media every day.
B Well, not every day Trisha and most of the time it’s a flying incident in which no one is hurt such as a hole in the roof, engine failure or one jet bumps another on the ground. TV loves to show flying incidents because they look spectacular and generate high interest.
But jets do crash and passengers do die. That is uncontestable. The chance of dying on a regular commercial flight in the US is about 1 in 7,000,000. So if you want a guarantee of absolute safety, clearly you shouldn’t fly. However if absolute safety is your goal, let’s see what else you shouldn’t do.
Park the car! It’s absolutely deadly compared to flying. There are almost 500 annual road deaths for each flying fatality so you definitely shouldn't drive.
A Anything else I shouldn't do?
Don’t walk either! You are 58 times more likely to die as a pedestrian than on a flight.
But if you stay home....
Don’t use home appliances or electricity. You are 4 times more likely to electrocute yourself.
Stop eating. You are 5 times more likely to die from food poisoning or please don’t swim. 9 drowning deaths per day.
I think you get the point. All human activity involves some risk. We accept some pretty high risks daily because we like the rewards. So we drive, use labor saving machines and eat fatty foods despite the risks.
Aviation offers its users huge rewards. Travel, visiting family, business, tourism. And it does so at a fraction of the risk you happily accept every day.
A Will knowing this information stop people feeling anxious on a jet?
B It will help but it won’t stop it. The human brain just doesn’t work that way. Your inner brain will take time to stop triggering anxiety in a particular situation, especially if it’s been happening for a long time.
The trick is to accept intellectually, in your cortex that flying is not dangerous. Also accept anxiety symptoms are harmless and then convince your inner brain it is triggering inappropriately.
A How do you communicate with your inner brain?
B Unfortunately you can’t just talk to it. It is not a verbal part of the brain. It only understands instinctive signals so you have to communicate on an instinctive level. Not with words.
A How does instinctive communication work?
B Humans are constantly sending non verbal signals to each other. For example body language, facial expressions, flushing, blushing or crying. These unconscious displays are a window to the emotional inner brain.
There is also a constant interchange of non verbal signals between the inner and outer brain.
What you need to do is to calm your inner brain by sending a conscious “relax, no danger here” signal in response to its incorrect anxiety signal.
A How do I do it?
B You’re already doing it! Remember the relaxation exercise I gave you?
You relaxed your neck and breathed normally while your inner brain wants you to tense up and breathe rapidly in preparation for danger. That sends a strong signal to the inner brain that it’s wrong.
Also you consciously stopped thinking anxious thoughts. Another strong signal. And then you got on with something else. A distraction is a huge signal of disinterest to the inner brain.
A Does that mean it’s gone forever?
B I’m afraid not. An anxiety trigger is a permanent part of the inner brain but if you keep not responding fearfully it will soon learn to ignore that trigger. But it always has the potential to return. The trick is to make controlling your thoughts, relaxing in response to anxiety and distraction a regular part of your life. Then you will always be ready if it triggers inappropriately.
A What did you say about distraction?
B Distraction is such a powerful tool, it is often the only aid used by many anxiety sufferers. Basically, you just get on with something else and ignore the anxiety symptoms which then disappear on their own.
The best kind of distraction is one where you involve your mind such as a visualization or thinking in fine detail about an upcoming pleasant event. Also working, a puzzle or reading will do.
Never think about your problems, anxiety symptoms or suffering. Plan ahead and never get stuck with nothing to do.
A Please go over the relaxation technique again.
B Certainly. When you feel rising anxiety, physical symptoms or anxious thoughts, instantly try to control your thoughts. Loosen your shoulder and neck muscles and return your breathing to a normal pattern.
Don’t respond to anxious thoughts. Also ignore any physical symptoms such as racing heart or sweating. They will fade away on their own. Once you feel calmer you can start a mental distraction such as visualization.
Never consciously think about anxiety or how bad you feel. This is actually the first step of my anxiety control technique.
A Is there anything else people could learn about flying anxiety?
B Yes, much, much more. My 4.5 hour FLY WITHOUT FEAR lecture is aimed at changing the effect of anxiety on a sufferer’s life. My goal is to change anxiety from a controlling factor to a minor nuisance but it can’t be done in 20 minutes.
Folks can learn more by going to my website www.FLYWITHROB.COM.It has a list of all the venues where I currently present the FLY WITHOUT FEAR lectures. I lecture regularly in the New York and Long Island area.
If you can’t attend the class, you can still purchase the complete course online. This comprehensive package includes the lecture, pictures, diagrams and worksheets. My main goal is to help sufferers and the course is therefore available for a very reasonable price.
A Well, they’ve called my flight and I have a lot to think about. Thanks for talking to me about FLY WITHOUT FEAR.
B It’s been a pleasure Trisha, enjoy your flight.
LIVE YOUR LIFE WITHOUT FEAR
A Hello, I’m Trisha McMillan and today I’m going to talk to Rob Schapiro, a retired airline pilot who is the creator of the popular FLY WITHOUT FEAR lecture series. He also presents another lecture titled LIVE YOUR LIFE WITHOUT FEAR . Rob, why is an airline pilot lecturing about anxiety?
B Trisha, I flew passengers around the world for more than 30 years. After seeing fear of flying affect so many people, I decided to try to do something about it. I researched the issue for many years and made some very interesting discoveries about the nature of anxiety. More important, I also discovered anxiety in the brain has a flaw which we can easily exploit to control fear. I then developed a special technique to control anxiety and once I retired from active flying started the FLY WITHOUT FEAR lectures to teach it to sufferers. I first presented the course at one venue and now lecture at 8 different locations. It’s proving popular and effective.
