Mental health issues concerning Airline Pilots

I'm looking forward to the day when they just give you an ipad at your medical with five faces, ranging from "happy" to "postal", and if you select anything other than 1 or 2, a trap door springs open and you're vacuumed "Running Man"-style to the training department at Carl's Jr.

And laugh at you because water comes from the toilet


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My first therapy appointment I asked my therapist about insurance. He‘s so used to dealing with Delta pilots, being in Peachtree City, that he immediately told me that he would be happy to submit it to insurance, but I should know it could affect my medical.

How sad is it that the guy responsible for helping people to get better has to saddle them with additional anxiety about losing their livelihood? At least for me it’s just a hobby now, but damn.
 
Ohhhh,

Now we get to circle around to one of Beef Supreme's reasons why aviation isn't the best career. Yay! Everyone who operates manned aircraft professionally has to fill out a medical form and we all have to answer this following question:

Have you ever experienced:

21.12 m. Mental disorders of any sort: depression, anxiety, etc

Everyone who wants to keep flying selects a negative response for that. If you select a positive response you lose your job and possibly your career. I very much doubt that anyone has voluntarily checked that box during their career as a professional pilot.

Now consider the rate of anxiety and depression in the US. In 2017 it affected 1 in 5 adults. So roughly 20% of the US population is affected by either anxiety and depression. This has slowly increased from about 20% to 40% during the Covid-19 crisis. Strangely zero pilots are affected. That's right during a crushing global pandemic which has severely impacted our careers, we are all totally fine.

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My first therapy appointment I asked my therapist about insurance. He‘s so used to dealing with Delta pilots, being in Peachtree City, that he immediately told me that he would be happy to submit it to insurance, but I should know it could affect my medical.

How sad is it that the guy responsible for helping people to get better has to saddle them with additional anxiety about losing their livelihood? At least for me it’s just a hobby now, but damn.

At least your therapist gets it.
 
My first therapy appointment I asked my therapist about insurance. He‘s so used to dealing with Delta pilots, being in Peachtree City, that he immediately told me that he would be happy to submit it to insurance, but I should know it could affect my medical.

How sad is it that the guy responsible for helping people to get better has to saddle them with additional anxiety about losing their livelihood? At least for me it’s just a hobby now, but damn.

Given that the pilot is obligated to report on the medical application (lest the FAA find out about it later) the insurance question seems kind of moot.
 
The current landscape may actually be a good moment to break down the barriers around mental health in aviation. As you rightly pointed out, the pandemic has laid bare the vulnerabilities and stresses of this career.
 
The issue of mental health in the airline industry is a sensitive one. On one hand, there's a genuine need for pilots to address their emotional and psychological well-being. On the other, there's the industry stigma about seeking therapy. It's a tough balance to strike.
 
The pilot mental health apocalypse continues:

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I got out of flying when I got sick in 2020. From the outside of aviation looking in, many toxic things are utterly apparent to me now that I just always accepted as normal while I flew for a living. The relationship with our employers was downright abusive during the lost decade; I'm surprised we're not seeing more of this stuff to be honest. Now, finally, things are turning around pay and hiring-wise, but it's like "Oh, I spent my whole 20s being told that I wasn't good enough for X, that I just needed more Y (turbine PIC, crew time, 121 experience, etc) and now guys are getting hired into the left seat at Legacy Airlines." (see the other thread)

That alone is enough to trigger a mental crisis among the guys and gals getting passed over! "OMG, it was all a lie, and they didn't give a crap about anything but 'meat in the seat' and money." It's hard to learn that. It's incredibly hard to learn that your employer really doesn't care if you live or die - as long as your death is not too expensive. Your coworkers might, but the company doesn't care - they'll move on without you.

That's not even to mention <checks notes>, uhh, the economy, COVID and the fallout of COVID, social-media fueled industrial narcissism, a growing sensation that we're in WWIII, the climate crisis, political polarization, AI and automation, and even things like changing societal values. God forbid a guy is having trouble at home, a hard time fitting in at work, or something. It's a lot.

Oh, and by the way, flying is still stressful! The job is hard on your body, you don't get to sleep normally, you have long hours, and you spend those hours living at a higher elevation than Denver, CO. You spend your day interfacing with general public Karens who don't understand what you do (even if you fly freight often) and the food you eat is often terrible. But you're not allowed to be weak - not even in the slightest. The same society that will throw a tantrum in 32B because they have to follow flight crew instructions and wear a mask during a pandemic expects us to be Steely-Eyed Missile Men (tm) at all times (even on 4 hours of sleep) and to be at peak mental and physical health at all times. Up to age 65 (or 67, who's counting? Why don't we have a second lost decade?!).

But in general we're not, "always on our game," or at least I wasn't, and when I had too much time to think about things that weren't going well, or was "sad" (good lord never say depressed), I did what the rest of us did, sometimes I "washed it down with brown." That's the culture; that's what's expected of us, so we do it. Nothing cures contemplating your dead coworkers like getting drunk with your surviving coworkers, right? Just don't ever get a therapist, a counselor (even a marriage counselor under certain circumstances) - or you run the risk of losing your employment. That's a powerful disincentive to "do the right thing."

It could be that the guy pulling the fire handles was the sanest guy up front lol; he finally woke up and realized, "my god, just get this thing on the ground so I can go home and be with my family!"
 
The issue of mental health in the airline industry is a sensitive one. On one hand, there's a genuine need for pilots to address their emotional and psychological well-being. On the other, there's the industry stigma about seeking therapy. It's a tough balance to strike.

I recently read an article on https://fherehab.com/anxiety/generalized-anxiety-disorder/ about Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and it goes into detail about the triggers, symptoms, and treatment options available. I believe similar resources and treatments should be encouraged and made accessible to pilots without repercussions to their career.
 
From what I've seen, attitudes toward therapy vary among airlines. Some are pretty open-minded and encourage pilots to seek help if they're struggling, while others might view it with suspicion.
But hey, at the end of the day, your well-being comes first. If you're dealing with mental health issues, don't hesitate to reach out for support. Whether it's through therapy or talking to someone, there's help out there.
And if you're feeling overwhelmed or unsure about where to turn, remember, there's no shame in reaching out for help. The mental health hotline at https://nationalrehabhotline.org/ is there for you, no judgment, just support.
 
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