Miracle on the Hudson: Pilots’ vs. Passengers’ Reaction to the Impending Plane Crash

Photo by Rick Hustead

On January 15, 2009, US Airlines pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger successfully landed the crippled US Airbus A320 he was flying, on the Hudson River after it was struck by a flock of geese. Sully’s and First Officer Jeffrey Skiles’s actions that day were a veritable master class in over-riding the instinctive fight-flight emergency response and staying out of a natural state of hypnosis to successfully do their job.

Clint Eastwood directed the movie Sully, which is based on Sullenberger’s memoir about the crash and the subsequent National Transportation Safety Board investigation about it. I remembered the incident when it happened seven years ago; until information was available that the jet had a problem, I was one of many people who wondered if the crash was a failed terrorist attack. The image of an airplane flying very low over New York City brought back memories of 9/11; only this time, the plane landed on the water and, miraculously, everyone on board survived and waited for rescue on the wings or inflatable rafts.

 When I watched the movie a couple weeks ago, I was fascinated by the way the Sully and Skiles were able to focus on their jobs throughout the ordeal. As the cockpit warning system continuously announced their imminent peril (“terrain”), Sully continuously updated officials at La Guardia Airport’s air-traffic control office of their status while trying to fly the doomed to a nearby airport for an emergency landing. Meanwhile, Skiles consulted the in-flight manual and tried every trouble-shooting technique it listed to re-start the stalled engines. Talk about a subconscious overload! As Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D., explained, hypnosis is created by an overload of message units, disorganizing our inhibitory process, triggering our fight-flight mechanism and ultimately resulting in a hyper-suggestible state, providing access to the subconscious mind. Somehow, no matter what Sully’s and Skiles’s survival instincts were likely screaming at them to do, both men were able to over-ride the instinctive fight-flight reaction and remain alert, aware and able to do what they needed to do, to land the jet in one piece and save lives. Even when the captain realized they would not make it to a runway, his voice remained calm and measured as he made the announcement: “This is the captain. Brace for impact.” 

Meanwhile, the director successfully juxtaposed the crew’s relative calm with evidence of growing panic and anxiety of the passengers after the strike. They were already suspicious that something was wrong after a loud bang reverberated through the main cabin followed by brief turbulence, which were caused by the birds impacting the engines. As flight attendants walked down the aisles to remind people to keep their seat-belts on, whispered questions and reassurances became more urgent. When the pilot told everyone to prepare for a crash landing, the terrified passengers began to pray, scream/cry in earnest. Loved ones embraced each other; people flying alone sent frantic “good-bye” texts to family members at home. Even complete strangers reached out to hold the hand of someone sitting beside them, not wanting to be alone if this was the end of their lives. These behaviors are consistent with drifting into the hyper-suggestible state of hypnosis.

Then the plane hit the water and floated rather than sink directly to the bottom of the river. The passengers realized that they were somehow still alive and in one piece; many people started to laugh and cry again as endorphins flooded their bloodstream. The flight attendants immediately started to hustle people out of their seats and move toward emergency exits to evacuate the flooding plane. A couple people jumped right into the icy river and started to swim toward the distant shore when they were told to get out. Watching this scene, I knew that this reaction was in response to a direct and literal instruction (Physical suggestibility). However, during an emergency like this, they were more likely—quite simply—in a hyper-suggestible state (somnambulist) and were already retreating into a trance or dissociated state of awareness. Surviving a plane crash is an ultimate example of a fight-or-flight- inducing situation, and these passengers were prepared to fight (swim) for their lives.

Meanwhile, Captain Sullenberger, First Officer Skiles and the flight attendants continued to usher the frantic passengers out of the jet, reminding people to leave personal belongings while offering whatever reassurances they could that rescue was on the way. When Sully finally exits, himself—after taking a final check for any remaining passengers that might still be cowering on the plane—we see him grabs the flight log and his uniform jacket from the cockpit. It is possible that his conscious mind directed these actions: It’s bitterly cold outside so I should take the coat; and this information will be helpful to figure out why the plane went down. However, I believe they were more likely examples of a subconscious known, behaviors he learned and reinforced over and over during nearly 20,000 hours of flying experience. From the moment he stepped into the cockpit and went through the pre-flight checklist to take-off and landing, the captain would automatically followed flight and safety protocols until the end of the flight/journey.

When the NTSB concluded their investigation into “the Miracle on the Hudson,” Captain Sullenberger’s experience piloting glider airplanes was also credited with facilitating this life-saving emergency landing. When every manual correction and over-ride failed to re-start the jet’s engines, Sully reportedly used his instinct, judgment and some of his glider experience to “land” the plane. Previous attempted water landings of other commercial jets had resulted in mass casualties, and it took 17 tries for pilots in flight-simulation tests to “successfully” land after a bird strike like the one that felled US Airways Flight 1549. It wasn’t just a miracle that saved 155 lives on the Hudson River, but Sully’s experience as a pilot and subconscious mental script that enabled him to do exactly what needed to be done at exactly the right time.

