Hello everyone, I am(was) an F/o for a regional here in the U.S
Before that I was a flight instructor and a 135 F/o.
I am 24yrs old and I have been flying for 7 years.
A little over one year ago while i was a CFI i began feeling discomfort in flying. The discomfort began when, while flying as a pax in a light twin I saw some things going on up front that really troubled me. From that day on I felt a light 'something is wrong' feeling. As time progressed this feeling went from a constant 'something wrong' to a more acute 'Anxiety/panic'
feeling, and from introspection, I noticed it localized itself to occur on calm clear days(oddly enough). I could fly in a sigmet and be cool and composed but god forbid it was clear and calm.
I went and saw someone for this anxiety and yes, it did go away but the darn thing creeped back and now its here again and its bad.
Today, after 7 years of flying and deteriorating health, I made the decision to quit flying. I am doing this for my passengers, they dont deserve someone upfront that is less than 100% and I am doing this for myself.
so here I am, all my work as a pilot is over...now the question is. Am I alone? are there other pilots who felt this?
thanks for listening gang, I am sure the responses will be constructive and objective.

There has been quite a lot on this type of problem in the past. One of the threads was "Panic attacks" I think. Run some searches on this or depression etc. You could also search under my screen name / medical if all else fails.

The folk on this forum were very supportive, and I'm sure will be again.

It would help if we knew the nature of the trigger for this problem.

DON'T worry Trentino.... there are millions of people similarly afflicted. There is nothing wrong with you and it's just a matter of learning to control the situation. As I'm sure you were told, deep, slow breaths will help immensely. Exercise helps too - if you're not fit then get going on some jogging or, as I do, use an indoor running machine.

Do take further professional advice because this can be fixed without drugs, although it will take some strong willpower by you and it'll be a while before it is fixed for good. You are not "ill", it's just that you are noticing bodily reactions which you wouldn't normally and you are worrying about them. This just makes them worse.

Listen to an air traffic controller who has been through it big time - you WILL be OK.

Good luck..

thanks for the reply guys. Looking back, I see I didnt give enough info on what I believe started this.
around one year ago, I was a pax in a light twin. While in cruise I was relaxing, reading a book when suddenly we began some pretty violent maneuvers. Maneuvers that all of us have seen one time or another while training, they were nothing I would call acrobatic. I 'felt' them to be about +1.5g's to 0.0g's. with heavy banking and pitching. After these maneuvers stopped, I felt I couldnt catch my breath and actually experienced my first anxiety attack.
Those maneuevers, it turns out, where just the guys up front 'messing around'
Because of those maneuvers I have completely lost trust in whoever I fly with. When I flew with my students, letting them have the controls was very hard but manageable because I was next to them. As a passenger in a jet, just recently, the anxiety generalized itself there too. I somehow lost trust in those guys too and have this anxious feeling they will pull the same stunt.
OK, now that everyone here believes im a certified nut ;)
I must add that I am completely rational and generally a calm and understanding person. The rational part of me knows that everything will be ok up there, the anxious part feels otherwise.
I know I will get over this, I just hope that I havnt caused too much damage to myself.

Trentino;

You've finally discovered that many of us go through these stages in life. I had a nervous breakdown in 1997. When I returned to work on regaining my medical I found some real a:mad: holes in the company who thought it could never happen to them. But , there were a surprising number who laughed and joked about it with compassion and understanding because it had happened to them.

VH:ok:

Trentino,

That anxiety vs rationality thing is, for me, the worst aspect of this illness. You know it's not rational and yet can't stop feeling anxious; how does that work?! My symptoms have seen me not getting on any form of public transport so I can certainly sympathise.

I'm currently on anti-depressants and awaiting an outpatients appt for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy which I'm advised can be very effective (it might be worth asking your GP if this is an option but the waiting list here is 9-10 months). My GP also suggested alternative therapies. I was very sceptical but have quite taken to reike which, if nothing else, gives me an hour of excellent relaxation. I think it may be helping - I enjoy it so I'm sticking with it. I also try to exercise which is supposed to help - I go swimming cos I find it relaxing too. Finally, Zinc supplements are also said to help.

Hope I've not been telling you too much stuff you don't already know. I've suffered a fair few illnesses in my time - hey, I even contrived to die once! - but anxiety is easily the worst thing that's happened to me (well I wasn't aware of the dying thing at the time; ignorance was bliss!) precisely because I've always been driven by logic and rationality and then something really irrational struck me down. I hope it's some consolation to you that, having taken steps to reduce stress in my life (along with meds etc) I'm now feeling a lot better and more contented. Good luck to you - and remember you are by no means alone.

