Hard Core Cases - And Free Help For Mild Cases

The program I run specializes in help the really "hard core" cases of fear of flying that cannot be helped anywhere else. No matter what you have tried, if you have not had success, the problem is not with you, but with the method of help given.

But a person with mild flight anxiety can get by with the 5-4-3-2-1 exercise.

Focus on some object in front of you. Say "I see" and then name something in your peripheral vision. Then say "I see" and name something else in your peripheral vision. Continue until you have made five statements.

Maintaining focus, say the words "I hear" and name something you hear. Then say "I hear" and name something else you hear. Continue until you have made five statements.

Maintaining focus, say the words "I feel" and name something you are touching.

That completes one cycle. It takes intense concentration. That is exactly what we want. As you concentrate on non-threatening things, the "fight or flight" hormones that were in your body when you started the exercise get burned off. As they get used up, you get more relaxed.

To keep the concentration intense, we make one change: instead of doing five statements again, do four statements. Then, in the next cycle, do three statements. Then, in the next cycle, do two statements. Then, in the next cycle, do one
statement. Then, in the next cycle, we go back to five, etc.

Use this exercise as early as possible to control panic before it can take hold.

Capt. Tom Bunn LCSW
President, SOAR Inc.