A So why did you develop the LIVE YOUR LIFE WITHOUT FEAR lectures?
FLY WITHOUT FEAR focuses on people who experience anxiety when they fly but many other suffer uncontrolled anxiety in non flying situations such as driving, in elevators, crowds, high places, stuck in traffic or simply in a particular corner in a supermarket. LIVE YOUR LIFE WITHOUT FEAR is to help those folks.
A How does a program developed for aviation anxiety help all those other sufferers? Let’s say I won’t take elevators because I might get very anxious especially if they’re crowded. How can you help me?
Before I answer that I want to give you a relaxing exercise. Anxiety instantly changes your muscle tension and breathing patterns. I want you to release your neck and shoulders completely. Just let them go and keep them loose. Become aware of your breathing. Anxiety causes you to either breathe rapidly and shallow or to hold your breath. Return to a normal regular breathing pattern. Keep relaxed and breathing normally. Now I want you to try empty your mind of all anxious thoughts, especially any thoughts related to elevators. If anxious thoughts enter your mind, just ignore them. Allow them to drift away. Don’t react to them. Also don’t get upset about any physical symptoms you might be experiencing such as racing heart, sweating or headache. They are actually harmless and if you keep your mind is clear, they will fade away by themselves.
A OK, I’m feeling relaxed. Now what?
B Great, I’m going to tell you a little about anxiety and aviation. Do you know what the strangest thing I discovered is? People with flying anxiety are not really scared of flying.
A That is very hard to believe.
B I have the same reaction with all my classes. So I tell them “imagine you’re on a flight and feeling very anxious. But next to you is a guy who seems totally at ease. When the cabin door closes, he just yawns. On takeoff he is almost asleep. The jet hits turbulence, he doesn’t even notice! If you could be exactly like that guy when you fly, I ask them, would you still hate flying?”
No, they all say. In that case we wouldn’t mind flying at all.
Then you’re not scared of flying! I tell them. It’s the anxiety and awful feelings you have when you fly that you hate and fear. Once those are gone, you are perfectly happy to fly.
You see Trisha, flying is not their real problem. Inappropriate anxiety is the problem. Flying is simply triggering their anxiety as getting into an elevator or driving a car might trigger someone else’s anxiety. Sufferers then in turn blame the place or activity where it was triggered as the cause of their anxiety.
Things such as planes, elevators or cars are common anxiety triggers as they cross so many instinctive human fears.
A Rob, what do you mean by that?
B Let’s take a quick look at the human brain. For our purposes we’ll divide it into 2 main regions. The thinking, rational outer brain or neo cortex and the instinctive, emotional inner brain or limbic system. When we are communicating verbally or thinking logically such as now, we are using the outer brain or cortex. It’s the part of our brain which makes us humans so unique and special compared to other living creatures.
A OK, so what does the inner brain do?
B Our inner brain is similar to all other mammals. It controls drives and functions necessary for survival by using instinctive genetic wisdom which is handed down through the genes from generation to generation. We are born, like all mammals, with this genetic program fully loaded. It contains a complete blueprint of how to survive and thrive in a hostile world. It includes instinctive human fears such as fear of being trapped, fear of death, the dark and heights.
It adds to this data bank during our lifetime by storing good or bad emotional memories. The inner brain is the source of our emotions such as happiness, sadness, jealousy or fear. It is also the home of the “fight or flight” response, a brain mechanism dedicated to protecting the organism from imminent danger.
The interesting thing is we cannot control the functions of the inner brain at will. In fact it controls us to a degree we don’t generally recognize.
A So where does anxiety come from?
B One of the main functions of the inner brain is to protect us from harm. Remember, this part of the brain evolved when we were not top of the food chain and sudden violent death could come from any direction. The need to protect the organism is one of the inner brains strongest drives and it is constantly assessing the danger level.
It looks for signs of danger by continuously comparing inputs from all the senses (or reality) with its instinctive data bank and stored memories. You don’t need to consciously be aware of danger for the inner brain to trigger. Just a smell or sound might be enough.
When the organism senses imminent danger, the primitive limbic system responds immediately. The AMYGDALA, a walnut size gland, takes control as it chemically prepares the organism for 2 choices; Flee the danger or fight it.
It floods the body with hormones including adrenaline, diverts blood flow to the muscles and away from the digestive system, increases mental alertness and acuity, starts the body sweating for cooling and increases the heart and breathing rate amongst many other things.
When the amygdala is signaled that the emergency is over, it resets and the body rapidly returns to normal.
A So where does panic or inappropriate anxiety come from?
For some folks, the amygdala can get a danger signal at the wrong time, say getting into an elevator or sitting in the airport lounge. It will still go ahead and respond as if a predator is about to eat you. It is reacting to an instinctive fear or stored emotional bad memory and is totally ignoring input from the rational mind about the current level of danger
The symptoms anxiety sufferers experience, are the result of this mechanism being triggered inappropriately. Symptoms such as rapid heartbeat, sweating, feeling hot or cold, upset tummy, fearful thoughts or a strong urge to run away and many others are common.
This untimely genetic response by the primitive brain causes misery and anxiety for millions of people. It is also chiefly responsible for the disproportionate fear triggered by flying, driving and other situations.
However it’s important to realize these are just chemically induced feelings or sensations and have no actual power to harm the sufferer no matter how bad or strong they feel.
A Why does inappropriate anxiety happen if there is no actual danger
B That’s a good question!