Great to know im not alone with this. I feel very cheated and robbed with this feeling. All my life I worked to be a pilot, it was actually my first and only job ( I know, Ive been lucky!) and now its gone.
I am in quite a bind now as to what I can do for a living I dont think/know what else I am qualified to do. Does anyone have suggestions about this? I thought about being a ground instructor, maybe start my own company as the main ground instructor.
Any suggestions?

thanks!

Hello Trentino,

I went through a period of anxiety attacks. Not nice to say the least. As has been said before it is helpful to identify the cause of the problem i.e. to much stress, etc and then rectify this. I am no expert but I suspect that you are more uncomfortable on “calm clear days” because you have less of a workload and your mind then begins to focus on anxiety. Does that make sense?

“what can I do for a living”

Ok, this may seem a million miles away at the moment, but I’d recommend being a pilot. I had anxiety before I became a pilot, while saving up for my training. At the time I thought all was lost and I would never be able to fly. However, after time I recovered. I then passed my Class1 medical, PPL and am now studying for my ground exams.

In summary I’d get help and get sorted. You won’t recover overnight but in time you will. Once recovered I see no reason why you couldn’t return to flying and put all this behind you.

P.s. Before anyone asks, no MikeLewis is not my real name.

Trentino, I've got to applaud your selflessness in addressing your problem, and stopping flying, for the sake of your passengers.

Its a fine line between when a normal reaction to stress, becomes a phobia/ anxiety problem.

Sometimes people forget that flying aircraft, is a serious business, with potentially disasterous consequences if we mess up. I'm not sure if your fears are indeed that irrational.

From the replies on here, it doesn't sound like your alone. Go and re-visit your therapist, and have a read about CBT/ NLP.

good luck to a speedy recovery.

Hey there guys..thanks for all the support so far.
I do feel great to know that others experience this..although
I wish no one did. MikeLewis, if I may ask, what 'symptoms' did you experience when you had your anxiety attack?
I, for example, would experience tightness of my throat, Like someone was choking me, dizziness and an overall fear from those symptoms. There were many times however when I flew that I did not experience the attacks and really enjoyed my job.
I will begin seeing a doctor shortly, but unfortunatly I live in a country where healthcare is a luxury, I need to work for a period of time in a job(if i ever find one) and work for my medical coverage.
When I did see the doctor previously for this, my anxiety attacks definatly diminished, but because I had some slow flying months(I wasnt always flying) I could not cement the therapy for it to take effect and my anxiety resumed.
I just decided to take a few years away from flying and come back to it when the 'wounds have healed' ............
and now, just to recap, others who have had anxiety,what were your symptoms,thoughts, and when did they occur most frequently?

Trentino check your PM's.

It is my unqualified opinion that the tight throat and the dizziness have the same root cause. Yes it's all part of the same problem, but also well down the process, the spasms are part of a common reaction.

A lot of people do not realise just how tight some of these muscles can get...very, very unpleasant. You are certainly not alone in these symptoms either, and yes, they will go away.

Trentino,

You are not alone. I dug back through the Pprune archives and retrieved a post I made on a very similar topic many moons ago. (Well, I'm allowed to plagiarise my own words aren't I?)

This is not at all uncommon, especially among pilots in their late twenties and early thirties, will even admit to suffered a twinge or two of it myself in that age bracket. Seen it countless times to varying degrees in airline trainees of mine. The worst case I saw was a captain friend on 'heavies' who abandoned his career because of it, became so sick of himself in his self imposed grounding that he went back to airline ops and became chief pilot of a national carrier!

The one odd common thread in all cases was that the sufferers seemed to be of above average intelligence and flying ability.

Now the good part - In each and every case time was the healing factor, never less than a few months, and never more than 2 or 3 years. During a lengthy attachment which I had in training, the company's consulting psychologist referred a few deeply troubled souls to a hypno-therapist, this seemed to achieve good results.

Hang in there, do the responsible thing and stay on the ground if it really is all a bit too much for the moment, time is a great healer for this problem.

IT WILL PASS!

