The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Friday cleared pilots who have depression to regain their flying privileges, with one tiny caveat — they have to be taking one of only four “approved” antidepressants. I can only express my extreme disappointment at this decision because while it has the potential to help pilots take to the air again if they were suffering from depression, it fails to recognize other effective treatments for depression.
Apparently, the FAA doesn’t recognize the effectiveness of psychotherapy in the treatment of depression. This despite something on the order of four decades’ (or more) worth of research demonstrating its effectiveness for everything from mild to severe depression. In fact, if anything, there’s more research that calls into question the effectiveness of these four antidepressants than there is showing they help.
The Los Angeles Times has the upshot:
FAA policy bans pilots from flying if they have depression because the condition can be distracting in the cockpit and pose a safety risk, according to the agency. Under the new policy, pilots with depression can seek treatment with one of the four medications and keep flying.
You know what else can be distracting in the cockpit? Laptops. Guess what the FAA doesn’t ban in the cockpit. Yes, laptops. So how can this be about “distraction” rather than simple ignorance about mental illness? Does a diagnosis of attention deficit disorder (ADD) also get you banned from the cockpit (given that one of its hallmarks is distraction)? No, it doesn’t, unless you happen to be taking a medication to treat it.
In fact, if you’re taking any psychiatric medication outside of these four antidepressants, you’re going to lose your pilot’s license unless you go off of them for at least 90 days. The FAA doesn’t care about your illness or your mental health. All they care about are possible side effects of the medications — but not the effects or symptoms of the illness itself! (The exceptions are substance/alcohol abuse, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder — all of which are grounds for a license denial.)
None of this makes any sense. Either disqualify pilots from obtaining their license with any kind of mental health issue outright, or qualify them if they are seeking and in treatment for them. Don’t hand out piecemeal, arbitrary decisions like this one about specific types of treatment you accept that are apparently based upon, not research, but something else. What that something else is (given 3 of the 4 antidepressants are generics, I don’t think it was pharmaceutical lobbying) is anyone’s guess.
From the FAA press release:
On a case-by-case basis beginning April 5, pilots who take one of four antidepressant medications — Fluoxetine (Prozac), Sertraline (Zoloft), Citalopram (Celexa), or Escitalopram (Lexapro) — will be allowed to fly if they have been satisfactorily treated on the medication for at least 12 months. The FAA will not take civil enforcement action against pilots who take advantage of a six-month opportunity to share any previously non-disclosed diagnosis of depression or the use of these antidepressants.
I don’t feel any less safe flying knowing that pilots who are seeking and getting treatment for their depression and in the cockpit. I’d feel far less safe flying knowing the FAA was pretending that mental health conditions don’t exist or don’t affect their pilots, or that pilots weren’t taking action to help themselves. The FAA still lives in a state of denial about the prevalence of these disorders, and is hiding its head in the sand by approving just these four drugs.
Read the full article: Depressed pilots may fly with medication, FAA says
FAA Disease Protocols (note the lack of any mental illness protocols outside of substance abuse)
28 comments
In regards to the FAA decision, I agree with you that they should have also required them to receive psychotherapy that is effective for Major Depression. Cognitive Therapy and Interpersonal Psychotherapy have strong scientific evidence backing it. In fact, Major Depression is one of the few emotional disorders that have many psychotherapies to treat it as shown here:
http://www.psychology.sunysb.edu/eklonsky-/division12/disorders/depression_main.php
Not only that, but I think these psychotherapies have a more long-term effect on depression compared to antidepressants. If a patient were to cease taking the meds, the probability of he or she relapsing are high. In contrast, psychotherapy teaches the patient skills to help them cope with stressors more effectively. Not only that, psychotherapy is more cheaper in the long-run than antidepressants.
I also agree that psychotherapy is effective. However, I am assuming that the pilots were allowed, if not encouraged to obtain psychotherapy before. (obviously on the down low). Seriously though, this policy just encouraged pilots to keep their depression a secret, at least until it gets really severe. I would much rather have pilot on an antidepressant that doesn’t cause them to be drowsiness than one who is seriously depressed. Maybe this policy was enacted then only severely depressed patients were considered “depressed”
Also, what about banning pilots with Crohn’s Disease or Migraines. Both of those things could interfere with a pilots ability to pay attention. Or ones that are at risk of a heart attack or stroke.
