‘My fear of flying melted away’
Brigette Barrett, 62, lives in Kent with her husband Steven, 64, and has three grown-up children, Emma, 43, and twins Robert and Ronnie, 26.
Three years ago, I remember listening to my daughter Emma, then 40, talking about that year’s family holiday. It filled me with guilt because I knew my husband Steven, 61, and sons, 23, who were still living at home with us, would love nothing more than to travel abroad.
But the thought of getting on a plane filled me with terror. At 59, I’d never flown anywhere.
As a child, my family always stayed in the UK, and that inexperience led to fear. I just couldn’t get that idea of
something going wrong out of my head. When I met my husband, we agreed to holiday in the UK because of it.
Then in 2019, my daughter’s friend recommended that I see hypnotherapist Robert Hisee. I dismissed the idea but, that May, Emma decided to book me an appointment at his clinic.
Robert was incredibly calming, and as we chatted on the sofa with me sitting back with my eyes closed, we discussed my fears about something going wrong during a flight. He asked me to visualise getting on a plane, to imagine what that might feel like, how take-off and landing would feel.
We did that a few times during the session, each time running through the same scenario. By the end of the session, I felt incredibly impatient to get on a plane and I remember laughing at myself in disbelief. Little could I have imagined what Robert had planned. ‘We’re going on one next week,’ he smiled. Just days later, I found myself at Gatwick Airport, ready to be whisked away on my very first flight.
MISSING OUT
I expected to be a bag of nerves but I found that I was more excited than anything else. Boarding the plane, I felt no nerves or anxiety, I just wanted to experience something that I’d missed out on for my whole life. I thought that I’d be at least worried during take-off, but it was exhilarating. I loved it! Two hours later, after a smooth flight, we landed in Marbella.
I spent the rest of the day raring to get back to the airport. Three years on, I haven’t been able to get back on a plane because of COVID-19 and, more recently, flight disruptions, but as soon as I can I’ll be booking a family holiday abroad.
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