Air travelers should expect stress linked to terrorism fears, University of Michigan psychiatry professor says
Ann Arbor area residents who still plan to fly in or out of Detroit Metro Airport this holiday season should expect increased stress among fellow air travelers due to terrorism fears, a University of Michigan clinical psychiatry professor said Monday.
On Friday, officials say a 23-year-old Nigerian man on a flight from Amsterdam attempted to ignite an explosive device shortly before the plane was due to land at Detroit Metro. Federal officials are calling it an attempted terrorism attack. The suspect suffered burns and was taken to the U-M hospital in Ann Arbor.
"What happened on Christmas Day certainly puts this on the forefront of people's minds: 'Is there going to be a terrorist on my plane?'" said Rachel Glick, who is also director of U-M's psychiatric emergency services.
"People cope with that it different ways," Glick said. "First of all, travel is stressful for a lot of people anyway. And a lot of people are already afraid of flying."
During holidays and times of travel, many people interrupt their typical eating, drinking and sleeping patterns. "It all adds up," Glick said.
On Sunday, on the same flight between Amsterdam and Detroit, another plane reported problems when a passenger refused to come out of the bathroom during landing. Authorities later said the passenger was simply ill.
"When I heard about what happened with the man who had a sick stomach, it made me think there's almost this hysteria," Glick said.
Her suggestions for calming the nerves of air travelers?
Nervous travelers should prepare themselves first by sticking to the basics of getting proper sleep, nutrition and hydration. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, Glick said.
She suggested people focus on things that make them relax outside of flying - and think practically about the actual threat of having a problem while flying. For many people, that perceived threat may be hugely inflated right now after hearing about the incident, she said.
"People need to keep reminding themselves, when you look at the numbers, you're more likely be be hurt on I-94 than in an airplane," she said. "But how many people are nervous when pulling on the exit ramp? It's an issue because of what they're comfortable with."
Tina Reed covers health and the environment for AnnArbor.com. You can reach her at tinareed@annarbor.com, call her at 734-623-2535 or find her on Twitter @TreedinAA.
Comments
bedrog
Mon, Jan 11, 2010 : 3:16 p.m.
@atticus...when mechanical failures occur major FAA investigations and rectifications do too..so should it be, and happily is, with terrorism. lalaland denialism and conspiracy theory-ism may be employed by the truly "easily deceived " ( usually by internet addiction), but responsible authorities and an informed citizenry happily think differently.
Atticus F.
Tue, Jan 5, 2010 : 3:21 p.m.
The fact of the matter is you are 10x more likely to die in an airplane due to mechanical failure, as apposed to terrorist attack. But I dont see the same type of frenzied hysteria or outrage about people dying in airplane accidents. The truth is people who are afraid of terrorist, are people who are easily decieved, and believe everything the press tells them. The whole point of terrorism, is to kill a small amount of people in order to terrorize masses of others. Anybody who lives their lives in fear because of these people, are doing exactly what the terrorist want. Would you be any less upset if your loved one died in a horrible auto accident, or a long painful death from cancer?
bedrog
Thu, Dec 31, 2009 : 7:21 a.m.
tim: we're getting closer together...im all for paying alot more to better trained TSA personnel, given the critical role they play.....and am also against the yahoo mob scenario, although as ive said ad nauseam here, all for public vigilance.... finally id add that such vigilance does not preclude a happy life, especially since there may even be an added sense of pleasure when you and your loved ones arrive at an airport alive.
timjbd
Wed, Dec 30, 2009 : 10:11 p.m.
I am also for citizen intervention during actual in-progress crises such as the one documented in the film United 93. I am AGAINST the roving yahoo scenario, however, and that one is far more common. I am also all for the Israeli screening methods- which (I believe) they USED to employ at Schiphol. Last time I went through there, I was subjected to it and was grilled rather uncomfortably about the cheese I was carrying back. This method works well for El AL but will never be employed here because no additional hi tech, hugely expensive screening machines are needed. Therefore no giant conglomerates will have opportunity to further fleece the US taxpayers. All it would involve is paying very clever people a decent wage and giving them the requisite training. Therefore it has no chance.
bedrog
Wed, Dec 30, 2009 : 5:34 p.m.
timjbd...perhaps we disagree less than it might first appear...i do not advocate vigilantism although i absolutely DO advocate vigilance and, if dictated by events, direct action,as was practiced on the recent flight, thank god!!.. i also absolutely recognize the legitimacy of much maligned "profiling" ( which is what most social science does anyway)...but just do it better and with variables that transcend ethnicity alone....( and in another venue id be happy to describe what im talking about). finally another poster here on on a related thread cited the EL AL model of air travel screening...a very apt point to have made. and you are right: i do not use a2.com and the like as my usual forum for academese, when...like most others.. on- point snark can often do the job, and is more fun to write.
timjbd
Wed, Dec 30, 2009 : 4:22 p.m.