Yeah. That decision is silly. Why just those 4? I take Wellbutrin and have had no side effects whereas, I’ve taken 2 of those 4 and had really bad side effects. It should really be a case-by-cases thing.
Human despair is not a brain disease anyway. I think they should tell the public which planes are being piloted by pilots on mind altering drugs.
Human despair isn’t a brain disease, but Major Depression is. Major Depression =/= “normal” human despair or sadness. Major depression isn’t something you can just “snap” out of and it isn’t always a reaction to a upsetting event in your life.
John,
I would like to share some thoughts on this. First, the FAA is my employer. You could not imagine a more sensitive organization to issues of mental health then this organization. There are programs available with complete privacy policies and regular training in mental health issues. I recently experienced the policies in effect as I went through my marital downfall. (Ironically, caused by SSRI’s. Not me taking them, but the affect it had on me after my wife did.)
Even still, in this environment we are required to report the use of antidepressants. (Of course there is no way for them to know unless we tell them.) But, upon reporting it, we are placed in a probationary period for 6 months where we are not allowed to work by ourselves. (People who work on equipment often do.) This was a result of an (observance of irrational and unpredictable behaviors in the early stages of reported use of antidepressants.)
This is an environment where controllers are run through a shortened version of the MMPI before getting hired. Sharp minds and decisive thinking are of the up most importance when conducting daily business. That is just the nature of the beast. But, by no means is it accurate to say “The FAA stigmatizes mental illness.†I have personally witnessed them go far above and beyond what any employer would do to compensate for these illness.
That said, there is a conundrum that exist with antidepressants. The FDA protocol says that prior to the prescription of these drugs a person must undergo an assessment for bipolar disorder. However the FDA not only doesn’t have a way to enforce this protocol, general practitioners are (through ignorance or greed driven malice) blatantly disregarding this protocol. Likewise, protocol required by the FDA state that the prescribing doctor “should remain in contact with the patient and the patient’s family during the initial period after starting or changing medication.” I assure you that this is not happening.
As a mental health professional I would guess that you would agree with me that nobody should be prescribed antidepressants without proper care involved. That care is not being propagated in most cases. So how does the FAA protect the public (its job and purpose) if it can not ensure that, for instance, bipolar patients are not being given these drugs.
Air flight is a “0% leeway ” part of our system. Too often we see people under treatment for depression with no warning to family or therapist. We can’t have even one Hasans, Yates’, Harriss’, Smiths, Cho’s, or the endless stream of other stories in the air. Especially flying passenger loaded aircraft.
My former employer, a major Wall St bank stated that I was a direct threat and terminated me. They admit no threats were ever made or even ever implied. Their conclusion is based solely on conjecture, myth, and stereotyping of mental illness. I engaged in the same behavior but was held to a different standard due to my illness.
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As a former private pilot who has taken antidepressants, there is one very significant physical side effect called postural hypotension. If you stand up quickly from a sitting position your blood pressure drops, your vision grays out and you become quite dizzy. It’s very common.
It would be the last thing I would need to deal with if I have to recover from a spin or stall of my aircraft. To fly while taking these medications amounts to criminal irresponsibility.
It’s not about stigma in any way. I wish a flight surgeon could provide input here. I’ve talked to a couple about this and they were both very matter of fact – these med’s s/e’s preclude piloting. I agree.
Dear LOL and John,
Nearly every prescription medication can cause adverse reactions that would diminish flying capability. If the FAA has the same requirements for other medications as it does for antidepressants, I would see no issue. However, SSRIs are among the safest prescription drugs available, but it’s difficult if not impossible to predict which patient will have an underlying tendency towards mania or who will experience dizziness upon standing, etc( which is more common with tricyclics actually). Therefor, I think that it would make since have an initial “no-fly” period or no working with heavy equipment period for the first few weeks, in order to sort out any side effects. However, that should apply to ANY medication that has the (significant) potential to cause an adverse reaction like that. If they are just targeting SSRIs and other antidepressants, then that seems very stigmatizing to me as a member of the public.
Also, I agree that GPs who can’t assess for Bipolar Disorder and who can’t follow-up regularly with each patient being prescribed antidepressants as no business prescribing them. However, many of us do see a psychiatrist who most certainly will provide that kind of care. (ok, I’m sure some psychiatrist don’t know what they’re doing).
Lastly, as someone in recovery from Major Depression, I certainly won’t want someone with severe, untreated Major Depression flying my plane!
