Share the therapy

From the preflight to the post flight, our minds are fixed on the airplane, weather conditions, and flight at hand. Similarly, flying can be therapeutic for nonpilots before, during, and long after the flight itself.

With rare exception, my head clears of everything except the airplane and going flying from the moment I walk up to the tiedown or open the hangar door. The weight of the world lifts as I lift off the ground to enjoy a sunset flight for 30 minutes to an hour. Afterward, the thoughts that had been plaguing me might return, but something about seeing the earth from above has put them into better perspective. I’m left with a sense of peace that sustains me the rest of the evening and night.

That’s one of the rewards of flying. Now, when I take others flying, I strive to instill in each passenger a sense of joy, peace, or excitement that lifts the weight of the world off their shoulders for a little while.

For those who aren’t pilots and don’t fly often, going up for a flight is an escape. A teenager who’s a little nervous about starting his freshman year of high school. A middle schooler who is adjusting to a new school. A teacher, mom, wife, and daughter who is juggling working full time, teaching a new aviation curriculum to her students, raising a teenager, and managing care for her terminally ill father. A mother who just sent her firstborn off to college. A flight can give them—and their loved ones—a respite from life’s stresses.

Anticipation builds leading up to the flight. Conversations with friends and family are now more about the upcoming opportunity, providing a break for all involved from the weight they have been carrying.

In flight, the hum of the aircraft engine is often calming and the bird’s-eye view of the earth exhilarating. A grand flight to an exciting destination isn’t necessary. Flying over their house, finding local landmarks from the air, and watching the sun set behind cumulus clouds is more than enough to do the trick. They might fly in silence, chatter nonstop, take you up on an offer to take the controls for a little while during cruise flight, or just sit back and relax. Either way, they are most likely getting what they need to renew their spirit.

After the flight, their excitement will be contagious as they describe their experience with ear-to-ear grins. Once again, the focus shifts for a bit to the thrill of flight versus class assignments, making friends at a new school, medical visits, and goodbyes. With that, a family sees their teenager excited about a new passion; a mom uses the flight to talk to her son about how “things seem even smaller from a higher point of view”; students reap the benefits of their teacher’s experience; and a husband and children get to see their wife and mother joyful after an emotional milestone of taking her son to college.

And for the passenger? He or she can relive the flight anytime.

The next time you are talking to family members, friends, or neighbors about some of the stresses going on in their lives, offer to take them up during your next therapy session. It could do a world of good that extends beyond those on board the flight.