Newlywed who refused to board plane has fear of flying cured by stranger he met at the BOARDING GATE

 

A newlywed was cured of his crippling fear of flying just in time to go on his honeymoon - when he bumped into a hypnotist at the AIRPORT.

James and Sarah Roberts spent six months and more than £2k planning a once-in-a-lifetime adventure road-tripping around the US.

But when they arrived at Gatwick Airport , James - who had never flown long-haul before - found himself in floods of tears.

Panicking, the petrified postman, 34, told his devastated new wife he was too scared to board the plane.

Marketing executive Sarah, 31, resigned herself to the fact that they wouldn't be going and watched all the other passengers file onto the Los Angeles-bound flight.

But at that moment, a man running late for the same flight rushed up to the boarding gate, and, after noticing that James was in a distressed state, introduced himself.

The stranger turned out to be renowned hypnotherapist Jason O'Callaghan, who was on his way out to Sin City for his sister's wedding.

James Roberts with his saviour, hypnotherapist Jason O'Callaghan

After hearing about the couple's ordeal, he put James in a trance there and then - while his wife and the airport staff watched in disbelief.

Less than 10 minutes later Jason escorted a calm James onto the plane and the couple went on to enjoy their dream honeymoon.

Sarah, of Hythe, Kent, said: "We were the last ones in the lounge. I was in tears, James was in tears. By that time I had tried everything.

"I got upset with him, angry with him. I said I was going to go on my own. I started to walk and he wasn't following me.

"I was literally about to say, 'OK, let's go home, I can't put you through this.'

"But at that exact point, this guy just appeared. I didn't even see him enter the lounge.

"He looked at me and looked at James and said, 'Does he have a fear of flying?' I answered, 'Yes,' and he said, 'Will you let me help him?'"

Sarah said Jason then put sat her hysterical husband down, put him into a trance and talked softly to him for five to six minutes.

Then he brought him round and led him - smiling and calm - onto the plane.

The Virgin staff at the gate were so amazed by what they saw, they offered the newlyweds and their saviour free seat upgrades for the 11-hour flight.

Sarah, who married James in May, said: "I'm a sceptical person and I have to see these things to believe them, but what I witnessed was crazy.

"We hadn't known how bad James's fear was going to be, but when we got to the airport he had a complete meltdown. He was just in bits.

"I'd managed to get him to the gate and at first I thought, 'Surely he is going to get on,' but as time went on we began to contemplate that we wouldn't be going.

"I asked if the staff could let us be the last to board the plane and said, 'Let me know when the last opportunity is,' and our bags were on standby.

"We literally had to get on there and then."

As a result of the bizarre encounter, James and Sarah were able to fly out to the states and enjoy a two-week adventure holiday.

They visited Vegas before driving to San Francisco and ending up in Los Angeles.

On the flight home, James - who isn't permanently cured of his fear - listened to a voice recording of Jason's voice to get him through.

Sarah said: "We are just so grateful. Honestly, if it wasn't for Jason and what happened we wouldn't have gone on our honeymoon.

"I can only put it down to fate."

James said: "I used to love flying but in the last few years I've developed this massive fear of it.

"I thought I'd be able to handle it, but when we got to the airport and I just broke down in tears. I was shaking and in extreme panic.

James and Sarah enjoying their dream trip in the states

"Then Jason turned up out of the smoke and sat me down. You couldn't make it up.

"Within a few minutes he had hypnotised me and the next thing I know we were walking onto the plane.

"I was relaxed during the flight. It was like I was still in a trance because all the anxiety had drained out of me.

"He saved our honeymoon and it was the holiday of a lifetime. If it wasn't for him we would have just had two weeks at home.

"Sarah has always wanted to go to American and to go with her new husband was the dream.

"We would've lost thousands of pounds if it hadn't been for Jason because we had booked rooms and car hire and everything. We owe him massively."

Jason, who runs the the D4 Clinic in Dublin, said: "I had an idea what was up when I saw James and he asked me to help him.

Visit Rhode Island Hypnosis Center

Newlywed who refused to board plane has fear of flying cured by stranger he met at the BOARDING GATE

 

A newlywed was cured of his crippling fear of flying just in time to go on his honeymoon - when he bumped into a hypnotist at the AIRPORT.

James and Sarah Roberts spent six months and more than £2k planning a once-in-a-lifetime adventure road-tripping around the US.

But when they arrived at Gatwick Airport , James - who had never flown long-haul before - found himself in floods of tears.

Panicking, the petrified postman, 34, told his devastated new wife he was too scared to board the plane.