Also, Stephan,
The side effect you are talking about is common with tricycles as well as in unmedicated people. I actually experience hypotension and dizziness upon standing to some degree, and stimulants and antidepressants actually helped with this because they seemed to raise my blood pressure slightly. Also, I think it was made worse by my untreated depression and anxiety. I have never experienced ANY side effect on my current antidepressant (other then positive ones), so you really can’t generalize your experience to everyone else’s experience.
Whether a particular individual is a safe pilot in relation to the influence of any medication depends on the individual case. Generalizations are an especially erroneous thing in relation to so-called “mental illness”, which is a misleading, unscientific, and outdated popular reference to common syndromes involving physical abnormalities of the brain and/or nervous system which are often limited to totally subjective unpleasant experiences. Individual performance and behavior should be the measure for determining who will be a safe pilot or not.
Good points, LS.
LS,
I have heard this “other drugs cause adverse reactions†quite often when addressing these issues. My own counselor talks about a family member who went into a state of schizophrenia after taking cold medicine. However, there are a few differences and criteria with AD’s and other medications.
First, the primary objective of an antidepressant is to change their personality of the person taking them. A person’s personality is directly related to the ability to make crucial decisions required to function as a pilot. Every mental health profession basically states that when being given an AD that the patient is a “guinea pigâ€. Even in your post you admit it is “difficult or impossible to predict†how one will react. A blood pressure medicine is designed to lower blood pressure. It is easy to test and see if it is being affective. If a pilot passes out because his BP medication fails, a copilot can take the stick. AD’s are designed to make people happy, but many happy people are not functional. The only way to know if a patient is functional is to ask them. This is kind of like asking a drunk if he is alright to drive.
Secondly, I would assume that any drug that rises to the level of black box warnings about suicide and irrational behaviors should be considered by the FAA as a risk to public safety. I would assume that pilots taking Accutane should also be barred from flight. Especially commercial flight.
While many argue about the merits of these drugs to treat major depression, I am more worried about the people who are being treated for OCD, anxiety, PPD, or to quit smoking being prescribed these drugs. In these cases no suicidal tendencies were ever exhibited prior to the drugs. So nobody is really looking for them. At least we are raised to alert status in the case of depression.
Last point for now is that the disorder of depression in which is being treated is an elevated threat to public safety should the sufferer be in control of a commercial aircraft. To give a patient a drug that may of may not help doesn’t reduce that risk. Nobody has ever blamed “heart problems†as a reason for shooting up a school. Nobody has ever said, “well asthma probably played a factor in him killing his family.†Arthritis has never lead to a shooting spree on a work place. Nobody has tried to use cancer as a defense for murder. The same is not true of depression. When it comes to our National Air Space, everything is a risk to benefit analysis.
When the mental health field steps up and demands the sole ability to prescribe these drugs, I will become their biggest advocate. But until then GP are just drug pushers without legal ramifications.
Sorry, where is the evidence that psychotherapy works (when compared to placebo) for severe depression?
LOL – Glad to read your perspective and I agree that a total care or integrated approach to depression is key. Too many people are simply getting sub-standard depression treatment.
I say the FAA stigmatizes mental illness by recognizing it, but then going back to the dark ages in terms of how they deal with it. You’re off the job because of it? The only approved treatments are 4 (out of like 2 dozen) antidepressants, and psychotherapy doesn’t count? While they may indeed be enlightened in protecting passenger safety (I wish all train/subway/bus operators were as safety conscious, given they’re often carrying similar loads of passengers), they are still in the dark ages of how one treats and approaches mental health care for their employees.
Ashim – This is not new news, but I know that old data die hard. It used to be believed that psychotherapy was not an effective treatment for severe depression, but that was never really the case. As always, combined treatment is probably best for all types of depression, but here’s some citations demonstrating psychotherapy’s effectiveness for severe depression:
The UK’s NICE guidelines also state, “Antidepressant medication should not be offered to children or young people with moderate to severe depression except in combination with a concurrent psychological therapy.”
As you can imagine, they would not make such a recommendation with empirical backing.
References:
Güemes, I., Guillén, V., & Ballesteros, J. (2008). Psychotherapy versus drug therapy in depression in outpatient care. Actas Españolas de PsiquiatrÃa, 36(5), 299-306.
