Things That Are More Therapeutic Than Therapy III: Bumpy Flights

Having had to brave Storm Dennis from inside his bowels at approximately 24000ft in the air, today was a jarring reminder of the deepset fear brought on by in-flight turbulence. The acute anxiety experienced as an aircraft rolls, pitches and yaws its perrilous way toward the ground is an excellent opportunity to practice how to deal with things outside of our own control. Rationally, I knew that I was essentially completely safe, and this situation was far less dangerous than basically every time I drive a car. I knew there was nothing I could do about it; my catastrophisizing was not going to change the weather, for regrettably I am not Zeus himself. All I could do was close me eyes, breath, and accept my current reality, and as it turns out, I did live to fight another day. I think the practicee in these kinds of scenarios is invaluable, as they are very intense but also very simple, and so any skills learned can easily be transplanted into social situations - or at least I hope so. Still, I’m glad I’m not flying again anytime soon.