Because the inner brain believes you’re in danger even though in reality there is no danger. It therefore chemically produces the same symptoms you would experience in an actual emergency. The sufferer then confirms the inner brains wrong belief by acting as though they are in real danger. This deepens and prolongs the anxiety event or panic attack.
A What exactly do you mean when you mean when you refer to symptoms? Do all people experience the same symptoms?
To the sufferer of anxiety, the attack feels like one awful out of control experience. But it actually follows a very predictable pattern. Once it is triggered, the same 3 categories of fight or flight symptoms appear….
Physical symptoms such as headache, stomachache, diarrhea, muscle tightness, rapid heartbeat, sweating, dizziness, pains, shaking, tiredness, sleeplessness and others.
Mental symptoms such as fear, irritability, restlessness, mood swings and a strong urge to run or flee.
Recurring catastrophic thoughts. Your mind racing with anxious thoughts such as I’m going to faint or I’m going to die or I can’t cope or “what if” type thoughts
These 3 types of symptoms feed off each other in a circle but it also needs the sufferers contribution to keep going. Every time they respond fearfully to catastrophic thoughts or react fearfully to symptoms, it progressively deepens the anxiety cycle.
Everyone experiences anxiety slightly differently and to a different degree. Some have very few symptoms, others have a wide range of symptoms. Some are bothered only at particular times, others have daily anxiety events. But anxiety always comes from the same place in the brain and this information applies to all cases.
A How dangerous are the symptoms? Can they cause permanent harm to the sufferer?
This is a common fear of anxiety sufferers that symptoms are dangerous and are going to harm them.
But here is an interesting thing. As bad as they feel, nothing is actually going to happens to the sufferer. They won’t have a heart attack or faint or die. The symptoms are harmless and I can prove it.
However long they’ve been feeling symptoms and having catastrophic thoughts, in some cases for more than 30 years, nothing has actually happened to them. They’re still the same person, whole and undamaged. If symptoms had the power to harm them, it would have happened already. It hasn’t and never will.
They continue to believe it will get them “next time” but the reality is the thoughts were wrong and the symptoms are harmless.
In inappropriate anxiety or panic, what you’re feeling are just normal body sensations presenting themselves at the wrong time. As strange as it sounds, your inner brain is trying to help you. It’s trying to protect the organism. The inner brain cannot actually make you flee danger. That’s a conscious choice. So it’s trying to goad you into action with urgent signals.
A Will knowing all this help to stop anxiety?
Well , it will help but it won’t stop it. The human brain just doesn’t work that way. But it’s extremely important that you accept on an intellectual level that the symptoms, while unpleasant, are harmless.
A So how do we stop the inner brain triggering inappropriately?
By sending a message to the inner brain that it’s wrong about the danger and that it’s safe for it to go off alert.
A How do you communicate this to the inner brain?
B Unfortunately you can’t just talk to it. It is not a verbal part of the brain. It only understands instinctive signals so you have to communicate on an instinctive level. Not with words.
A What is instinctive communication? How does it work?
B Humans are constantly sending instinctive non verbal signals to each other. For example body language, facial expressions or physiological changes such as flushing, blushing or crying. These unconscious displays are a window to the emotional inner brain.
There is also a constant interchange of non verbal signals between your inner brain, outer brain and body.Your conscious response to an inner brain emotional signal determines if that signal will intensify or disappear.
Let me give you an example of what I mean. You’re walking down the street, see an ex boss who you believe fired you unfairly and you suddenly feel anxious, your face flushes and your heart begins to race. Now if you begin to recall and ruminate on the whole bad experience, the symptoms of anxiety will continue and intensify. But if you tell yourself “it’s old history, I’m not going there today” and get on with something else, the anxiety will quickly diminish.
Catastrophic thoughts and symptoms are an instinctual danger signal from the inner brain. What you need to do to calm your inner brain is to send a non verbal “relax, no danger here” signal in response to its anxiety signal.
A A non verbal “relax, no danger here” signal in response to anxiety. How do I do it?
B You’re already doing it! Remember the relaxation exercise I gave you?
You consciously relaxed your neck and breathed normally while your inner brain wanted you to tense your muscles and breathe rapidly in preparation for danger. That sent a strong non verbal signal to the inner brain that it was wrong about the danger.
Also you stopped thinking about and ignored anxious thoughts. Another strong signal. And then you got on with something else. A distraction is a huge signal of disinterest to the inner brain.
Trisha, if you relaxed like this instead of reacting fearfully every time you experienced anxiety in an elevator, your inner brain would soon get the message it’s wrong about the danger and would stop triggering in elevators.
A Does that mean it’s gone forever Rob?
B I’m afraid not. An anxiety trigger, like any emotional memory, is a permanent part of the inner brain but if you keep not responding fearfully it will soon learn to ignore that trigger. But it always has the potential to return. The trick is to make controlling anxious thoughts and relaxing in response to anxiety a regular part of your life. Then you will always be ready if it triggers inappropriately.
A How important is distraction in controlling anxiety?
B Trisha, distraction is such a powerful tool, it is often the only aid used by many anxiety sufferers. Basically, you just get on with something else and ignore the anxiety symptoms which then disappear on their own. The best kind of distraction is one where you involve your mind such as a visualization or thinking in fine detail about an upcoming pleasant event. Also working, a puzzle or reading will do.
A Is there anything else I can do to help control anxiety?
