After having panic attacks on my way to India from the US back in April and only making it part of the way before turning back, I finally made it and finally got to see my mother in law after so many years! Since I had only done a couple of much smaller exposure flights leading up to this, my therapist and I agreed that it was prudent to use a medication since this was a big leap and I was flying alone (my husband is already in India taking care of his mom). The med helped for sure, but most importantly I was able to still experience the anxious and intrusive thoughts and accept them. All of the strong body sensations I accepted too. I accepted that I might have a panic attack. When my friend was dropping me off at the airport, I confidently said "what's the worst that can happen?" which I've never really done before. Anyway, a lot more work to do with this, but this was a good milestone.
