Flying and claustrophobia...?!
Question: My wife can fly in large aircraft with no problem. I have taken her up in my small plane on nice, calm days and she is okay for a little while, but then she gets nervous and sick. I don't think it's motion sickness. She does not fear flying, but she says that she's antsy about being in such a small, closed in cockpit. What can I do to help her with this? Is hypnosis a viable option? She would love to share the experience of flying with me, but she has tried several times with the same result.
Answers: My wife can fly in large aircraft with no problem. I have taken her up in my small plane on nice, calm days and she is okay for a little while, but then she gets nervous and sick. I don't think it's motion sickness. She does not fear flying, but she says that she's antsy about being in such a small, closed in cockpit. What can I do to help her with this? Is hypnosis a viable option? She would love to share the experience of flying with me, but she has tried several times with the same result.
I'm not sure about hypnosis you might want to give it a try...even with all my doubting about its affect....it afforded me the opportunity to stop smoking. So give it a shot...sure cannot hurt.
However for me the thought of flying in a small airplane made me very apprehensive as well. For me it was recognizing that I had no control over the issue and for me a lack of control represented significant danger. How about some flying lessons giving her control of the aircraft? Maybe even some ground lessons or thoughts about her obtaining her license? She would have some knowledge about flying and therefore the ability to be in control if something happened to you during flight.
Hypnosis will definitely help....Give it a try...
I remember flying in a two-seater with my boss a number of years back. What helped me was his explaining when a "bump" was something normal (very windy at this altitude), or when it was OK for an instrument to go out. Explaining what is happening helps quite a bit. And don't just do it when you take off, do it when you are flying, and explain what's going on and how it will feel. Let her listen in on the transmissions from the control tower, and so on.
Good luck!
Hypnosis is a good bet for her. Shop around and if she's not successful with the first hypnotist don't be shy about trying another one. Styles differ.