Yes, never consciously think or worry about anxiety symptoms or suffering. You also don’t want your thoughts to be fear based such as pleading, begging or making desperate bargains for anxiety to disappear. Once you accept the symptoms, while unpleasant, are harmless, it’s easy to lose your fear of anxiety. We don’t fear harmless things. We only fear things that we believe can hurt us.
And that’s the main driver of continuing panic attacks - not a car or elevator or aircraft but the fear of re experiencing anxiety symptoms.
A Please go over the relaxation technique again Rob.
B Sure, but I want you to remember this is not just for relaxation. This should be your “go to “reaction whenever you feel rising anxiety, physical symptoms or anxious thoughts. Or simply to relieve stress or to slow down your thoughts.
Loosen your shoulder and neck muscles completely and return your breathing to a normal pattern. Keep relaxed and breathing normally. Try to control your thoughts. Don’t respond to anxious thoughts, just let them fade away. Ignore any physical symptoms such as racing heart or sweating. They will fade away on their own. Once you feel calmer start a mental distraction such as visualization. This is actually the first step of my anxiety control technique.
Trisha, this technique is very simple but it needs lots of practice. Especially learning to control your thoughts. The key is to practice it daily and to use this relaxing technique in all stressful situations. That way controlling your mind and anxiety is not something special you pull out only when you have a problem but a part of your daily life.
A Is there anything else people could learn about controlling anxiety?
B Oh yes, much, much more. I present 2 lectures A 4.5 hour FLY WITHOUT FEAR lecture over 3 nights and a 4 hour LIVE YOUR LIFE WITHOUT FEAR lecture over 2 nights. Both are aimed at changing the effect of anxiety on a sufferer’s life. My goal is to change anxiety from a controlling factor to a minor nuisance but it can’t be done in 20 minutes. Folks can learn more by going to my website FLY WITH ROB. Com. It lists of all the venues where I present both lectures. Currently I lecture regularly in New York and Long Island area.
A What if I can’t attend the class?
B If you can’t attend the class, you can still purchase the complete courses on my website. This comprehensive package includes the lecture, pictures, diagrams and worksheets. My main goal is to help sufferers and the course is available for a very reasonable price.
A Rob, I’ve learned a lot about controlling anxiety and I’d like to thank you for talking to me today.
B It’s been a pleasure Trisha.
B Rob Schapiro
FLY WITHOUT FEAR
A I am talking to Rob Schapiro, a retired airline pilot who is the creator of the popular FLY WITHOUT FEAR lecture series. Rob, why did you develop the FLY WITHOUT FEAR course?
B Trisha,I flew passengers around the world for more than 30 years. After seeing fear of flying affect so many people, I decided to try to do something about it.
I researched the issue for many years and made some very interesting discoveries about the nature of anxiety. More important, I discovered anxiety in the brain has a flaw we can exploit to control anxiety.
I developed a special technique to rapidly control anxiety and started the FLY WITHOUT FEAR lectures to teach it to sufferers. I started lecturing last year at one venue and now I present at 8 different places. It’s proving very effective and popular.
A If we were at the airport and I'm to take a flight in 20 minutes and am feeling very anxious, could you help me?
B Well, the FWF course is three lectures of 1.5 hour each but I’ll try. First I’m going to help you relax. I want you loosen your neck and shoulders. Let them go completely. Become aware of your breathing. Return your breathing to a normal regular pattern. Keep relaxed and breathing normally.
I want you to try empty your mind of all anxious thoughts, especially thoughts related to flying and how bad you feel. If anxious thoughts enter your mind, just ignore them. Allow them to drift away. Don’t react to them.
Also don’t get upset about any physical symptoms you might be experiencing such as racing heart, sweating or headache. They are actually harmless and if you keep your mind is clear, they will fade away by themselves.
A OK, I’m feeling calmer. Now what?
B Great, I’m going to tell you a little about anxiety and aviation. Do you know what the strangest thing I discovered is? People with flying anxiety are not really scared of flying.
A That is very hard to believe.
B I have the same reaction with all my classes! So I tell them “ imagine you’re on a flight and feeling very anxious. Next to you is a guy who seems totally at ease. When the cabin door closes, he just yawns. On take off he is almost asleep. The jet hits turbulence, he doesn’t even notice.If you could be exactly like that guy when you fly", I ask them, "would you still hate flying?”
No, they all say. In that case we wouldn’t mind flying at all.
Then you’re not scared of flying! I tell them. It’s the anxiety and awful feelings you have when you fly that you hate and fear. Once those are gone, you are perfectly happy to fly. Flying is not your problem. Anxiety is the problem.
Flying is simply triggering your anxiety as driving cars or elevators might trigger someone else’s anxiety. Flying is a common anxiety trigger as it crosses so many instinctive human fears.
A Rob, what do you mean by that?
B Trisha, let’s take a quick look at the human brain. For our purposes we’ll divide it into 2 main regions. The thinking outer brain and the instinctive inner brain.
When we are communicating verbally or thinking logically such as now, we are using the outer brain or cortex. It’s the part of our brain which makes us humans unique and special.
A OK, so what does the inner brain do?
B Our inner brain is similar to all other mammals. It controls drives and functions necessary for survival with instinctive genetic wisdom which is handed down through the genes from generation to generation. This includes instinctive human fears such as being trapped, death, the dark and heights.
It adds to this data bank throughout our lifetime by storing good or bad emotional memories. The inner brain is also the source of emotions such as happiness, sadness, jealousy or fear.
A So where does anxiety come from?
B One of the main functions of the inner brain is to protect us from harm. It is constantly looking for signs of danger by comparing your current situation with its instinctive data bank and stored memories.
