118 | SEPTEMBER 2019
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UREWomen’s Health
I struggled to communicate, eat and drink. If I had a
conversation, I wouldn’t digest what was being said and,
later, I’d have no recollection of the interaction at all.
It’s very hazy.’ She continues, ‘I was diagnosed as having
had a nervous breakdown, alongside depression, and
was initially signed off for seven weeks. On returning to
work, I did two trips but, after the second, I had to pull
over while driving home or I would have driven into
oncoming traffic. I was prescribed antidepressants,
struggled with not earning because I was signed off and
eventually ended up leaving the airline for an office job.’Turbulent times
Unfortunately, an erratic work schedule means seeking
treatment for mental health problems is all the more
difficult. ‘Crew aren’t in the country at the same time
every week, so it can be hard to commit to regular
counselling or therapy on an ongoing basis, unless their
company is prepared to give time off to facilitate that,’
explains Dr Eriksen. Amanda remembers a particularly
low time 15 years ago, when working a flight from
London to Johannesburg coincided with relationship
problems at home: ‘It all got too much and I had a
massive panic attack in the hotel bar in front of a fellow
crew member,’ she recalls. ‘I knew I needed to leave, so
I got up immediately and walked back to my room. Mycolleague was so supportive the rest of the
trip and got me through.’ Amanda was
prescribed medication for depression and
anxiety, which she continues to take today,
knowing how important it is to manage
her mental health. ‘As a crew community,
you hear of people taking their own lives;
a friend of mine committed suicide and
everyone was so shocked because she’d
never given a hint that she was unhappy.
I can’t say for sure what contributed to
her death, but I do feel that suicide is
a bigger issue within airlines, simply
due to the nature of the job.’
In an increasingly competitive
marketplace, airlines are being forced to
fight for survival, and the challenges of
rising costs mean crew wages are being
stretched. When my dad started flying in
the 60s, the job was well paid, respected and
seen as a career. But now, with low wages
(recruitment site glassdoor.co.uk lists the
UK national average salary for cabin crew
at £14,500) and a much younger workforce,
there’s a higher turnover of staff. Bringing
in a hefty pay cheque can help to ease career
negatives – such as crushing fatigue, high
stress levels, on-the-hop meals and guilt at
leaving children, partners or parents behind
for days on end – but when your salary‘An erratic work
schedule means
seeking treatment
is difficult’
of the end, the culmination of
those sleepless nights and an
accelerating fear of feeling
alone so far from home. On my
30th birthday, a friend told me
that I didn’t seem like myself
any more, and my six-year
relationship with my partner
was falling apart. In the months
that followed, sleep became
harder still – if I did drift off,
I’d wake in a blind panic,
grabbing at my throat, believing
I was choking – and six months
later, I unknowingly worked my
final flight, to Tel Aviv. When
I returned home, my partner
left me, and I hit rock bottom.
I was signed off work by my
GP with depression and
crippling anxiety, and took
voluntary redundancy.
If stress used to be thought
of as ‘feeling a big frazzled’, it’s
now a recognised risk factor
for poor physical and mental
health. Pilots consistently
appear in top-five and top-10
lists of the most stressful jobs
in the world, and if that comes
from the idea that they’re in
control of the safety of a
planeful of passengers, doesn’t
some of this rub off on to cabin
crew? ‘Dealing with difficult
passengers is stressful enough,
but there’s always the niggle
at the back of your mind or
on a subconscious level that,
should anything go wrong, all
of those passengers will look
to you for help or safety,’ says
Janice. ‘That, at any moment,
someone could be taken ill and
it’s on you or your colleagues
to save them.’ A busy inbox
pales into insignificance.
Ann*, 30, began flying in 2013.
In June 2016, she experienced
what she now recognises as
a breakdown. ‘I’ve always been
prone to periods of feeling blue,
but, historically, I was able to
manage it,’ she recalls. ‘However,
after three years of long-haul
flying, I was having suicidal
thoughts. I’m normally quite
social, so if I went on a trip and
no one wanted to do anything,
I’d end up stuck in my room,
which would send me to a bad
place. I started to feel those low
feelings more intensely than
ever before. At my lowest ebb,C
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