Marketing executive Sarah, 31, resigned herself to the fact that they wouldn't be going and watched all the other passengers file onto the Los Angeles-bound flight.

But at that moment, a man running late for the same flight rushed up to the boarding gate, and, after noticing that James was in a distressed state, introduced himself.

The stranger turned out to be renowned hypnotherapist Jason O'Callaghan, who was on his way out to Sin City for his sister's wedding. 

James Roberts with his saviour, hypnotherapist Jason O'Callaghan

After hearing about the couple's ordeal, he put James in a trance there and then - while his wife and the airport staff watched in disbelief.

Less than 10 minutes later Jason escorted a calm James onto the plane and the couple went on to enjoy their dream honeymoon.

Sarah, of Hythe, Kent, said: "We were the last ones in the lounge. I was in tears, James was in tears. By that time I had tried everything.

"I got upset with him, angry with him. I said I was going to go on my own. I started to walk and he wasn't following me.

"I was literally about to say, 'OK, let's go home, I can't put you through this.'

"But at that exact point, this guy just appeared. I didn't even see him enter the lounge.

"He looked at me and looked at James and said, 'Does he have a fear of flying?' I answered, 'Yes,' and he said, 'Will you let me help him?'"

Sarah said Jason then put sat her hysterical husband down, put him into a trance and talked softly to him for five to six minutes.

Then he brought him round and led him - smiling and calm - onto the plane.

The Virgin staff at the gate were so amazed by what they saw, they offered the newlyweds and their saviour free seat upgrades for the 11-hour flight.

Sarah, who married James in May, said: "I'm a sceptical person and I have to see these things to believe them, but what I witnessed was crazy.

"We hadn't known how bad James's fear was going to be, but when we got to the airport he had a complete meltdown. He was just in bits.

"I'd managed to get him to the gate and at first I thought, 'Surely he is going to get on,' but as time went on we began to contemplate that we wouldn't be going.

"I asked if the staff could let us be the last to board the plane and said, 'Let me know when the last opportunity is,' and our bags were on standby.

"We literally had to get on there and then."

As a result of the bizarre encounter, James and Sarah were able to fly out to the states and enjoy a two-week adventure holiday.

They visited Vegas before driving to San Francisco and ending up in Los Angeles.

On the flight home, James - who isn't permanently cured of his fear - listened to a voice recording of Jason's voice to get him through.

Sarah said: "We are just so grateful. Honestly, if it wasn't for Jason and what happened we wouldn't have gone on our honeymoon.

"I can only put it down to fate."

James said: "I used to love flying but in the last few years I've developed this massive fear of it.

"I thought I'd be able to handle it, but when we got to the airport and I just broke down in tears. I was shaking and in extreme panic.

James and Sarah enjoying their dream trip in the states

"Then Jason turned up out of the smoke and sat me down. You couldn't make it up.

"Within a few minutes he had hypnotised me and the next thing I know we were walking onto the plane.

"I was relaxed during the flight. It was like I was still in a trance because all the anxiety had drained out of me.

"He saved our honeymoon and it was the holiday of a lifetime. If it wasn't for him we would have just had two weeks at home.

"Sarah has always wanted to go to American and to go with her new husband was the dream.

"We would've lost thousands of pounds if it hadn't been for Jason because we had booked rooms and car hire and everything. We owe him massively."

Jason, who runs the the D4 Clinic in Dublin, said: "I had an idea what was up when I saw James and he asked me to help him.

Visit Rhode Island Hypnosis Center

Fear Of Flying - The Plane Facts

Statistically speaking, every row of three seats on a commercial airplane contains at least one passenger who’d really rather not be there. Their clammy palms grip the armrests on take-off, their eyes search frantically for a reassuring smile from the nearest stewardess, and their heart beats out of their chest with every little bump of turbulence.

The reality is - it’s a lack of control.  You see, most folks don’t know how planes work. So entrusting your existence to a tube of metal with flaps is a leap of faith, and a half-hearted one. However, most folks don’t know exactly how cars work either, but at least they know how to drive one. Therefore, should something go wrong while they're cruising down the road, they at least have a 50/50 chance of survival. If something goes wrong in a plane, not only are their prospects nil, but they also have a minute-long fall of 30,000 feet or so in which to mull over their imminent demise.

To make matters worse, the media doesn’t help. Most car accidents need to cause multiple fatalities just to make the local bulletins, but plane crashes fill the news for days - even if everyone makes it out alive.

For those of you have have a fear of flying, professor Robert Bor is here to help. One of the authors of a new book, Overcome Your Fear of Flying, Bor is not only a renowned clinical psychologist, but he’s also a qualified pilot. In this day and age - these fears, he says, are irrational.  In the 1920s it was a rational fear, because air accident rates were high, mortality rates were high, and even the chances of witnessing an air crash were high.