When it senses imminent danger it sets off the fight or flight mechanism to chemically prepare the body for action. The symptoms anxiety sufferers experience are the result of this mechanism being triggered inappropriately.
Symptoms such as rapid heartbeat, sweating, feeling hot or cold, upset tummy, raw fear or a strong urge to run away and many others are common.
It’s important to realize these are just chemically induced feelings or sensations and have no actual power to harm the sufferer no matter how bad or strong they feel.
A Why does inappropriate anxiety happen if there is no actual danger?
B That's a good question! Because the inner brain believes there is danger even though in reality there is no danger. The sufferer then confirms its wrong belief by acting as though they are in real danger. This deepens and prolongs the anxiety event or panic attack.
A But isn’t flying is somewhat dangerous?
B I don’t think so and neither do the insurance companies. An airline pilot can purchase life insurance at exactly the same price as an office worker. Therefore they statistically consider the jobs equally dangerous.
A I didn’t know that.
B Let me tell you a little about aviation. A modern airliner is one of the engineering wonders of the modern age. Its main design philosophy is called planned redundancy. This means if something on the jet is important, it is duplicated many times to reduce the impact of failure. Also, the pilots plan constantly for possible problems. Every flight is planned expecting something important to go wrong. We never assume things will work perfectly, even though they mostly do.
A The noises on a jet seem to alarm anxious passengers. They always think something is wrong.
B That’s because they’re not that familiar with in flight noises. If passengers want to know if a noise is unusual, they should simply look at the cabin staff. They are very familiar with all the usual noises so if they don’t seem to care about a noise, you shouldn’t either.
A But aren't the passengers lives are in the hands of an unknown pilot?
B That's true, but a commercial flying license is the most regulated license in the working world. A pilot’s performance standard is set by international agreements and the training and testing never ends.
Every year besides their normal flying a pilot must pass 2 simulator checks ,2 FAA medical checks, a line check and ground school refresher to maintain their license. And that’s once they are already qualified on the jet, a process that can take months.
Compare that with the requirement to get a driver’s license which you keep for life. Many people who are anxious on a plane will happily share the road with drivers who are tested once for 10 minutes at the age of 17. Your pilot is a much safer bet.
A Flying anxiety suffer their worst fear in turbulence when the plane drops a few thousand feet in an air pocket.
B I must ask you to trust my 34 years of flying experience when I tell you turbulence is a comfort issue 99.9 % of the time. There is no danger. And also there is no such thing as an air pocket. The plane never drops 1000 or even 100 feet. What the passengers are experiencing is the jet flying through some unstable air.
A Then why does it feel so bad?
B Think of what happens in your car if you drive at high speed over an unseen pothole. If you didn’t have your seatbelt on, your head might hit the roof. But the car dropped maybe 3 or 4 inches? It’s the same principle. The jet flies very fast through an area of rough air so the bump feels hard but in reality the plane hasn’t dropped at all.
A What causes the unstable air? Is it dangerous?
B Quite a few things can cause it. Rising air, changing winds or temperature, another jets wake or thunderstorms. Now flying into a thunderstorm can be dangerous so pilots use radar to avoid entering them. Sometimes it’s also a little bumpy in the vicinity of thunderstorms when pilots fly around them but remember, turbulence is simply not dangerous. It’s just a nuisance. If you keep your seatbelt on, you are completely safe.
A But Rob, jets crash all the time. I see it in the media every day.
B Well, not every day Trisha and most of the time it’s a flying incident in which no one is hurt such as a hole in the roof, engine failure or one jet bumps another on the ground. TV loves to show flying incidents because they look spectacular and generate high interest.
But jets do crash and passengers do die. That is uncontestable. The chance of dying on a regular commercial flight in the US is about 1 in 7,000,000. So if you want a guarantee of absolute safety, clearly you shouldn’t fly. However if absolute safety is your goal, let’s see what else you shouldn’t do.
Park the car! It’s absolutely deadly compared to flying. There are almost 500 annual road deaths for each flying fatality so you definitely shouldn't drive.
A Anything else I shouldn't do?
Don’t walk either! You are 58 times more likely to die as a pedestrian than on a flight.
But if you stay home....
Don’t use home appliances or electricity. You are 4 times more likely to electrocute yourself.
Stop eating. You are 5 times more likely to die from food poisoning or please don’t swim. 9 drowning deaths per day.
I think you get the point. All human activity involves some risk. We accept some pretty high risks daily because we like the rewards. So we drive, use labor saving machines and eat fatty foods despite the risks.
Aviation offers its users huge rewards. Travel, visiting family, business, tourism. And it does so at a fraction of the risk you happily accept every day.
A Will knowing this information stop people feeling anxious on a jet?
B It will help but it won’t stop it. The human brain just doesn’t work that way. Your inner brain will take time to stop triggering anxiety in a particular situation, especially if it’s been happening for a long time.
The trick is to accept intellectually, in your cortex that flying is not dangerous. Also accept anxiety symptoms are harmless and then convince your inner brain it is triggering inappropriately.
A How do you communicate with your inner brain?
B Unfortunately you can’t just talk to it. It is not a verbal part of the brain. It only understands instinctive signals so you have to communicate on an instinctive level. Not with words.
A How does instinctive communication work?
B Humans are constantly sending non verbal signals to each other. For example body language, facial expressions, flushing, blushing or crying. These unconscious displays are a window to the emotional inner brain.
There is also a constant interchange of non verbal signals between the inner and outer brain.
What you need to do is to calm your inner brain by sending a conscious “relax, no danger here” signal in response to its incorrect anxiety signal.
