~ Eleesha author of Soul Whisperer
The sun will always rise to a new day. There may be clouds hiding it, but know that it is always there waiting to warm you once again. Find the courage to face the challenges of today because they too will pass. You will have tomorrow if you live in the present.
To the Jet Blue captain who lost his way, and to his family:
Nobody died. Life will go on. It may be different than before, but it can be better, full, and productive. Your crisis is one that our industry faces, and you, unfortunately, were the wake-up call. For all the pilots out there who know how you feel, we open our hearts and hope that you find health and healing in this dark hour of yours.
With the Power of the pen and the truth in fiction we can create change.
Flight For Control ... where truth meets fiction
How far can a pilot be pushed before they break? Pilots are just people too. I hope you will leave Clayton Osbon, and his family, a message of hope. Mental health is something we take for granted until it's gone.
Enjoy the Journey!
XOX Karlene
Determination, will and courage will bring change! Have a great week, Karlene!
ReplyDeleteYes... and this week we need both determination and courage. It's a great week so far!
DeleteWhy is it important to focus on mental health? Because it's invisible. It is not like a broken leg, when people can look at you, with crutches, and say "yeah you won't be able to run 100 yards". Mental health is different. You can't read other people's minds.
ReplyDeleteStress, fatigue, fear of whatever might be threatening you and your family. It affects your mental health. I'm not an expert on the field, but we were just talking about mental health and why it is the number 1 reason why kids are dropping out of school in Norway.
It is serious, and we have to face the threat it poses on any industry. Public attention (through this incident) is one way. Unfortunately it had to be the Osbon family, but please understand that this will hopefully change the situation, at least it has the media attention needed as of now!
Cecilie, that's the hard part... people believing something like this is real, when they can't see it. And if they don't have a connection or understanding, it's hard to fathom the complexities.
DeleteI was not aware that there was a problem in Norway with kids dropping out of school, and due to mental health. Wow.
What a fabulous thing you're doing getting involved. Thank you for the comment!
Karlene, you are right. Mental health is in fact something that we take for granted, especially living in the world that we live in today. Captain Osbon was a victim of this, but I am sure that he will fully recover. It was an unintentional mishap, due to the fault of nobody. I wish him and his family well and I hope that they find a way through this difficult situation soon. It will be investigated by officials, but as you said Karlene, nobody died and life will go on - and more than likely it will be more productive than it was previously.
ReplyDeleteWishing everyone a great week!
Hi Aisling, Thank you so much for the comment. I too think it will be more productive that it was. He will find his balance and hopefully his family can hold together through this. You're right...nobody was to fault, it just happened. If only we had an avenue to help people before they break.
DeleteGood message! Many churches now offer a more extensive counseling program. I know it will be a formal program for Captain Osbon; but for those who are coping, a good church program can help prevent an over stress situation for us before it IS too late.
ReplyDeleteCapt Dave Yuncker
Retired Airline Pilot
Thanks Capt Yuncker, That's an excellent suggestion. If people knew there was somewhere to go and someone to help, maybe they would take that first step. Thank you so much for the comment, and suggestion.
DeleteIt's unfortunate that this was how attention had to be drawn to mental health problems in the aviation industry, but hopefully now something will be done about it - and we're all thankful that no one was seriously injured. Best wishes to the family.
ReplyDeleteThank you Christine. The one thing about our industry we love so much is the fact it's very reactive. But hopefully this was the wake up call.
DeleteIt's very rare and a sad thing! I do read Pilot's being pushed to the limits and treated not like they r supposed to be treated! It's un fair and those are the factors that does lead to someone loosing it. It's totally understandable and for the family of the Pilot it might be simply a incident which is a fact. I still truly feel very sorry for it! something must be changed?
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the comment Dipeet. We have to ask ourselves why pilots don't ask for help? The answer is... we can do anything. We're tough. We're invincible. We show no weakness. But mostly, if we talk about having a problem we could face losing the career we've worked our entire life for. How many would do that? But the reality is, we're people, and we are people that face more stress than most. Hopefully we'll find a solution.
DeleteSince the FAA changed its policy regarding pilots and antidepressants in 2010 around 100 medicals have been issued to pilots who are on medications. Of those 100 issuances only 20 are first class medicals.
DeleteIn the general population about ten percent of people are on antidepressants. The percentage of pilots on antidepressants is less than one percent. The number is actually .016%. At least that is what CNN reported in the interview I did.
Karlene, I hope you do not mind me posting a link to the interview here. I feel that CNN actually did a good job on reporting this issue.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2012/03/29/pkg-oleary-depressed-pilots.cnn
Keep an eye on the sky.
Collin Hughes
The Prozac Pilot
Collin, Those are interesting statistics. I wonder what those pilots were doing before the law change? Thank you for posting the CNN interview too.
DeleteFirst, let me say that my thoughts and prayers go out to Captain Osbon and his family. I cannot imagine the turmoil that this has caused in their lives. It is wonderful to see so many positive comments towards Captain Osbon and his family. I do not believe I have seen any negative comments yet.
ReplyDeleteMost of the focus on this incident has been around mental health. I was even interviewed by CNN regarding this subject and Captain Osbon. Since I do not know him I could not and would not have said anything about him even if I did know him. However, there are many medical conditions that could have caused something like this to happen. So far there is no evidence that this is related to a mental health issue. We need to wait and see what the facts say that caused this to happen.
Karlene, thank you for posting on my blog, www.prozacpilot.com. Thank you for what you are doing.
Keep and eye on the sky.
Collin Hughes
The Prozac Pilot
Thank you for the comment Collin. You're right... we don't know why. I think people associate mental health as condition... like diabetes. But I wonder how far a once healthy brain could be pushed before it breaks. When will the normal stresses of life flip that switch? Or will it?
Delete