The dread can be worse than the pain
I wonder how much they had to pay the volunteers for this experiment. Researchers at Emory applied electrical shocks to test subjects’ feet, letting the subjects know how painful they were going to be (as a percentage of the person’s individual pain threshold) and when they would be administered. When they were given a choice between more painful shocks sooner, and less painful shocks later, volunteers described as “extreme dreaders” were willing to put up with more pain if they could just get it over with sooner. The test subjects were scanned with fMRI, and the results illuminated the nature of dread and a possibility for mitigating it. The areas of the brain that were active when a subject was dreading an upcoming shock were not the same as those active in fear or anxiety. Instead, they were part of the brain’s pain network, in particular, the part that is associated with attention. So dread is not the same as fear, but seems to stem from the way a dreaded event fills our attention, and thus focusing attention elsewhere might be a good way to alleviate dread. I can see how that might work. I try to bring engrossing books when I travel so I won’t think so much about how much I hate flying (not just on the plane but while waiting to board), but on the other hand I know that I shouldn’t bring anything too demanding because my feeling of impending doom is so intense that it’s hard to think about anything else. This research was part of a neuroeconomics program, which was a little surprising to me; the idea is to learn more about the way we make decisions about unpleasant future events.
Here’s a press release from EurekAlert and an article from the New York Times (free registration required).
Hi, Mary. KM newbie Laura here. Jonathan mentioned that you ran this Web site; I stumbled across the URL in the KM wiki. It’s funny–as I was reading the first few sentences of this blog, I was reminded of my dread and fear of flying, and how as the date of a plane trip I’m scheduled to take approaches, I am more and more distracted by my dread. Then I came to the part where you mention your own dislike of flying! I also take only light reading with me, because I know I won’t be able to concentrate on anything too heavy or deep. Actually, knitting seems to work better for me than reading for focusing my attention on something other than every so-called “bump,” probably because it requires more doing than thinking. Because dread seems to be related to the part of the brain associated with attention, I think that practicing staying “in the moment,” rather than imagining future events, might go far in eliminating or at least reducing dread. Easier said than done, that. Great site, by the way. I look forward to exploring it!
Hi Laura, great to see you here! I feel exactly the same way about upcoming plane trips; they feel like a looming shadow, and on the day of the flight I always wonder what on earth possessed me to plan such a thing. (And then I get to Phoenix and see my family and think, well, OK, this was worth it after all. And then a week later it’s time to say good-by and get on the plane again…) Sometimes on planes I work crostics, which require enough doing that I can stick with them better than I can a book sometimes, and my brain is not as likely to go spinning off into disaster scenarios. Knitting would be even better; maybe I should try that, or maybe cross-stitch (which I used to do for relaxation–same basic principle, it gives the mind something to occupy it). I think you’re right and staying in the moment is important, but not always easy. I read your short story that won the WFIU Arts Week contest, by the way; I enjoyed it when I first read it a few weeks ago, and knowing now that you dread flying, I really admire the way you took that energy and put it into creative work!
Glad you liked the short story. It’s not one of my favorites (now that it’s all over the Web for everyone to find, it strikes me as contrived), but it was a good way to channel those flying fears.
The last time I flew (in April), I was so worked up beforehand that I asked my doctor to give me something to take to calm me down during the flights. I am not big on pharmaceuticals (I’m glad they are there when needed, but don’t want to take them if I don’t absolutely have to), so this was uncharacteristic behavior for me. She prescribed a low dose of Xanax. Tried taking one a couple of days prior to the flight, just to see how I reacted to it. Didn’t feel much of anything. Day of the flight, took one and a half pills. Again, didn’t feel much of a difference. Before the flight home, I took two pills. I thought for sure I’d be zonked. Not so. I was so nervous I asked the flight attendant if she could give me anything to take in addition to the Xanax. When I told her how much I’d taken, she couldn’t believe I wasn’t sawing logs! I guess next time I’ll ask my doctor to supersize me. Extreme Dreader dose, please! Usually when I get off the plane I say, never again. How many times has that happened!
Wow. I think two Xanax would put me deeply under. It’s really interesting the variation in reaction to these things (I had a friend who would get all wound up when she took antihistamines, whereas I react to those as if I’d been clubbed over the head.) I take small doses of dramamine, partly to ward off airsickness and partly because it wraps me in a dull fog that puts the dread at a distance. (That’s another reason I don’t try to read anything too heavy. Once I tried to read a science fiction novel that involved time travel and some kind of ancient Egyptian religious beliefs that included multiple personas for each character, so you had to keep track not only of what time period you were in but which of a person’s manifestations you were seeing. It was not a book for the drug-addled.) I read somewhere that you should try to avoid gripping the armrests and gritting your teeth because those behaviors ratchet up the tension. The first time I flew after 9/11, we were stuck on the runway for well over an hour (I read clear through my first airplane book) and when we finally took off, I was so carefully not gripping the armrests that my hands were stiff as boards (not the desired effect). As we lifted off, the woman in the next seat, a much more frequent flyer, looked over at me and said, “Breathe!” (Oh, yeah, breathing…maybe that would help.)
Have you ever tried writing while you were on a plane? I did that the last time I flew, and it was surprisingly effective at keeping my mind off what was going on, even as we flew through some turbulence.
Many times I have boarded planes and had every intention of writing during the flight, but I’ve not pulled it off yet! I spend most of my time trying to relax enough that I don’t grip the armrests!
Check out this introduction article on Neuroeconomics:
Neuroeconomics