A How do I do it?
B You’re already doing it! Remember the relaxation exercise I gave you?
You relaxed your neck and breathed normally while your inner brain wants you to tense up and breathe rapidly in preparation for danger. That sends a strong signal to the inner brain that it’s wrong.
Also you consciously stopped thinking anxious thoughts. Another strong signal. And then you got on with something else. A distraction is a huge signal of disinterest to the inner brain.
A Does that mean it’s gone forever?
B I’m afraid not. An anxiety trigger is a permanent part of the inner brain but if you keep not responding fearfully it will soon learn to ignore that trigger. But it always has the potential to return. The trick is to make controlling your thoughts, relaxing in response to anxiety and distraction a regular part of your life. Then you will always be ready if it triggers inappropriately.
A What did you say about distraction?
B Distraction is such a powerful tool, it is often the only aid used by many anxiety sufferers. Basically, you just get on with something else and ignore the anxiety symptoms which then disappear on their own.
The best kind of distraction is one where you involve your mind such as a visualization or thinking in fine detail about an upcoming pleasant event. Also working, a puzzle or reading will do.
Never think about your problems, anxiety symptoms or suffering. Plan ahead and never get stuck with nothing to do.
A Please go over the relaxation technique again.
B Certainly. When you feel rising anxiety, physical symptoms or anxious thoughts, instantly try to control your thoughts. Loosen your shoulder and neck muscles and return your breathing to a normal pattern.
Don’t respond to anxious thoughts. Also ignore any physical symptoms such as racing heart or sweating. They will fade away on their own. Once you feel calmer you can start a mental distraction such as visualization.
Never consciously think about anxiety or how bad you feel. This is actually the first step of my anxiety control technique.
A Is there anything else people could learn about flying anxiety?
B Yes, much, much more. My 4.5 hour FLY WITHOUT FEAR lecture is aimed at changing the effect of anxiety on a sufferer’s life. My goal is to change anxiety from a controlling factor to a minor nuisance but it can’t be done in 20 minutes.
Folks can learn more by going to my website www.FLYWITHROB.COM.It has a list of all the venues where I currently present the FLY WITHOUT FEAR lectures. I lecture regularly in the New York and Long Island area.
If you can’t attend the class, you can still purchase the complete course online. This comprehensive package includes the lecture, pictures, diagrams and worksheets. My main goal is to help sufferers and the course is therefore available for a very reasonable price.
A Well, they’ve called my flight and I have a lot to think about. Thanks for talking to me about FLY WITHOUT FEAR.
B It’s been a pleasure Trisha, enjoy your flight.
LIVE YOUR LIFE WITHOUT FEAR
A Hello, I’m Trisha McMillan and today I’m going to talk to Rob Schapiro, a retired airline pilot who is the creator of the popular FLY WITHOUT FEAR lecture series. He also presents another lecture titled LIVE YOUR LIFE WITHOUT FEAR . Rob, why is an airline pilot lecturing about anxiety?
B Trisha, I flew passengers around the world for more than 30 years. After seeing fear of flying affect so many people, I decided to try to do something about it. I researched the issue for many years and made some very interesting discoveries about the nature of anxiety. More important, I also discovered anxiety in the brain has a flaw which we can easily exploit to control fear. I then developed a special technique to control anxiety and once I retired from active flying started the FLY WITHOUT FEAR lectures to teach it to sufferers. I first presented the course at one venue and now lecture at 8 different locations. It’s proving popular and effective.
A So why did you develop the LIVE YOUR LIFE WITHOUT FEAR lectures?
FLY WITHOUT FEAR focuses on people who experience anxiety when they fly but many other suffer uncontrolled anxiety in non flying situations such as driving, in elevators, crowds, high places, stuck in traffic or simply in a particular corner in a supermarket. LIVE YOUR LIFE WITHOUT FEAR is to help those folks.
A How does a program developed for aviation anxiety help all those other sufferers? Let’s say I won’t take elevators because I might get very anxious especially if they’re crowded. How can you help me?
Before I answer that I want to give you a relaxing exercise. Anxiety instantly changes your muscle tension and breathing patterns. I want you to release your neck and shoulders completely. Just let them go and keep them loose. Become aware of your breathing. Anxiety causes you to either breathe rapidly and shallow or to hold your breath. Return to a normal regular breathing pattern. Keep relaxed and breathing normally. Now I want you to try empty your mind of all anxious thoughts, especially any thoughts related to elevators. If anxious thoughts enter your mind, just ignore them. Allow them to drift away. Don’t react to them. Also don’t get upset about any physical symptoms you might be experiencing such as racing heart, sweating or headache. They are actually harmless and if you keep your mind is clear, they will fade away by themselves.
A OK, I’m feeling relaxed. Now what?
B Great, I’m going to tell you a little about anxiety and aviation. Do you know what the strangest thing I discovered is? People with flying anxiety are not really scared of flying.
A That is very hard to believe.
B I have the same reaction with all my classes. So I tell them “imagine you’re on a flight and feeling very anxious. But next to you is a guy who seems totally at ease. When the cabin door closes, he just yawns. On takeoff he is almost asleep. The jet hits turbulence, he doesn’t even notice! If you could be exactly like that guy when you fly, I ask them, would you still hate flying?”
No, they all say. In that case we wouldn’t mind flying at all.
Then you’re not scared of flying! I tell them. It’s the anxiety and awful feelings you have when you fly that you hate and fear. Once those are gone, you are perfectly happy to fly.
