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Five years ago, Dan MacAskill enjoyed what he describes as the best job of his life. As a national trainer for Sears Canada, he crisscrossed the country, using his gift for gab to help workers become better at their jobs.
Then something changed. As time went on, hopping on a plane for a meeting in Calgary or a presentation in Winnipeg became excruciating for MacAskill. Although he had some anxiety about flying before the job, his fear grew worse, until he not only asked to change his job but also left Sears Canada altogether. He eventually became a recruiter for a trucking company - working out of his basement.
"I structured my world and reduced my life so I wouldn't have to fly at all," the Barrie, Ont., resident says.
Fear of flying, also known as aviaphobia, makes travel unbearable for millions of people around the world. According to an oft-referenced report by Boeing, one in three people say they experience some degree of fear and anxiety when they take to the skies, with women about three times more likely than men to be included in that group.
Not only does this fear cause problems for fliers - anxious travellers report passing on job promotions and feeling guilty about lying to bosses about missing out-of-town meetings - it also hurts business. A recent American Management Association survey reported that 13 per cent of companies say employees' fear of flying has had an impact on their
operations.
Flying anxiety also has social and personal implications. Family members throw up their hands in disgust when Uncle Vernon misses the family reunion - again. It can also put strain on a marriage when one spouse refuses to go on vacation.
MacAskill's aviaphobia kept him from attending his best friend's wedding in Australia. But it was a photograph his wife took at Ayers Rock that made him think about tackling his fear for good.
"Something hit me in the pit of my stomach," he says. "The only reason I wasn't standing there next to her in the picture was because of this fear. This fear was costing me parts of my life."
Dr. Mitchell Schare, director of Hofstra University's PhD program in combined clinical and school psychology, says it's important not to confuse typical fear with phobias. Most people who fear flying experience the run-of-the-mill variety of anxiety - they might not like to fly, but they'll do it anyway. Someone who has a phobia, however, won't - can't - get on an airplane, even to attend a close family member's funeral.
It's no surprise that so many people hate to fly, he says.
"Well, why not? This is an abnormal behaviour that humans don't normally do. We're not birds," says Schare, who also oversees a virtual-reality therapy program at the New York university.
Don't assume most people with a fear of flying have had bad experiences, either. The majority of anxious fliers say they fear fear itself. They worry about having a panic attack on the flight, or not being able to breathe because the windows don't open. They say they're scared of turbulence or mechanical failure. They hate knowing they're not in control of the plane. And some have an aversion to sitting in an enclosed space among a crowd. Interestingly, even after 9/11, only a small minority, 8.5 per cent by one calculation, actually worries about terrorism when flying.
"I don't like fast-moving cars or heights. Put the two things together and you've got an airplane," says Jean Mills, a writer and teacher in Guelph, Ont.
Although she agrees to fly to Nova Scotia with her family each year to spend a few weeks at their summer house, she hates it, white-knuckling the armrests the whole way.
"There's no such thing as a fender-bender in the sky," agrees Kristi Cross, a jewellery designer and shop owner in Newmarket, Ont., who tries to think positive thoughts - or at least pop a couple of prescription tranquillizers to get through the flight.
One of her rituals is to size up flight attendants and think about jet-setting celebrities. "I'm thinking, 'They do this all the time.' But it doesn't work."
