Panic and Fear, Gone for Good!
Tina (names and some situations changed to protect confidentiality) came to see me for help with such an intense fear of flying. It was so pain laden that she felt she’d rather die than get on a plane. And for her this wasn’t just a figure of speech, the thought of being trapped on a plane and suffering with the panic and fear, made it impossible to attempt a flight. Yet, she really wanted to go away and enjoy vacations with her family and friends. No amount of logic or talk about the safety of planes had been able overcome the intensity of her fear.
Therapist Recommended Hypnosis
The therapist she was seeing knew of my success with the most difficult cases of panic so she recommended that Tina go to me for help. As we spoke it seemed to her that the fear and panic, just came out of the blue. She said had been flying without a problem until the day panic overtook her.
We began our hypnotic work, looking to unravel the roots triggering her reactions. As typically happens when doing hypnotic work other memories surface. At first, Tina was sure that the repressed memories we uncovered couldn’t be related to panic she was having in the present.
Although Tina had been flying since she was a child, as we began to go underneath her conscious memories, it turned out that she actually was never really felt calm about getting on a plane. She needed to do certain things as she entered the plane: talk to the pilot, have a certain seat, fly at night as well as many other rules she needed to follow in order to feel things would be OK. Even on the plane she felt she had to be on her guard, looking for any change in sound that might indicate there was something wrong. This seemed normal to her, not related to panic, just things you do to feel safe. And it worked for years.
Unfortunately her fear grew until it got so bad that as she approached the gate for her trip to Paris, she couldn’t stop the dread. Her mind flooded her with images of feeling trapped on the plane, suffering in fear and panic, not able to get off. She imagined herself out of control; running down to aisle screaming, “I have to get off, open the door!” As more thoughts and images flooded her she turned from the gate, shaky, embarrassed and humiliated.
Her fear spread to other areas of her life
Ever since that awful day she just couldn’t force her self to get near an airplane. The thought of approaching the gate to board a plane triggered thoughts and images of her being in a panic. She was weighed down with these images feeling out of control and helpless. Unfortunately as the years passed her fear spread to other areas. Any place where she might feel trapped, or didn’t have control caused fear and suffering. Her world was getting smaller and smaller. And although she was successful and happy at work, her confidence and personal life was suffering. She continued to miss out on vacations with her friends.
Building strength through our sessions
As we continued in our monthly sessions, Tina became more confident in many other areas of her life. As her confidence built we continued working on the intense fear of being trapped, because her fear of flying and traveling was still active. And then the day came when her mind was ready to take a big step. She was ready to experiment with her newfound sense of security, and confidence by taking a short cruise. Because this was the first time she was going to be testing out her ability to travel, in a real life situation, she was still scared. But with all the skills she had for panic relief it felt doable.
The changes she made in the time we worked together gave her hope that she could be in control of her fear. As the trip approached we used a future rehearsal technique experiment and uncover any triggers still running in the back of her mind. We added skills to help her deal with anticipatory anxiety, since she was fearful because she couldn’t be sure how her body and mind would react on the cruise She was excited about going on a trip and felt powerful that she could face up to her fear. It took a lot of courage, to take this big step.
The end result was, she had some anxiety but as she used the techniques she was able to stop anxiety. And after the first hours she was able to calm her mind and the panic disappeared completely. Even when the ship hit rough waters, she was calm and proud of herself for taking this trip. Getting these positive changes while on the ship was huge win for her. She ended up enjoying the cruise and was elated that she did it. After visiting the port of call, she easily got back on the ship with no anxiety on the whole way back. Yet, even after the successful cruising experience, her intense fear and panic about flying continued.
Uncovering the root cause and releasing it
When this happens it tells me that there is still a root that hasn’t been uncovered and healed. Tina and I continued our monthly sessions using the 3-part system that is the one that is needed for panic and anxiety issues. I knew from experience that working on all three levels needed for healing panic we would be able to kick out the last of her fears. Acceptance and patience is part of the solution because it takes time to get true relief from panic as severe as Tina’s. But, even with the intensity of fear we are talking about sessions not years and years of work.
I have to admit that the panic about flying, even in the light of her success in other areas was a puzzle to me. She still had an intensity of fear of getting on a plane that didn’t want to let go. Her world was expanding, and her confidence soared in all the other areas of her life. But the three part system I use for issues unique to panic, the ones that typically extinguish panic still hadn’t stopped the intensity of Tina’s fear of flying.
Covering all areas of the unconscious
We continued our work, going to the unconscious looking to find the needed combination. And we found it! After a few more sessions where we used all three areas of the mind and body skills, Tina felt the shift we were looking for. She was ready and made a reservation for a short flight. We added a few more techniques she could use just in case panic surfaced, because once she made the decision to take the flight, it was important that she have everything needed to get on the plane and stay there.
The night before the flight she asked for a phone session to make sure we had all our bases covered. She still had fear, and I answered each “what if” question that could lead to fear with a technique she could use.
9-Step plan for dealing with panic
We ended up with a list of Nine techniques to have at her fingertips. She had done the work and now had an added template for dealing with whatever came up, before and during her flight.
With this 9-step plan added to all the work she did clearing the underlying roots of her fear, I knew she was ready, she was still scared, but ready. And the happy news, she did it! She got on the plane. After years of suffering with so much fear she is free.
I’m always delighted when I received emails and texts from my clients.
Tina writes to Audrey after her successful flight:
“I did great, I had zero issues and it actually felt so normal to fly. Thank you so much fore everything! I am the happiest I’ve been in years and feel like a million pounds have been lifted off my shoulders. I feel like I can conquer anything.”
The following is a brief overview of the 9-steps Tina used and took with her when she went to the airport. The funny thing is that after using them in our session before the flight she was find and didn’t need to use any of them on the flight.
- Breath click on link for the Mind Calming Video Guide. Free
- Tapping click on the link for the tapping away stress Only $10.
- Take a sip of water, and say, that feels better. Saying those words gives a message to the unconscious mind.
- Using blue energy breathing technique
- Staying in the moment using the – that seconds gone – technique
- Use 5-4-3-2-1 technique three times.
- Straw technique (bringing clean fresh air of calm)
- White light energy for safety
- Future Rehearsal technique
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