Do you get nervous at the airport security checkpoint?
I have social anxiety. It’s difficult for me to be in public places to begin with. But being in line waiting to go through a security check point Causes my anxiety to increase dramatically. I’m worried that I look nervous/suspicious to the screeners; I fear that they think I’m hiding something and will search me.
Does anyone else get this fear? How do you calm yourself?
“Whatever you do, don’t think of elephants!” What’s the first thing you just thought of?
You’re putting too much pressure on yourself, thus making yourself nervous, thus increasing the chances that an airport official will ask what you have to be nervous about.
Nobody who isn’t into exposing himself looks forward to the screening, but let’s look at the worst-case scenario. As you don’t (I presume) have a bomb in your carryon or explosives in your underwear…
If you are called over for personal screening, you will be taken into a room with the door closed and two federal employees. This is good — they won’t strip you in front of everyone, and one is there to be sure the other one doesn’t do anything wrong.
You will be patted down. This is weird, no lie, but hardly life-threatening. It’s okay to tell them you want to cooperate, but they need to know that you have anxiety disorder, so you’re going to be very nervous. They will probably tell you that most people are nervous at this point.
If they feel something odd, they may have an examiner do a physical search — so if you have on any medical devices, tell them up front. Good to have a doctor’s note with you, too.
If there is an advanced screener, they’ll just walk you through it and someone you don’t even see off in another room will look at the image to see if there’s anything to be concerned about. You won’t feel a thing.
I had a friend, an elderly woman, who got patted down because the bomb-sniffing dogs alerted to something in her carryon — a manuscript she’d picked up at our house, that had sat on a counter, where someone had rested a plate with a hamburger on it. She got patted down and they had to look at the manuscript page by page to be sure there was nothing in it. No problem — she got certified and got on her plane. She said the exam was odd, but not painful or scary.
So since you have no bombs or bomb-making devices, the worst that will happen to you is just mildly embarrassing — and has happened to other people. When you’re in line, remember to breathe deeply and slowly so you don’t hyperventilate. You’ll be more relaxed. It’s unlikely you’ll be searched, but if you are, don’t worry about it. The screeners are usually gentle and polite about it, and it’s over quickly.
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