News — In people who feel anxiety about flying, seeing a traumatic event like the crash of Continental flight 3407 in Buffalo will cancel out whatever positive perceptions they developed about the possibility of surviving a crash after the "Miracle on the Hudson," according to Reid Wilson, Ph.D., adjunct associate professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine.
"People can experience vicarious trauma. They view the Buffalo crash scene and imagine what it would be like if that happened to them. People begin to think in terms of possibility instead of probability. If you flew once a day every day of your life, it would take 26,000 years before your "number" would be up, statistically speaking," Dr. Wilson says.
Dr. Wilson is available for interviews about flying-related anxieties. He has been interviewed by local and national news outlets and has experience doing live network TV.
Dr. Wilson, who also has a private practice, is co-author of "Achieving Comfortable Flight," a self-help kit for the fearful flier; "Don't Panic: Taking Control of Anxiety Attacks," released last week in its third edition; and "Stop Obsessing! How to Overcome Your Obsessions and Compulsions."
He designed and served as lead psychologist for American Airlines' first national program for the fearful flier.
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