You see Trisha, flying is not their real problem. Inappropriate anxiety is the problem. Flying is simply triggering their anxiety as getting into an elevator or driving a car might trigger someone else’s anxiety. Sufferers then in turn blame the place or activity where it was triggered as the cause of their anxiety.
Things such as planes, elevators or cars are common anxiety triggers as they cross so many instinctive human fears.
A Rob, what do you mean by that?
B Let’s take a quick look at the human brain. For our purposes we’ll divide it into 2 main regions. The thinking, rational outer brain or neo cortex and the instinctive, emotional inner brain or limbic system. When we are communicating verbally or thinking logically such as now, we are using the outer brain or cortex. It’s the part of our brain which makes us humans so unique and special compared to other living creatures.
A OK, so what does the inner brain do?
B Our inner brain is similar to all other mammals. It controls drives and functions necessary for survival by using instinctive genetic wisdom which is handed down through the genes from generation to generation. We are born, like all mammals, with this genetic program fully loaded. It contains a complete blueprint of how to survive and thrive in a hostile world. It includes instinctive human fears such as fear of being trapped, fear of death, the dark and heights.
It adds to this data bank during our lifetime by storing good or bad emotional memories. The inner brain is the source of our emotions such as happiness, sadness, jealousy or fear. It is also the home of the “fight or flight” response, a brain mechanism dedicated to protecting the organism from imminent danger.
The interesting thing is we cannot control the functions of the inner brain at will. In fact it controls us to a degree we don’t generally recognize.
A So where does anxiety come from?
B One of the main functions of the inner brain is to protect us from harm. Remember, this part of the brain evolved when we were not top of the food chain and sudden violent death could come from any direction. The need to protect the organism is one of the inner brains strongest drives and it is constantly assessing the danger level.
It looks for signs of danger by continuously comparing inputs from all the senses (or reality) with its instinctive data bank and stored memories. You don’t need to consciously be aware of danger for the inner brain to trigger. Just a smell or sound might be enough.
When the organism senses imminent danger, the primitive limbic system responds immediately. The AMYGDALA, a walnut size gland, takes control as it chemically prepares the organism for 2 choices; Flee the danger or fight it.
It floods the body with hormones including adrenaline, diverts blood flow to the muscles and away from the digestive system, increases mental alertness and acuity, starts the body sweating for cooling and increases the heart and breathing rate amongst many other things.
When the amygdala is signaled that the emergency is over, it resets and the body rapidly returns to normal.
A So where does panic or inappropriate anxiety come from?
For some folks, the amygdala can get a danger signal at the wrong time, say getting into an elevator or sitting in the airport lounge. It will still go ahead and respond as if a predator is about to eat you. It is reacting to an instinctive fear or stored emotional bad memory and is totally ignoring input from the rational mind about the current level of danger
The symptoms anxiety sufferers experience, are the result of this mechanism being triggered inappropriately. Symptoms such as rapid heartbeat, sweating, feeling hot or cold, upset tummy, fearful thoughts or a strong urge to run away and many others are common.
This untimely genetic response by the primitive brain causes misery and anxiety for millions of people. It is also chiefly responsible for the disproportionate fear triggered by flying, driving and other situations.
However it’s important to realize these are just chemically induced feelings or sensations and have no actual power to harm the sufferer no matter how bad or strong they feel.
A Why does inappropriate anxiety happen if there is no actual danger
B That’s a good question!
Because the inner brain believes you’re in danger even though in reality there is no danger. It therefore chemically produces the same symptoms you would experience in an actual emergency. The sufferer then confirms the inner brains wrong belief by acting as though they are in real danger. This deepens and prolongs the anxiety event or panic attack.
A What exactly do you mean when you mean when you refer to symptoms? Do all people experience the same symptoms?
To the sufferer of anxiety, the attack feels like one awful out of control experience. But it actually follows a very predictable pattern. Once it is triggered, the same 3 categories of fight or flight symptoms appear….
Physical symptoms such as headache, stomachache, diarrhea, muscle tightness, rapid heartbeat, sweating, dizziness, pains, shaking, tiredness, sleeplessness and others.
Mental symptoms such as fear, irritability, restlessness, mood swings and a strong urge to run or flee.
Recurring catastrophic thoughts. Your mind racing with anxious thoughts such as I’m going to faint or I’m going to die or I can’t cope or “what if” type thoughts
These 3 types of symptoms feed off each other in a circle but it also needs the sufferers contribution to keep going. Every time they respond fearfully to catastrophic thoughts or react fearfully to symptoms, it progressively deepens the anxiety cycle.
Everyone experiences anxiety slightly differently and to a different degree. Some have very few symptoms, others have a wide range of symptoms. Some are bothered only at particular times, others have daily anxiety events. But anxiety always comes from the same place in the brain and this information applies to all cases.
A How dangerous are the symptoms? Can they cause permanent harm to the sufferer?
This is a common fear of anxiety sufferers that symptoms are dangerous and are going to harm them.
But here is an interesting thing. As bad as they feel, nothing is actually going to happens to the sufferer. They won’t have a heart attack or faint or die. The symptoms are harmless and I can prove it.
However long they’ve been feeling symptoms and having catastrophic thoughts, in some cases for more than 30 years, nothing has actually happened to them. They’re still the same person, whole and undamaged. If symptoms had the power to harm them, it would have happened already. It hasn’t and never will.
They continue to believe it will get them “next time” but the reality is the thoughts were wrong and the symptoms are harmless.
