When we were on the flight from Puerto Vallarta to Mexico City, I was at a window seat and Chris had the aisle.

We had our tray tables down and the man in front of me suddenly reclined his seat all the way.

I sat there trying to rearrange my legs and I couldn’t straighten them out. Suddenly, with the seat so far back, the tray in my lap and the window at my side, the felt trapped. I felt panic rise up in me and I turned to Chris and said, “I need to get out of here.”

Fortunately he recognized immediately that I was having an attack of claustrophobia and got out of the seat as fast as humanly possible.“

Standing up in the aisle was not helping me. My brain was screaming at me that I was In an enclosed tube flying through the air and I could not get out. I felt like I was approaching the edge of my sanity as my mind teetered toward a full on panic attack.

I mentally envisioned myself gripping my brain in my hands and I spoke to it slowly. "You need to get ahold of yourself and calm down. If you freak out about this, there is nothing anyone can do to help you here. You cannot go outside. You cannot lose it. Keep it together. You are ok.”

I looked to the back of the plane that was full of empty seats and made my way down there. The further I got from the crowded area full of passengers, the calmer I felt. Finally I found a pair of unoccupied seats and made myself comfortable.

I looked around and checked myself. Was I feeling confined? Was the plane feeling too small? Nope. Not a hint of discomfort. I couldn’t even imagine how I’d felt like the plane was closing around me just minutes ago.

I slept for the rest of the trip and most of the two other flights we had that day. I was fine. But the episode really scared me. I’d never felt that kind of panic before. I felt like I was losing my mind. I hope it never ever happens again because it was terrifying, to feel so close to completely losing control. I’m glad I was able to talk myself down. I hope I never have to do that again either.