The term aerophobia goes full circle.

I must say your story is inspirational, If I ever failed to become a commercial airline pilot, I would definetly consider becoming a phycologist for those who fear flying. Also, I had no idea 'Aerophobia' was a real word, I just took the idea from 'Claustraphobia' and 'Needlephobia' and basically stuck 'Aero' in front, as 'Aerophobia' sounded much more apropriate than 'Flyingphobia' or 'Airphobia'. That is such a fasinating story of how you came about the word. Hey, you never know, that could be a claim for fame.

I sincerly hope you see some of your proffesional advice on the board.

Thanks for posting.


Kirsty
Topic Zone Administrator

Back in 1982, when I founded the SOAR program, I really wanted to use that name, because it means effortless flight. So I started looking for a series of words, to call the program; the proper term for this phobia was not generally recognized, so created the word "aerophobia" and called the SOAR program "Seminars On Aerophobia Relief. After a few years, I found the word I created was in the dictionary, and now, here it is on this message board.

Since 1982, a lot of things have happened. By adding Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to the things traditionally done in a fear of flying course, we got - immediately - better results. But there were still people who were not adequately helped. I hired one psychologist after another; it didn't help. So finally, I went to grad school and became a licensed therapist. Then, went to one post-grad institute after another until finally, putting together many things picked up here and there, things began to really work. Now I believe we can help anyone and everyone fly comfortably and confidently.

I you have any questions about flying or about treating this problem, please let me know. Though I've been doing this work for twenty-seven years now, I never get tired of it. It is a fascinating subject and finding even better ways to help people is still a passionate interest.