Health & Wellbeing Scared of flying, or maybe you faint at the

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN 
YOU NEED EXPERT HELP?
“Many people can ‘manage’ their phobias 
to the point where they only feel a sense of 
unease around the object or situation, but if 
the response is extreme and begins to affect 
your daily life, then it is important to seek 
help,” says Dr Audrey Tang, a chartered 
psychologist, mental health and wellness 
expert and author of new book The Leader’s 
Guide to Resilience
(Pearson, £14.99). 
“Symptoms can include a sense of dread, 
restlessness, constantly feeling ‘on edge’, 
difficulty concentrating, dizziness, tiredness/
lack of sleep, strong or irregular heartbeat, 
muscle aches or tension, sweating and or 
shaking, shortness of breath and feeling
or being sick. Unfortunately, they can affect 
your ability to function and in turn, can cause 
further consequences. For example, if a lack 
of sleep causes lapses in your focus you may 
underperform at work, or if you become 
easily irritable this can affect relationships. 
Furthermore, if you notice loved ones start 
responding differently, for example, they 
are on edge if they notice the feared object/
situation (often because they fear for your 
response) – your behaviour can be affecting 
them, and any of this rings a bell it’s definitely 
time to seek help.”
Hypnotherapy could be a great option, 
as Richard explains: “Sometimes as few as 
one or two sessions can help bring about a 
significant change in how the phobia source 
is experienced. The best time to tackle a 
phobia is sooner rather than later. The longer 
it persists the bigger it can get and become a 
larger issue to deal with, which can sometimes 
mean more sessions are needed.”
“Therapy and counselling can help you
get to the root of your fear and rebuild
from the ground up,” adds Tess.
“Having support can make all the
difference when it comes to battling a
phobia, so don’t hesitate to ask for it.”
Turn the page to read about two 
women who faced their fears 
and overcame their phobias...
“Writing is 
a powerful 
way to 
get a new 
perspective 
on things”

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Health & Wellbeing
A phobia can seriously 
impact your life, but as 
these women prove, you 
can always turn it around
“We faced
our fears”
Natalie Trice, career coach
and PR mentor (natalietrice.co.uk), 
reveals the impact that a fear
of needles had on her life.
“For as long as I can remember,
I’ve hated needles, and anything from a flu 
jab, blood test and the epidurals I needed 
when I gave birth to my two sons, freaked 
me out. Things reached an epic level when 
I was told I needed a filling (only my second 
by the time I was 38) at which point I 
crumpled into a teary mess at the thought
of the injection. This was, of course, 
mortifying and ridiculous, but the
feeling was totally real to me. 
With my ever-sympathetic dentist 
letting me know I could be fully sedated, 
but it would mean not being able to drive 
for 12 hours, and would cost nearly £200, 
I decided that enough was enough and I 
needed to sort this out for once and for all. 
After doing some research, I booked 
in with a fantastic hypnotherapist and over 
two 90-minute sessions we looked at the 
phobia, what happened when I felt fear 
creeping in and where this all came from. 
It seemed that a booster jab at 13, where 
everyone was whipped into a frenzy about 
the six massive needles, was at the root of 
the problem. The fact that we were lined up 
in a corridor and had the vaccination in front 
of everyone, a stiff upper lip, tears in my 
eyes and revealing a chubby arm in public, 
all led to me hating needles. Looking back, 
it made sense, but I had never put two and 
two together before then. By the time I 
reached the dentist’s chair a couple of
weeks later, I was fine. I did take a friend
with me, but I didn’t need full sedation
and it felt like a huge weight had been
lifted from my shoulders. 
While I still don’t particularly like needles, 
they no longer bother me to the same extent, 
which is good given that my second COVID 
vaccination is coming up. If, like me, you’re 
worried about needles, I’d give you the 
following pieces of advice:
l
Don’t look – I never look at the 
needle and don’t even watch them 
being given to people on the TV.
l
Taking deep breaths, in for four, and 
out for six, really helps me to get centred 
if I am feeling nervous – this works in a lot of 
situations, not just at a medical appointment.
l
If you’re are struggling with these feelings, 
talk to someone and see if you can get 
some support. It might seem silly and 
weak to ask, but if it is having an
impact on your life, confidence
and wellbeing, it’s worth doing.”
“...IT FELT LIKE A HUGE 
WEIGHT HAD BEEN LIFTED 
FROM MY SHOULDERS”

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Health & Wellbeing
F E E L W E L L
Hannah Bailey, a psychotherapist
(BWRT) and wellbeing coach (bwrt-
professionals.com), tells us how
she overcame a fear of flying. 
“I’ve suffered from a fear of flying since 
a young age, although I have no specific 
memory of a difficult flight or traumatic 
experience of when this began. However, 
my mum was always frightened of flying,
so I suppose this would be the most
obvious reason for my own fear. 
The fear and panic around flying seemed 
to increase as I got older. Even the process of 
booking a flight would turn my stomach over, 
because I knew that I would have to endure 
the flight before I could enjoy my holiday. 
Once I boarded the plane I would 
be checking and double checking my 
surroundings – did the pilots and crew look 
experienced and professional, were there 
any strange noises, did the plane look
evenly balanced with passengers? I would
be hyper vigilant and feel particularly 
distressed if I felt another passenger
was loud, difficult or drunk in any way. 
Once in the air, I would try and remain 
calm and relaxed using some different 
mindfulness techniques that I had learnt 
however, these always required a lot of 
effort, and weren’t always successful. If we 
encountered turbulence, then this is the