Hollon, S.D., Thase, M.E., & Markowitz, J.C. (2007). Treating depression: Pills or talk. In: Best of the brain from Scientific American. Bloom, Floyd E. (Ed.); Washington, DC, US: Dana Press, 179-187.
Lockwood, C., Page, T., & Conroy-Hiller, T. (2004). Comparing the effectiveness of cognitive behaviour therapy using individual or group therapy in the treatment of depression. International Journal of Evidence-Based Healthcare, 2(5), 185-206.
Luty, Suzanne E.; Carter, Janet D.; McKenzie, Janice M.; Rae, Alma M.; Frampton, Christopher M. A.; Mulder, Roger T.; Joyce, Peter R.; (2007). Randomised controlled trial of interpersonal psychotherapy and cognitive-behavioural therapy for depression. British Journal of Psychiatry, 190, 496-502.
To LOL
Nearly everything in that post is wrong or misleading.
-Antidepressants DO NOT alter personality. They bring the person back to their “pre-depressed” state. If that. In some rare instances, it may trigger a manic episode or psychosis (so can untreated major depression), but I don’t think that’s the same as changing someone’s personality. Sometimes it may seem like their personality has changed, if they have been depressed a long time, but they don’t significantly alter who a person is inside. Everyone’s experience is different, but what I’ve experienced is that the ADs 1) don’t work at all or 2) bring me out of the deepest depths of depression and keep me from falling to far back down.
-Antidepressants are NOT Happy pills. Not even close. Sorry. They treat depression, they do not make the person happy or “high.”
-Using antidepressants for OCD, Anxiety, PPD. Actually, studies show that 80% or more of people with OCD ALSO have co-morbid depression (this maybe because they only seek treatment when they are depressed, though). Other anxiety disorder are also closely linked to depression and some (ie panic disorder) also carry the significant chance of suicidal ideation). PPD is depression and carries with it the same concerns. However, I fully support therapy as the first choice for in treating mild-moderate depression and anxiety disorders. (if an experienced and knowledgeable, CBT trained therapist is available).
-Again, depression (alone) almost never causes some sort of public health threat. It’s just that when it does happen, especially is there might have been an antidepressant involved, the media immediately picks up on the story and broadcasts it. Therefore, it often appears to the public that “depression” or “antidepressants” often cause these sort of effects, when in reality, they almost never do.
-Also, it is possible to track someone’s progress on an antidepressant. Any mental health professional can do this. There is clinical observation as well as several standard scales.
I am not saying that the FAA shouldn’t be cautious and should allow a pilot to get on an antidepressant one day and fly a plane the next without any monitoring by a mental health professional. I agree there should be some sort of short probationary period ( a few weeks for example, most side-effects are apparent during that time, certainly ones like mania or psychosis, those happen pretty quickly). But that should apply to other medical conditions and drugs with a similar risk profile. After all depression is a medical condition and having it doesn’t make you “crazy.”
I suggest you consult the Mayo Clinic’s website on Antidepressants-
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/depression/DS00175/DSECTION=treatments%2Dand%2Ddrugs
-On final note, it wasn’t too long ago that pilots were given amphetamines!
Can you please cite a few published trials of psychotherapy for depression in routine care? It appears that much of what has been published is limited to randomized controlled trials where the therapists are closely supervised and the patients are carefully selected. I fear that most of us who suffer from depression don’t receive the same quality of care in the community nor do we share the same outcomes whether treatment is psychotherapy, medication or a combination of both.
Thanks,
Joe
I am glad that AD’s work for you. For some people they truly do seem to be a “god sentâ€. However, the assertion that “they do not change personality†is perplexing. So that we are talking about the same thing, I would cite definitions.
Webster says “Personality- 3 a : the complex of characteristics that distinguishes an individual or a nation or group; especially : the totality of an individual’s behavioral and emotional characteristics b : a set of distinctive traits and characteristics.
“Characteristisc – 1 : a distinguishing trait, quality, or property.â€
Honesty, commitment, personal drive, fidelity, sense of humor, and tolerance are all things I would consider characteristics of a personality. I witnessed as these “traits†changed to their opposite in very rapid fashion after taking SSRI’s.
About.com: Psychology defines it as “made up of the characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that make a person unique.â€
Again The “Personality†I married and consciously chose to have a child with over the course of 10 years was not an alcoholic, promiscuous, misleading, selfish, violent person with no sense of consequences. However, within months of taking SSRI’s she became one. Am I understanding your position that my wife had always wanted to be this type of person and Zoloft and Prozac allowed her to become all she had ever wanted to be?
