A woman came to therapy terrified of small airplanes. The real source of her fear had nothing to do with aviation.
A woman came to therapy terrified of small airplanes. Her thoughts: "I will die. No air. No space."
During therapy, she recalled being sent alone on a crowded bus to summer camp as a child. She didn't want to go. On that hot, packed bus, she almost fainted.
But the story goes deeper. In that same village, there was an airplane fuselage. Someone told her about a boy who took a part from an old airplane, put it under his bed, and died from radioactive waves.
Later, she sat in a small dark room at a bee farm. She couldn't breathe, ran out, was bitten by bees, went to ICU, and had a near-death experience.
All these experiences created neural pathways in her brain:
Crowded, enclosed spaces = unsafe
Airplanes = death
Her fear wasn't about aviation safety. Her nervous system was screaming "DANGER!" based on memories encoded decades ago.
This is how trauma works. The body remembers what the mind tries to forget.
In Short
A woman came to therapy terrified of small airplanes. The real source of her fear had nothing to do with aviation.
About the author
Alex Gervash
Pilot & Fear of Flying Specialist
Commercial Pilot (31 years aviation experience)
Trained in psychology and trauma therapy (EMDR, Somatic Experiencing)
Founder of phobia.aero & SkyGuru App
Alex Gervash brings a unique perspective to treating fear of flying, combining 31 years of commercial aviation experience with deep expertise in psychology and trauma therapy. His approach to aerophobia integrates Somatic Experiencing®, EMDR therapy, and polyvagal theory with comprehensive aviation knowledge. Having personally helped over 16,000 individuals overcome flight anxiety, panic attacks on planes, and turbulence fear, Alex continues to support nervous flyers worldwide through the SkyGuru flight companion app used by 200,000+ users.
