This post was written by
a friend of mine (who prefers to remain anonymous). She is a fabulous mum who
balances a successful career with family life. I would never have expected her
to have such a great fear of flying. Today she shares how she has been able to
board a plane again. This post also contains a sponsored link relevant to this
story.
If you like me, have suffered a fear of flying, you are in good company. It
affects as many as one in four people and for many the fear is so paralysing
that they are unable to board a plane.
For me it started almost 11 years ago when before this I had flown many
times before, confidently and with much enjoyment. I was a recent uni graduate
backpacking around Europe and having the time of my life. I remember it was a
short flight from London to Nice and I remember suddenly going from enjoying
the flight to suddenly the feelings of suffocation and claustrophobia and
being suddenly wanting to escape and get off the plane.
It was the start of something that only got worse over time. From then on I
couldn't shake the irrational fear of flying every time I had to fly.
Needless to say the anxiety got so bad over time that I made excuses all the
time for not getting on a plane: too busy, too expensive, too many parenting
responsibilities etc. It got to the point where I decided not to fly
altogether,
When I became a parent in 2009, my thought processes started to change (as
most new parents do!). I had "toughened up" having gone through child
birth, sleepless nights etc. But also my focus suddenly changed from
just me to my children. My son (now 3.5) was fascinated with planes and
anything that flew (helicopters, hot air balloons, rockets etc) and I
realised that kids basically have "no fear".
I think the turning point was about 2 years ago I had googled "fear of
flying" and came across the Fearless Flyers course. Fearless Flyers Inc.
is a Non-Profit, volunteer organisation run by women pilots since 1979 in association
with Qantas Airways Ltd and Air services Australia. (For more information refer
to http://www.fearless
flyers.com.au/) and I enrolled myself in the course.
 |
Over time I made the decision to fly after 4 years of no flying. Over the
next few months I started looking at YouTube videos filmed by people
inside airplanes taking off and landing to see how normal and wonderful
flying was. I started watching planes take off and visiting airports (including
going through the security) to get myself used to what going on a plane
involved. I realised also that my fear was linked to claustrophobia and fear of
heights so I also started practising by taking lifts in shopping centres and
also looking down from glass windows on the 4th level of my work building.
The time came for my flight. When I boarded the plane I tried my
absolute hardest to breath deeply and pay attention to the surroundings - one
of the problems that anxiety sufferers have is internalising so it was
important for me to think of things I could see, hear and feel[1]
and basically stay aware of the external rather than shutting myself out.
As the plane took off with the whirring engines my heart was pounding but
rather than hold on to the armrests I had my hands in my lap and looked out of
the window. I was pleasantly interested about the clear views and the clouds
and I realised that I was feeling ok! I also noticed everyone else carrying on
as normal, so this started to reinforce to me how ordinary and natural being in
this plane was. I started to pass the time by chatting to my husband, paying
attention to his conversation and reading a bit of the magazine in front to me.
I had actually endured the flight without the lightning bolts of nerves,
dry mouth and numbness that I had before in 10 years. I got off the plane
feeling exhausted but I realised this was a turning point for me.
I am still a recovering phobic but I now feel more in control of myself and
have some techniques to help me feel more calm. The flight I took has given me
enormous confidence and I feel like it is going to open up so many wonderful
opportunities to me and my family. I now feel I can take it one flight at a
time.
If you are a confident flyer or like my friend
want to face your fears of flying you could use these great travel voucher codes for discounted flights. Start planning your next holiday now!
[1]
A self hypnosis tool for relaxation see: http://mashabennett.com/2011/07/09/simple-relaxation-see-hear-feel/
What is your greatest fear? Or have you faced your fears?
