A fear of flying goes much deeper than you think. The Big Story podcast.

Dr. Ian Shulman spoke with Melanie Ng, host of The Big Story Podcast on February 20, 2025 about how to understand the fear of flying, and how early life experiences can contribute to fears generally, and to the fear of flying, specifically. 

They talked about how most people stay afraid of flying because they don’t deal with the ‘real’ issue at the heart of the fear: the risk that those around you might reject or criticize you for being afraid. The key to coping with the fear of flying, Dr. Shulman said, is — believe it or not — to decide that you’re going to allow yourself to feel afraid and not care who might know it!

Many people are taught as children that they should “stop crying” because “babies cry, not big kids!”. They’re taught that “being brave” means not feeling afraid — or at least, not showing it — and some families live by the unspoken rule that “good people keep private things private”. Flying, however, is the one type of transportation where, once you’re in the air, there’s nowhere to go and nowhere to hide if you were to start crying or have a panic attack. For that reason, fearful flyers too often ‘protect themselves’ from the shame or embarrassment that would come by not flying.

Dr. Ian and Melanie discussed how being willing to feel afraid and deciding that it’s okay if other people know it takes the power away from the flying phobia and gives it back to the person. They also talked about several other ways to cope with anxiety and take care of yourself while flying. 

Listen to the podcast here https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-big-story/id1399721065?i=1000694285691 or wherever you get your podcasts.