DO I KNOCK MYSELF OUT FOR THE FLIGHT?

My boyfriend of a few months wants to go on holiday to Mauritius in December. It’s wonderful and romantic but I have a pathological fear of flying and have been on an airplane only once in my life, which was very traumatic.

I haven’t told him and don’t really know how to. I don’t want him to think I’m a nutcase, so what do I do? Should I just take sleeping tablets and knock myself out during the flight? Belinda, email Knocking yourself out with sleeping tablets on the flight isn’t a solution because your phobia will be evident to your boyfriend long before the plane takes off. People who have a pathological fear of flying generally have a problem even getting onto the plane and once on it tend to feel so trapped that their anxiety becomes quite obvious.

The good news is it’s only June and your phobia can be addressed in therapy and with medication. Make an appointment with a psychologist – preferably one trained in hypnotherapy – as soon possible. Hypnotherapy is an excellent therapeutic technique to address phobias in a restricted time frame.

You need to tell your boyfriend about your phobia as your therapist will have to explain to him how he can help you on the flight. There’s no shame in having a phobia – many people have phobias about all sorts of things. Also, with the right help, phobias can be resolved or at the very least become easier to live with.