Читать книгу Phobias: Fighting the Fear - Helen Saul - Страница 11

On the ‘Fly with Confidence’ course, comradeship built up through the morning as people derived comfort from each other’s questions and shared fear. The group started to bond. But as the day wore on they became more subdued, less friendly, some even angry at how ill-prepared they felt to climb aboard. People kept looking at their watches in alarm at how quickly the flight was approaching. During a desensitisation exercise, they were asked to imagine various scenes, such as checking in, waiting to board, climbing the steps to the plane. After each scene they were to return to deep relaxation. ‘Impossible,’ muttered the man on my right.

Despite such misgivings, all but one or two got on the plane and their relief was unmistakable. However, this was not universal. Across the aisle, a pale young man sat with his eyes closed, his head against the headrest. He was probably trying out newly learned relaxation exercises but he could have been praying. Helpful stewards provided numerous glasses of water, eliciting wan smiles, but did not make him much more comfortable. Occasionally he would open his eyes, look round, run his fingers through his hair and exchange a word with his neighbour. Then it was back to his private hell.

The man beside me seemed coolly confident, but confided that it was only OK because we were flying British Airways. The woman on the other side looked close to tears but chatted incessantly. ‘I must be all right because I’m talking,’ she said. ‘If I was really bad I would be in a corner taking no notice of anyone.’

People are recovering in their thousands through courses like this, but the process is demanding. The pale young man only slowly regained his colour and back in the terminal he was still, inexplicably, clutching his untouched airline meal.