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How effective are breathing exercises if one has fear of flying?
On The Ground
In a calm and quiet environment, breathing exercises cause relaxation in three ways.
- Selective Focus. By focusing on breathing, a person may be able to keep anxiety-producing thoughts out of mind.
- Physiological Change. Breathing out stimulates the vagus nerve which slows the heart rate, slows the breathing rate, and relaxes the gut.
- Relaxation Carryover. When breathing in, vagus stimulation ends. Heart rate and breathing rate increase back to normal. Relaxation of the gut carries over in an environment free of unexpected stimuli.
During Smooth Flight
On a smooth flight, breathing exercises can cause relaxation in the same ways as on the ground.
- Selective Focus. By focusing on breathing, a person may be able to keep thoughts of flying - such as having no control and no way to escape - out of mind.
- Physiological Change. When breathing out, the vagus nerve is stimulated as it is on the ground.
- Relaxation Carryover. Gut relaxation carries over if stress hormones are not being released due to thoughts, noises, or movements of the plane. Earplugs - or a noise-canceling headset = reduce noise. A headset of any kind can deliver audio programming that helps keep anxiety-producing thoughts out of mind.
During Turbulence Flight
On a turbulent flight, breathing exercises cannot produce relaxation.
- Selective Focus. When turbulence begins, selective focus ends. Stress hormones force the person to focus on the motions the amygdala is reacting to.
- Physiological Change. The mild relaxation produced by breathing out is overwhelmed by the barrage of stress hormones released in turbulence. Unless the parasympathetic nervous system intervenes and neutralizes the stress hormones, hyperarousal developed at a shocking rate.
- Psychic Equivalence. The speed of the plane makes each small downward motion feel like a huge sudden drop. This leads to imagination that the plane is falling out of the sky. Unless the parasympathetic nervous system prevents it, stress hormones cause a feeling of alarm that is associated with danger. Increased heart rate and breathing rate are also associated with danger. Psychic equivalence may take place in which imagination cannot be separated from reality, and the person believes they are doomed. With escape impossible, panic takes place, breathing exercises notwithstanding.
- Relaxation Carryover. In turbulence, stress hormones prevent both relaxation and relaxation carryover.
When Are Breathing Exercises Counterproductive?
Though breathing exercises can make a smooth flight more palatable, a smooth flight cannot be guaranteed. Breathing exercises when flying are counterproductive because they set the person up for failure if there is turbulence. By keeping the flight out of mind, a passenger is completely unprepared when turbulence makes selective focus impossible. The expectation that breathing exercises will work stands in the way of learning to control panic when flying.
On the ground, breathing exercises are counterproductive if they stand in the way of needed effective treatment. Anxiety authority David Barlow discourages the use of breathing exercises as a substitute for treatment. Barlow's concern about breathing retraining (BR) is borne out by research. Norman Schmidt and others found ". . . patients receiving BR exhibited trends toward poorer end state functioning on both self and clinician rated measures . . . . We have suggested that therapists refrain from the use of respiratory-control techniques as a means for coping with or managing anxiety."
An Effective Way To Produce Relaxation
Relaxation through vagus nerve stimulation can be produced for longer periods of time. Researcher Stephen Porges discovered that the nerve is activated when a person's face, voice quality, and touch/body-language signal they are no threat. Relaxation can be caused by being with a person we are safe with or by recalling their presence.
The mother's face, voice, and touch play a key role in producing the healthy emotional regulation that controls anxiety and panic. The following passage is adapted from my book, Panic Free: The 10-Day Program to End Panic, Anxiety, and Claustrophobia.
As the child’s brain develops, it retains memories of the caregiver’s face, voice, and touch. If a caregiver responds consistently when the child is upset, the child comes to expect that the caregiver will appear to calm her. Anticipating this response, the child imagines the caregiver’s face, voice, and touch. This imagination stimulates the vagus nerve and calms the child before the caregiver arrives.
If the child’s caregiver follows through with a calming response, the child’s expectations are reinforced, and a program begins to form in the child's unconscious procedural memory. If, however, the caregiver does not respond as the child expects, there is no reinforcement, and automatic calming is not established.
On-Demand Calming - The Three-Button Exercise
Try the “Three Button Exercise” from Chapter 16.
Remember a person with whom you felt your guard let down. The signals that cause your guard to let down are transmitted by the person’s face, their voice, and their touch. I want you to imagine buttons you can press to calm yourself.
Imagine your friend has pasted a sticker on their forehead bearing a picture of a button with the number 1 on it. Another sticker, showing button number 2, is pasted on their chin. A third sticker, with button number 3, is pasted on the back of their hand.
Now imagine feeling alarmed.
Imagine putting your finger on the button 1 sticker on their forehead and then releasing it. Their face comes clearly to mind. You see the softness in their eyes. It feels good.
Imagine putting your finger on the button 2 sticker. As you release it, the person’s lips begin to move, and you hear them greet you in a special way. You may notice that the quality of their voice calms you deep inside.
Imagine touching the button 3 sticker on the back of their hand. When you release the button, the person lifts their hand and gives you a reassuring touch or a hug —whatever gesture is appropriate in your relationship with this person. You may notice calming stillness rest on you.
You can activate vagal braking by pressing the buttons any time you wish. But we want to set up calming that works automatically. To establish automatic attenuation, intentionally remember feeling alarmed, and then press button 1. Remember the feeling again; press button 2. Bring the feeling to mind again; press button 3.