As far as them not being “happy pills†my wife will tell you that she “needs them to be happy.†Her exact words. The reality is that we can “chicken or the egg? The debate between antidepressants and the actual diseases. I can’t express my frustration in this argument I too often have. People who have not known my wife or me for more then a few hours total telling me that, “if she is on antidepressants she must have been depressed before hand and these drugs just highlighted it.†It is a debate that I am required to prove without “shadow of a doubtâ€. I wouldn’t even bother to try except for the fact that the “new personality†has custody of my daughter 50% of the time and will always be her mother.
One last point. There are plenty of “ex-users†who will dispute these points on different forums. Many tell stories of trying to get off the AD’s and suffered from withdrawals.. Um sorry “discontinuation syndromeâ€. This often came in the form of depression. At that point they assumed they needed the drugs. It wasn’t until after they kicked the habit for 6 months or more they came to understand it was the affects of the AD’s that had caused their problems.
John,
Thank you for your response. But my point is that people are not getting the required combined treatment. These people are becoming loose cannons. Manic episodes caused by them are not only going unacknowledged by the doctors, but actually rejected by some of them.
Put yourself in the FAA’s position for just a moment. Many people, some very high profile cases, are being treated by qualified mental health professionals. Even with all of this treatment some of the patience still end up committing some of the most heinous acts. (Drowning 5 of her children and Andrea Yates walks the streets as free as you and me. Her argument that set her free? Antidepressants made her do it.) We see how the media and public react when the government refuses to stop a hurricane from hitting a populated area. As a government funded agency the FAA is not allowed to get it wrong even once. If a pilot crashes a passenger loaded plane into a mountain, the press and public will scrutinize ever aspect of it. The lawsuits that will follow if it is found that they knowingly allowed a potentially suicidal pilot to fly a plane would be incredibly taxing. You are talking about an organization that is extremely paranoid about public safety. When you are flying through the air, the system that is watching and “controlling†the planes have 2 completely separate backup systems running behind them. Each system is extremely dependable in its own right. For this reason the US has the safest skys in the world. You can’t expect that kind of persistence to their cause to lacks at the human resource level. Can you not picture “Nancy Grace†on CNN saying, “why in the workd the FAA allow a person who had threaded to commit suicide to fly a plane loaded with people.†Politically we fight for budget and even attacks on the necessity of the agency not to be run by a “for profit†contractor every year.
Every aspect of the system is believed to be 100% reliable. Even if the FAA is wrong, until that point, they believe they were not. If they are saying that there are 4 AD’s on the approved list, it is probably because somebody did quite a bit of “risk assessment†and decided that these posed the least amount of risk.
When is the mental health industry going to stand up and say, “These are our dugs. Just as a GP has no right administering Chemotherapy, neither do they have the capacity to administer AD’s.†When the FAA can see that every patient taking them are receiving the “combined treatment†they will feel more at ease to allow for the reduced risk. Until then, their hands are tied.
LOL,
-I gather from reading these comments and comments you’ve made on other blog posts, that you wife may have had a “manic” episode? I don’t consider going “manic” or “hypomanic” as someone’s personality. I would also consider that there is an underlying psychological or medical problem. Also, is she taking any other medications? All these things need to be sorted out by a psychiatrist.
I consider personality to be someone’s ingrain temperament and longstanding pattern of behavior. Effective treatment for depression is invariably going to alter someone’s behavior and probably make them happier, we hope. But these drugs don’t make you “high,”or anything like that. It’s more that hey “allow” you to feel happy if you are so severely depressed that you can’t otherwise.
As far as “withdrawal” or discontinuation syndrome, this is very variable. Some drugs, notably Effexor are notorious for causing withdraw and need to be tapered off slowly, under the guidance of a physician. Other SSRIs have a much longer half-life and thus don’t usually produce withdrawal symptoms, such as Prozac. In terms of “depression” being a “withdrawl effect”. In almost all cases, tapering off slowly will minimize or prevent any withdraw symptoms. I’ve personally gone off 2 antidepressants without tapering and nothing helped. Only some people experience withdrawl.
-As far as depression, that can’t be determined on an individual basis because, depression often reoccurs anyway, whether it is treated with antidepressants, therapy, exercise or just time. However the more severe and the more episodes, the more likely it is that going off the antidepressants will cause a relapse of depression.
