We may cry on airplanes, in part, because factors associated with flying impact us physiologically. Specifically, the high altitude and cabin pressure reduces oxygen in the cabin, which causes dehydration.
“One person might feel weepy, another sleepy – hypoxia affects people in different ways. There may even be hormones triggered by hypoxia – it's all idiosyncratic.” Add these inputs together and it not surprising we cry at 36,000 feet.
The lower-than-normal air pressure in the cabin is known to induce mild hypoxia (reduced oxygen levels in the brain), which is associated with a raft of cognitive and emotional effects, including heightened negative moods and a diminished ability to handle stress.
Numerous anecdotal reports in mainstream and social media describe otherwise healthy adults being prone to outbursts of uncontrollable crying while watching movies on airplanes, and reasons offered up include effects from high altitude, mild hypoxia, or alcohol consumption.
Emotions, such as anxiety, grief and confusion, are more intensely felt at elevation because of the lower oxygen concentration. Serotonin helps humans put things into perspective.
Observed behaviors and personal anecdotes suggest the initial mood experienced at altitude is euphoria followed by depression. Multiple symptoms can emerge over time, including irritability, anxiety and apathy.
O'Connor said that as a flight attendant, she'll often sit down with a mom whose baby is crying and encourage her, ask if she needs something or just start a conversation about the baby just to move the focus from the tears.
This response may feel like an adrenaline rush, accompanied with a desire to defend oneself through fighting, yelling at, or controlling others. The thought behind this response is “I need to eliminate the threat before it eliminates me.” Behaviors that might indicate this trauma response are: Crying.
WHY ARE PEOPLE BADLY BEHAVED ON FLIGHTS? Speaking to Thrillist, clinical psychologist Dr Ramani Durvasula said: 'Few things can leave you feeling less in control than flying — someone else is driving, you can only get up when you have permission, there's a lot of noise, you're often left in the dark.
Nervous flyers should take full advantage of in-flight entertainment, read a book or listen to music with noise-cancelling headphones to help drown out the ambient noise. Even a minor distraction can help you calm your nerves for at least a small portion of your flight.
While a clinical diagnosis of aviophobia — a fear of flying — is pretty rare, only affecting 2.5 percent of the population by some estimates, general anxiety about flying is far more common.
According to the anonymous survey of nearly 1,100 U.S. adults, rear seat kickers and disruptive drunks are the worst passengers to encounter in the friendly skies, both tying for the most annoying behavior at 59.11 percent each.
So if you only fly on commercial airliners, you're in very safe hands. In the United States, there are 0.07 fatalities per billion passenger miles, which translates like this: If you fly 500 miles every day for a year, you have a fatality risk of one in 85,000. In short, flying is, by far, the safest mode of transit.
On takeoffOur inner ears signal us that we're accelerating and tilting - signals that in some people can generate primate fears of falling from our evolutionary trees. This feeling can be heightened by the sudden loud noise from the jet engines and landing gear.
You're probably thinking the only time you'd cry at an airport would be saying goodbye to a loved one, right? Wrong. While that's probably at the top of the list, there are so many other times I've personally cried in an airport and on the plane and I'm sure others have too.
The over-triggered fight-or-flight response is the biggest problem for most people with PTSD. This intense anxiety and hyper-awareness can cause serious panic attacks. Though someone may be completely safe at the time of one of these attacks, they can still feel like their life is in danger.
Signs of Trauma. “Trauma is different for everyone,” Choi says. But two of the more common reactions, she says, are feeling very strong emotions or feeling little. “You might have overwhelming negative emotions or not be able to stop crying.
“The reason why many people 'think' that most cabin crew out there are good looking is because the airlines have created the illusion,” Ms Brown explains. “During the cabin crew training all crew go through some kind of grooming/image/uniform training.
Which airline help passengers avoid screaming babies?
Japan Airlines has introduced a feature on its seat booking system that shows where young children are seated. A "child" icon appears when a passenger is travelling with children aged under two years. One traveller said the feature let him know where babies "plan to scream... during a 13-hour trip".
Being an introverted flight attendant is possible as long as you're ready to talk to people whether you feel like it or not, and if you're willing to work for hours while enduring the sudden crave for a quiet alone time. Don't get us wrong though, we're not telling you to transform yourself into a complete extrovert.
Altitude illness is divided into 3 syndromes: acute mountain sickness (AMS), high-altitude cerebral edema (HACE), and high-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE). Some clinicians consider high-altitude headache a separate entity because isolated headache can occur without the combined symptoms that define AMS.
High altitude produces substantial impairments in a number of cognitive performances. Changes in psychomotor performance, mental skills, reaction time, vigilance, memory, and logical reasoning have all been measured at altitudes above 3,000 m (9,843 ft) (Bahrke and Shukitt-Hale, 1993).
When someone is exposed to a higher elevation in the short-term, they will likely experience a period of sudden and strong happiness called euphoria. This mood boost comes from a flood of a chemical called dopamine in the brain, caused by the lower oxygen concentrations in the air.
