Reply #40: Funny (?) story... [View All]

[susanna]

I was never afraid of flying. Flew the first time at age 6 on a DC-10. Loved every second; always wanted a window seat. No fear. Fast forward to me at 33. Keep in mind that I had flown, quite frequently, for near 27 years without incident. A friend was having an important (life event) party in a distant city that I was excited to go to. (For the record, this was all pre-911.)

I bought my tickets, got ready, packed my bags a few days before. I'm ready. I'm going. Then, all of the sudden, from NOWHERE: fear of flying. I began having panic/anxiety attacks, just awful... they kept me up at night thinking of everything that could go wrong. Of course, I do not know how to handle it, because it has never happened to me before. I've always been able to fly!

Luckily I found a psychologist who specialized in fear of flying. He got me through it, and quickly. He counseled me with visualization techniques, then intervened with my physician to get me a small amount of Xanax (like three tabs or something) to get me through.

I made it, had a great time on my trip, flew home without incident, and I am fine again (thanks to the visualization techniques). But I TOTALLY understand the "fear of flying" now. I would never discount or mock it; it is truly a difficult thing.

on edit: poor choice of words...someone probably already found it.