Im new to the aviation world. Just trying to start out.Chasing my dream. I am a 34y/o veteran that served 11.5 years in the military. I was medically discharged from the military. After I started my VA claim I was diagnosed with PTSD from a tour in Iraq. I was fully honest on my flight physical paperwork about conditions and medications. Little did I know until after the physical that PTSD was a disqualifying condition. I took medication for it for about 1.5 years and have not taken any since. The first medication was Bupropion HCL and the second was Mirtazapine 15mg. What gets me is that without even knowing the circumstances/severity of the PTSD, the FAA automatically say that I can not obtain a pilots liscense. I have spoken to a couple of FAA surgeons, and they say that I might be able to get one, if the person that looks over my paper works wants more information. I will always have the diagnosis of PTSD on my medical side because it is something that the VA will not remove it.
Oh boy! I HAD a career with the FAA, I was ill for years, and kept getting promoted, because I am very good at what I do. Things got worse, and worse and I started being treated with Barbiturates, my stomach was always in knots, they decided I was alcoholic, and threatened my career if I didn’t go to a re-hab where I was diagnosed w/depression anxiety and ocd, I also have IBS, and was put on wellbutrin and zoloft, as well as xanax, what a cocktail. The FAA kept me working for 7 years with-out allowing me to get the psychotherapy I needed… The FAA is a corrupt organization, they violate federal law and human decency, I discovered a cover-up, and ONLY because an aircraft had crashed in this airports backyard, with the NTSB in the next room I was able to force them into listening and fix the problem they had been covering up, required outside help… directly after this they began the campaign to force me to resign even going so far as to threaten me with jail for taking my meds, problem was I had told them before I started taking them, THEY didn’t tell the flight surgeon… wasn’t my responsibility. They couldn’t fire me, and I couldn’t work, so they made me drive eight hours a day for almost 6 months straight from one airport to another 75,000 wasted miles on a G-can… They eventually forced me out… My problems with the FAA began when I was one of I think 5 white people in a class of 400+ black candidates for air traffic controller positions, all the blacks got hired, we were told we were “mistakes”, the black students were so desired by the FAA that some had lived at the campus for 18 months trying to pass a 13 week course, they had been given the test material to study before they got to the school, the white students got ours the first day of class with a test on day two, we all passed that first test, 20% of the black students failed, and were allowed to take the test again… They lied from beginning to end trying to fail us out… There is a factbook the FAA prints every year, what I say can easily be verified, with the factbook.
The FAA doesn’t need to exist any longer, and the government knows it, that’s why they put liz dole in charge, all the substance abuse crap started under her watch, and the next guy came right out and told middle aged white males to find other employment, cause we would not be promoted until females and minorities had been. The next scary thing was when they told us safety was NOT the number one priority, saving money is.
So no, I am not surprised that they stigmatize depressed folks, they are as incompetent a bunch as you’re ever likely to find… So don’t get your panties too wrenched over this, they want to be the new space agency anyway…
Hi, I was just wondering if anyone knows how long it takes to get a medical after the FAA has deferred you from a medical for taking an anitdepressant. I plan on going off the medication and am going to do the “90” day deal. How long after the 90 days will I have to wait?
I love to fly, it’s the one thing that keeps me relatively happy, but it’s only while I’m flying. I’ve dealt with a severe depression for about 2 years now, not to mention the sleeping problems, and the fact that I don’t want to get outta bed or socialize at all. The FAA doesn’t seem to undertand that because your a pilot doesn’t mean your perfect. To be quite honest people that have a problem and don’t et it treated because they are scared of loosing everything are way more dangerous than people that see a doctor on a normal basis, take medication, etc. And this is not about minorities or females, because I am both, this is about people who are passionate about flying and who are damn good at what they do, but for some reason or another a person behind a desk can outcast us and leave us with nothing, because we have a very treatable problem.
My husband, a former military pilot and cargo pilot, killed himself 5 months ago because he felt his career was over. He was having panic attacks and not sleeping, but he was afraid to go to a hospital because of what “the airline” might find out. Now his five children and I are left to wonder how we could have helped him, but I truly don’t know if there was anything we could have done. He lived to fly.
I am a student pilot and my flight school grounded me when they found out I had suicidal thoughts. Someone heard me say about my thoughts and then told the chief instructors and the head of the aviation department. I have been grounded for months. It’s very difficult situation.
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