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation about Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2016

When the Presenting Problem is a Symptom

(This blog was originally posted on June 10, 2015)

Photo by Rick Hustead

Sometimes, an issue that a client presents to the hypnotherapist during a therapy session is a symptom rather than the cause of another problem. For example, increased anxiety and various signs of physical discomfort such as light-headedness, headache or nausea may suggest that the individual is experiencing symptoms of low blood-sugar levels rather than just responding to a specific stress trigger. Low blood-sugar levels can also trigger a phobic reaction. (For more information about this relationship, see my blog titled Nutrition and the Development of Fears and Phobias.) In this case, it is important for the hypnotherapist to work with the client’s physician to create an appropriate nutrition program to control the blood-sugar level and incorporate suggestions about nutrition and healthy eating during hypnosis to reduce these symptoms.

However, it is also possible that a client’s behaviors or emotional responses/reactions are actually manifestations of his or her repressed emotions: i.e., a body syndrome. Once a licensed medical doctor has ruled out a physical etiology (cause) of the symptom, the hypnotherapist may explore the cause of the symptom in the context of body syndromes. For example, persistent pain in the client’s shoulders and upper back (Responsibility Syndrome) may provide a secondary gain of being “allowed” to avoid participating in certain activities undesirable at work or with the person’s family.

For example, Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D., explained how a client’s persistent hoarse throat and fatigue was actually a symptom of her subconscious resistance toward the woman’s husband/manager’s pushing her to accomplish something. The client, a singer, also experienced symptoms of low blood-sugar that were brought on by her husband’s demands for perfection in her performances. The hypnotherapist determined that his client was subconsciously motivated to use her hoarse throat as a way to avoid having to sing when she didn’t feel like it. Consequently, Dr. Kappas approached her therapy by first addressing her behaviors (e.g., feeling tired and hoarseness). He explained how her nutrition contributed to her feeling tired and recommended ways to change her diet that would increase her energy. Next, he explored with her the various reasons why (cause) she was experiencing the hoarseness and addressed the client’s perception of her husband’s perfectionist tendencies as a source of her stress and subconscious resistance.

Once the client understood how the various sources of perceived external and internal pressure on her to perform were affecting her behavior, the hypnotherapist discussed ways of treating her symptoms. First, Dr. Kappas encouraged her and her husband to separately work with a therapist to work out some of their professional conflicts. Then he worked with the client to help her husband agree that they could change their interactions with each other and how this behavior change could be achieved. Ultimately, the woman’s symptoms would dissipate as her relationship with her spouse/manager improved, thus ameliorating her subconscious desire to avoid singing/performing because their pattern of interacting with each other became less stressful.

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2016

Proprioception

Photo by Rick Hustead

When I count a client up and out of hypnosis at the end of the hypnotherapy session, I always drop in a suggestion that the individual begins to become more aware of his or her physical body. I add that the person is also becoming more aware of where the body is in relation to relaxing in the recliner in my office. I do this to re-stimulate the person’s proprioception: i.e., awareness of the different areas of the physical body and strength in relation to movement and position in the environment in the alert and aware state.

Proprioception is something most of us take for granted on a day-to-day basis. Remember, the conscious mind can only process a small amount of information at any one time. The ability to discern important (urgent) information is necessary for our survival, which is why so much of what the subconscious mind perceives and processes “rarely” makes it to conscious awareness. Can you imagine what your day would be like if you constantly felt the scratching sensation caused by the label stitched inside the collar of your shirt or blouse? How long would it take for you to become overwhelmed by the persistent sensation of each muscle in your legs constrict and relax while you walked across the room?

Consequently, we don’t think about how our muscles, tendons, joints and bones work let alone what they are supposed to do when we first roll out of bed or run to catch a bus or train. We just do the activity and expect that everything in the body is working/doing what it is supposed to. When we feel threatened by something in the environment or even the environment, itself, we become very aware of every muscle in the body. As the subconscious mind goes into the fight/flight data processing, the conscious mind wonders: How fast can I get out of here if I need to escape?

 

Another time we become much more aware and attuned to what is going on is when things don’t work like they should, such as after an injury or during an illness. For example, people who experience chronic pain are often hyper-alert to every sensation in the body as they try to find some position that provides some relief, if only for a little while.

Athletes, including dancers, naturally tend have very good proprioception. Or, I should clarify that this “natural” ability is a learned, oft-rehearsed behavior that has become a subconscious mental script. These individuals must have this to successfully execute their special skill in the sport to achieve the winning goal or point or, ensure that their movements seem effortless as their and their dance partner’s bodies flow with choreography. No matter what is going on, these individuals remain consciously and subconsciously aware of/attuned to the placement of the body and what it is and should be doing at all times. 

When my yoga teacher started to explained proprioception to the class today, instructing us to pay greater attention to specific areas of our bodies, she reminded me how similar this physical work is to what I help clients do in hypnotherapy. She wanted us (the students) to increase our awareness of how these separate parts worked together (or not) by noticing if there was any resistance in certain areas and then ease that tension by breathing into it. She also suggested that it was okay to allow ourselves to release or let go of anything we felt was holding us back or what we no longer wanted or needed to hold onto in our lives. This exercise reminded me so much of what I do with my hypnotherapy clients: i.e., inviting the breath into the body to release tightness and tension while increasing their relaxation, calm and comfort. Like yoga, hypnotherapy is an opportunity to increase self-awareness and make desired behavior changes starting with something as simple breathing in and breathing out. Directing awareness to what we are able to do to increase comfort within and control of the entire body or just specific areas is a great way to build self-confidence and belief in our ability to handle other areas of our lives.

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2016