“In life there’s always some kind of risk,” he says, “but nowadays you have a greater chance of being kicked to death by a donkey than anything happening to you in an air crash. Yet people still project incidents and apply them to themselves. There have been two serious crashes recently, and people immediately assume there will be more and more and they’ll be affected. They overestimate the risk; that fear is now irrational.”

Of course, statistics do little to calm irrational anxiety, which is why Bor’s book, and his cognitive behavioural therapy-based treatments doesn't simply focus on facts like the drive to the airport is more dangerous than the flight itself. 

Bor, whose academic research is complemented by clinical work with sufferers, has some simple hints for anyone dreading their flights this holiday season – during which he regularly sees a spike in fear of flying.

Don’t avoid flying

"We try to make ourselves feel safer by avoiding things,” says Bor, “but it doesn’t help to deal with your problem. Avoiding flying can inhibit your career if your work involves travel. It can affect relationships (most people want to go on holiday) - many of them abroad, and some family events require us to travel.

You shouldn’t avoid it because it’s such a treatable problem. Fears and phobias have one of the highest success rates for treatment of any psychological problems. If you’re willing to give it a bit of time, you ought to be able to fly comfortably. You may still be gripping the armrests, but at least you’ll get to Majorca.

Think about the destination, not the journey

“Focus on the positive reasons for taking your flight,” says Bor. “Perhaps you’re going on holiday, visiting family or friends or just doing your job well. These all give you a purpose for taking your flight and added motivation to overcome your fear and move forward with your life.”

Challenge your negative thoughts

Not a huge fan of turbulence?  “That’s where a little bit of education can help. Turbulence arises because of air currents, that’s all. People might be alarmed by the sensation and worry about the structural integrity of the aircraft, but technically speaking it’s a non-issue.

“However, turbulence is a ‘trigger event’; it switches on people’s anxiety. It’s uncomfortable, but fearful passengers translate that into danger – and there’s a big difference between discomfort and danger. You might spill your hot coffee, but the plane isn’t going to fall apart … It’s important to identify such negative thoughts while flying and question them.”

Learn relaxation and distraction techniques

“When you start having negative feelings during a flight, redirect this energy,” advises Bor. “Focus on the external environment: for example, strike up a conversation with a fellow passenger or watch the crew as they go about their duties. Do something which will distract you from the negative thoughts, such as listening to your iPod, reading a book or watching a film.

“If you start to feel unsettled, sit back, fix your line of sight on the seat back ahead or something in the distance and breathe deeply in through your nose for five seconds and slowly out of your mouth for five seconds. Your heart rate will decrease almost immediately and within a minute or two, you will start to relax.”

Talk to the cabin crew

The simplest way to make sure that loud whirring sound is perfectly normal is to check that the cabin crew are still serving teas. “Cabin crew are trained to support fearful flyers and very willing to help,” says Bor. “When you board the plane, tell one of the crew you are anxious about flying. Outing yourself is very positive, because otherwise you become ashamed of it – suffering in silence makes it worse. Tell them how they can help: by dropping by to reassure you the flight is proceeding normally, by explaining unfamiliar noises, or by reminding you to use relaxation or distraction techniques. If you’re travelling with someone who knows you are anxious flyer, tell them how you plan to manage your fear and ask them to help.”

Stay hydrated

Unfortunately, Bor advises against my method of getting drunk to induce sleep or emotional levity. “People use alcohol, medication, recreational drugs, but although they may allay some symptoms of fear briefly, they actually tend to intensify the problem. Alcohol has a different effect at altitude and with low humidity. One glass of wine on the plane is equivalent to nearly two on the ground. You get drunk more quickly, but even if you doze off for 20 minutes, your anxiety levels may increase afterwards. So you start to drink more and more to overcome the problem.

“Before and during the flight, it’s important to keep blood sugar levels up. Stick to water and juices to keep hydrated and remember to eat little and often to maintain your energy, which can help control anxiety levels. Rest if you can, though sleep is not essential.”

Plan ahead

Set yourself achievable goals, says Bor, such as starting with short-haul flights before taking that ambitious trip to the South Pacific. And you should also practice relaxation on the ground.

“If you wait until you’re in a stressful situation to learn relaxation, it’s not as effective. Learn which techniques work for you before flying. You’ll then be able to invoke them much more easily when you need them. Remember, you can’t just click your fingers and magically never have to worry again. But if you give it time, the chances of overcoming your fears are incredibly high.”



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