Bedrog, I don't doubt your credentials- why would I? Your first post in this thread was not exactly a scholarly dissertation, however. The average American is not involved in formulating policy re:terrorism beyond writing or phoning their elected representative and expressing an opinion and then voting for that or another representative. I do not want untrained John Q. Public out there on our streets engaged in some half-baked schemes to root out the terrorists among us. I would prefer that were left to the FBI. Our history is replete with the drastic consequences of vigilantism on our streets and in our towns. I'm sure you've read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. So if you are actively engaged in formulating US policy re: terrorism, I salute you. But if you come on here and suggest that people should be looking over their shoulders and/or spying on their neighbors, then I will have to point out to you that this is how the KGB and Stasi operated. All they needed was a common bogeyman to point at and many of us have seen enough of that behavior for the past 9 years. Nobody is denying that there are terrorists. I only deny them the ability to dictate my life and so should everyone else.
bedrog
Wed, Dec 30, 2009 : 2:49 p.m.
timjbd..sorry for misspelling your name in the previous...to which id add that what i CAN do personally ( and indeed DO do) is, as an informed voice ( per my above background),encourage elected officials to do the right thing re terrorism ( which on the whole i believe obama is, esp re afghanistan/pakistan) and to weigh in against the denialists and "cloud cuckoo-land"types ( and im not referring to you here...i dont really know you that well)on sites like this....this actually makes me feel better than pretending reality isn't! but, hey, by all means you do what you think is right,( although a fuss in a screening line won't help matters).
timjbd
Wed, Dec 30, 2009 : 2:40 p.m.
Glad I could help.
bedrog
Wed, Dec 30, 2009 : 2:26 p.m.
tmj..thanks for the comfort...as a long time professional scholar of the islamic world,esp the regions where most of the action re al qaeda is now, i now feel sooo much better.
timjbd
Wed, Dec 30, 2009 : 1:23 p.m.
Bedrog, The chances of any particular person recognizing- and then proactively responding in a helpful way to- a terrorist threat are so extremely remote that encouraging people to "be on the lookout" will cause FAR more harm than good. Wait til you hear about pickup trucks full of liquored up yahoos out lookin' to crack some Arab trrrrrrrist skulls and you'll see what I mean. The flip side of that coin is getting so worked up that you're afraid of your own shadow. This is what the terrorists hope for and also what the republicans exploited to disastrous effect since 9/11. Now you want more of the same? Get on with life, don't worry about terrorists. You are more likely to be hit by lightning and there's little you can do- personally- to prevent either one.
bedrog
Wed, Dec 30, 2009 : 11:13 a.m.
tinjbd...re yours,id say that recognizing terrorism is real and trying to find and stop perpetrators is as immediate a health benefit as smoking /emissions reduction....but feel free to think otherwise...i trust you will still be subject to the same prudent screenings as the rest of us in any case.
timjbd
Wed, Dec 30, 2009 : 10:39 a.m.
Bedrog, Your equivalency between global warming and terrorism is far off base. Taking action to mitigate global warming can have an immediate positive impact whereas cowering in fear of terrorists has zero mitigating impact on terrorism. Quite the opposite actually. Your smoking example is even further off. Quitting smoking produces immediate benefit for the smoker and everyone else surrounding him/her. The good news is- if your fear of terrorists causes you to refrain from flying or smoking, that actually CAN have a positive mitigating impact on global warming. In that case, feel free to get under your bed.
Tom Joad
Tue, Dec 29, 2009 : 5:52 p.m.
Well, of course, one would feel anxious flying on a commercial airliner, particularly internationally. There is a certain group of men hell bent on killing Americans and have targeted jet liners. This one came extraordinarily close to an epic disaster in Detroit. When you look at the power of these explosives and the inexplicable level of determination on the part of fanatics, well, there you have it.
Atticus F.
Tue, Dec 29, 2009 : 1:08 p.m.
The title should read "Air travelers should expect stress linked to standing in security lines for too long"
bedrog
Tue, Dec 29, 2009 : 12:56 p.m.
hmmmm..."terrorists? ignore 'em!" says plubius (publius?)... and perhaps by the same logic : "global warming"? nah!its all part of the earths cycle!" and " cigarettes? we all gotta die sometime!" and "crime/shmime! it's probably not gonna happen to me!" "soma" or a trip to lotus-land anyone? thank god others in public positions are more realistic and proactive
Plubius
Tue, Dec 29, 2009 : 9:38 a.m.
The terrorists are winning. The point of terrorism is to create terror - the killing of people is a mere by-product. Knowing how our pea-brained government officials react to even the most moronic terrorism attempts, failed attempts actually do more to advance the cause of the terrorists than successful ones. Why? Because we are now being told to be afraid (Just look at the results of this poll, and keep in mind that the average respondent is probably of above average intelligence). We are being subjected to obtrusive and invasive searches. We are being delayed in our attempts to freely travel. Nothing the TSA does will fundamentally make air travel safer. Some terrorists will get through the system and some will succeed in killing people. So what? Every time you get behind the wheel of your car, the odds of dying are astronomically higher than being killed by a terrorist. So, simply ignore the terrorists, like you do the odds of dying in a car crash, and get on with life.