Counseling for Flight Attendants
By: John D. Moore, PhD
If you live in Chicago and work for an airline, there is a good chance you are one of the many flight attendants that live in our fair city. You may work for American or United and fly out of O’Hare. You could also be a flight attendant for Southwest and fly out of Midway. Finally, there’s always the possibility that you are employed at one of the regionals and commute back and forth from your base of operations.
Regardless of which airline you work for, I created this post as a way of speaking directly to you … the tireless airline employee who gives so much and often receives so little in return.
You see I know a little something about the work aviation workers do.
Aviation Background
I used to work for TWA back in the 1990’s in in ground operations. That airline is now gone, absorbed by American Airlines as part of a merger. In any event, many of the people I met during that time became lifelong friends.
Some are still working in the industry. Others left as a result of non-stop industry consolidation and constant fears of a lay-off. And still others decided to quit (particularly some flight attendants) after the traumatic events of September 11, 2001.
Flight Attendants and Reality
While the flying public may think the work that you do is “glamorous”, we both know the mental imagery that is generally connected to the work with flying for a living is a far cry from the reality. While it may be true you get to travel a lot to warm weather destinations – it’s also true that you are usually exhausted.
Many people think you have “amazing” benefits, such as “buddy passes” that you can give to friends. While that may be true, you are likely underpaid and brutally overworked.
When you break it down, there’s lots of stuff that people don’t know about the work flight attendants regularly do.
5 Reasons You Need Therapy
What follows are five concrete reasons you should consider therapy if you are a flight attendant based here in Chicago or if you are a member of a flight crew anywhere. The information listed here comes from personal experience, coupled with many universal stories shared by flight attendants who visit our offices for counseling.
Are you ready? Let’s jump right in!
1. Anxiety
Working as a flight attendant can often mean living in a state of suspended anxiety. What could me more stressful than not knowing where you will be working from month to month because your seniority may not let you hold a desired line? If you already suffer from a generalized form of anxiety, it can make matters worse.
Talk-therapy allows you the opportunity to cleanse some of that toxic energy from your system through a process called catharsis. My clients have found the emotional purge to be restorative and reparative.
2. Relationships
One of the major challenges flight attendants, pilots and others employed in aviation face is the ability to obtain and maintain relationships. Many members of flight crews who are married or in a serious relationship experience unique friction as the result of continually being away from home.
Counseling can help you to better negotiate these issues and identify realistic options for coping. That’s what psychotherapy is all about – exploring the relationships in your life and gaining new insight.
3. Finances
Have you ever met a flight attendant who was making a fantastic salary? Probably not and if you have they likely have a gazillion years of seniority and are near retirement. In truth, being a flight attendant means making little money. Worse, it means living in fear of having your wages cut as a result of ongoing “cut-backs” and “sacrifices” that your carrier makes you endure.
Therapy allows you to have a safe space to share your frustrations and figure out spending priorities. This means facing realities that may be unpleasant while clearing up cognitive distortions.
4. Career options
There was a time when flight attendants would stay in the industry forever. Now-a-days, many decide to quit because of the demands of the job, coupled with the need to make more money.
Many flight crew members visit our offices with the goal of transitioning out of aviation business and into another line of work. This is particularly true of flight attendants who have entered into a relationship with someone and want to be home more. Career counseling makes the process of job change easier and more manageable.
5. Stress management
Regardless of how much you love your airline, stress is likely a major concern in your life. Research suggests that flight attendants have one of the most stressful jobs on the planet. The reasons are far too numerous to mention here but if you work in the industry, you already know the issues.
The great thing about therapy is that you can learn new and healthy ways to cope with stress using concepts from mindfulness based living.
Summing Thing Up
The work you do as a flight attendant is not easy. Sadly, many people who are not employed in the transportation sector don’t “get it”. It takes a very special kind of person to do the work that you do. That old saying that working for an airline “gets in your blood” is very true, isn’t it? It’s also true that the job can sometimes eat you alive.
The therapy professionals at 2nd Story Counseling have lots of experience working with flight attendants and others involved in field of aviation. Because we recognize you have a demanding schedule that necessarily changes from week to week (or day to day), we offer flexible options. Here, we are talking about daytime appointments and in certain situations, online counseling (Skype, FaceTime).
Give us a call today at 773-528-1777 or send us a confidential note using our online contact form. As we like to say at 2SC – every life has a 2nd Story – that means you!
Now don’t be late to your next pre-flight briefing.