In inappropriate anxiety or panic, what you’re feeling are just normal body sensations presenting themselves at the wrong time. As strange as it sounds, your inner brain is trying to help you. It’s trying to protect the organism. The inner brain cannot actually make you flee danger. That’s a conscious choice. So it’s trying to goad you into action with urgent signals.
A Will knowing all this help to stop anxiety?
Well , it will help but it won’t stop it. The human brain just doesn’t work that way. But it’s extremely important that you accept on an intellectual level that the symptoms, while unpleasant, are harmless.
A So how do we stop the inner brain triggering inappropriately?
By sending a message to the inner brain that it’s wrong about the danger and that it’s safe for it to go off alert.
A How do you communicate this to the inner brain?
B Unfortunately you can’t just talk to it. It is not a verbal part of the brain. It only understands instinctive signals so you have to communicate on an instinctive level. Not with words.
A What is instinctive communication? How does it work?
B Humans are constantly sending instinctive non verbal signals to each other. For example body language, facial expressions or physiological changes such as flushing, blushing or crying. These unconscious displays are a window to the emotional inner brain.
There is also a constant interchange of non verbal signals between your inner brain, outer brain and body.Your conscious response to an inner brain emotional signal determines if that signal will intensify or disappear.
Let me give you an example of what I mean. You’re walking down the street, see an ex boss who you believe fired you unfairly and you suddenly feel anxious, your face flushes and your heart begins to race. Now if you begin to recall and ruminate on the whole bad experience, the symptoms of anxiety will continue and intensify. But if you tell yourself “it’s old history, I’m not going there today” and get on with something else, the anxiety will quickly diminish.
Catastrophic thoughts and symptoms are an instinctual danger signal from the inner brain. What you need to do to calm your inner brain is to send a non verbal “relax, no danger here” signal in response to its anxiety signal.
A A non verbal “relax, no danger here” signal in response to anxiety. How do I do it?
B You’re already doing it! Remember the relaxation exercise I gave you?
You consciously relaxed your neck and breathed normally while your inner brain wanted you to tense your muscles and breathe rapidly in preparation for danger. That sent a strong non verbal signal to the inner brain that it was wrong about the danger.
Also you stopped thinking about and ignored anxious thoughts. Another strong signal. And then you got on with something else. A distraction is a huge signal of disinterest to the inner brain.
Trisha, if you relaxed like this instead of reacting fearfully every time you experienced anxiety in an elevator, your inner brain would soon get the message it’s wrong about the danger and would stop triggering in elevators.
A Does that mean it’s gone forever Rob?
B I’m afraid not. An anxiety trigger, like any emotional memory, is a permanent part of the inner brain but if you keep not responding fearfully it will soon learn to ignore that trigger. But it always has the potential to return. The trick is to make controlling anxious thoughts and relaxing in response to anxiety a regular part of your life. Then you will always be ready if it triggers inappropriately.
A How important is distraction in controlling anxiety?
B Trisha, distraction is such a powerful tool, it is often the only aid used by many anxiety sufferers. Basically, you just get on with something else and ignore the anxiety symptoms which then disappear on their own. The best kind of distraction is one where you involve your mind such as a visualization or thinking in fine detail about an upcoming pleasant event. Also working, a puzzle or reading will do.
A Is there anything else I can do to help control anxiety?
Yes, never consciously think or worry about anxiety symptoms or suffering. You also don’t want your thoughts to be fear based such as pleading, begging or making desperate bargains for anxiety to disappear. Once you accept the symptoms, while unpleasant, are harmless, it’s easy to lose your fear of anxiety. We don’t fear harmless things. We only fear things that we believe can hurt us.
And that’s the main driver of continuing panic attacks - not a car or elevator or aircraft but the fear of re experiencing anxiety symptoms.
A Please go over the relaxation technique again Rob.
B Sure, but I want you to remember this is not just for relaxation. This should be your “go to “reaction whenever you feel rising anxiety, physical symptoms or anxious thoughts. Or simply to relieve stress or to slow down your thoughts.
Loosen your shoulder and neck muscles completely and return your breathing to a normal pattern. Keep relaxed and breathing normally. Try to control your thoughts. Don’t respond to anxious thoughts, just let them fade away. Ignore any physical symptoms such as racing heart or sweating. They will fade away on their own. Once you feel calmer start a mental distraction such as visualization. This is actually the first step of my anxiety control technique.
Trisha, this technique is very simple but it needs lots of practice. Especially learning to control your thoughts. The key is to practice it daily and to use this relaxing technique in all stressful situations. That way controlling your mind and anxiety is not something special you pull out only when you have a problem but a part of your daily life.
A Is there anything else people could learn about controlling anxiety?
B Oh yes, much, much more. I present 2 lectures A 4.5 hour FLY WITHOUT FEAR lecture over 3 nights and a 4 hour LIVE YOUR LIFE WITHOUT FEAR lecture over 2 nights. Both are aimed at changing the effect of anxiety on a sufferer’s life. My goal is to change anxiety from a controlling factor to a minor nuisance but it can’t be done in 20 minutes. Folks can learn more by going to my website FLY WITH ROB. Com. It lists of all the venues where I present both lectures. Currently I lecture regularly in New York and Long Island area.
A What if I can’t attend the class?
B If you can’t attend the class, you can still purchase the complete courses on my website. This comprehensive package includes the lecture, pictures, diagrams and worksheets. My main goal is to help sufferers and the course is available for a very reasonable price.
A Rob, I’ve learned a lot about controlling anxiety and I’d like to thank you for talking to me today.
B It’s been a pleasure Trisha.