Regards,

Old Smokey

Hello Trentino. I'm sorry you have had such a bad run with the anxiety symptoms. As you can see above, there are a few people who have experienced similar symptoms and that must be a bit of a comfort to know you are not on your own. It's a bit unfortunate that you are not in a position to get some professional help. Anxiety and Panic symptoms are very similar to some physical disorders and that's one of the main reasons for attending a general practioner, so that you can be screened for other conditions.

So assuming all that has been checked out.

A large part of overcoming anxiety is self-education on how and why anxiety occurs. Much of that you can do yourself. A number of good web sites that might assist, as well as some good publications.

http://familydoctor.org/137.xml
Some of the publications by Paul Wilson are pretty good, especially if you trying to manage it on your own. www.calmcentre.com
Dr Ainsley Mears -" Life Without Stress", as well as anything else by her you can get hold of.
"The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook" by J. Edmund.
"Beyond Anxiety - Step by Step Guide to Lifetime Recovery" by J. Edmund and D. Bourne

Have a look around for relaxation cd or tapes. Often available over the net or in Alternative Medicine shops.

The books above should be available on Amazon.com


cheers
Hawk

Hi Trentino,

The good news is that the anxiety you are feeling is treatable.
My girlfriend is a Clinical Psychologist at the Maudsley in London and has given me some details that may be of interest.

The CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) model has the greastest evidence base for treating anxiety and results are very, very good.

NLP (neuro linguistic programming) is not something that is recommended and is not used by healthcare professionals.

The Priory has a specialist department dealing in pilot anxieties and is run by one of our friends (I cannot name him for obvious reasons)
He deals exclusively with professional pilots and their anxieties using CBT and has an outstanding reputation.
They may be able to help you with this.

Please understand that there are many different forms of psychological treatment and therapy many of which are unsuitable and have little evidence base supporting treatment of this kind of anxiety (psychodynamic for instance) so choosing the correct treatment is very important.

Don't write off a hard won career for what is a manageable, treatable state of mind.

I wish you all the best and please feel free to pm me if you need further information.

The following link may get you started.

Link (http://www.prioryhealthcare.co.uk/Find-a-centre/Facilities/Priory-Hospital-North-London/Cognitive-behaviour-therapy-CBT)

Apologies, I just noticed that you are not UK based.
It may be worth asking your Doctor if he can refer you to an agency who's Psychologist uses the CBT model.

Go Smoke...good references. See also Depression thread above. (RET).

Trentino, Neuro Linguistic Programing is used by psychiatry and psychology professionals. The very good work of Richard Bandler, a pioneer in psychology. Anything you can find on him is a good start.
cheers
Hawk

I find it interesting that about 1325 people viewed this topic..that is one of the most viewed topics on the medical and health forum at the moment...very interesting indeed...so many people feel this but only 15 replies.

Hi Hawk,

Sorry for the late response - I haven't had comp access for a couple of days.

NLP is a useful tool in areas such as coaching, mentoring, work place management, personal development etc. but is not a tool that is used in the treatment of mental health.

As an indicator, it is not offered on the NHS anywhere.

Richard Bandler is not actually a clinical psychologist (in fact, I don't even think he is a psychologist) The difference between the two being about a further 6 years training and a doctorate!

A Psychologist cannot treat people for mental health issues however, they can perform reasearch task.

I have a couple of friends who are absolute Richard Bandler devotees and I can see that the motivational work and personal progression modules that he offers are very useful in their lives and have indeed helped them however, as a treatment for mental health then NLP should not be used.

Regards,
GS

Trentino,

Why do you find it interesting that about 1325 people viewed this topic, making it one of the most viewed topics on the medical and health forum at the moment, and with only 15 replies?

Because it's VERY VERY COMMON, that's why!!!!

And why only 15 replies? - Because most people won't admit to it, we're all supposed to be macho Chuck Yeager types, aren't we?

I have observed it in numerous other pilots, typically at the Senior First Officer / Junior Captain stage, and, oh yes, within myself at the stages described.

I have also observed that for these same pilots, and myself, that it eventually went away in it's own good time, every time.

Nowadays, I look forward to a few anxiety creating situations to arouse my levels of alertness to normal.

Keep on keeping on,

Old Smokey

Trentino.

I have been suffering Anxiety for the last 6 months. To support the views of other posters, yes it is starting to subside slowly but surely.

I am in my early thirties and like to think of myself as of being above average intelligence and flying ability ;)

My Anxiety began when I had panic attacks while flying single pilot ops. On two occasions I departed with pax only to return as my anxiety was so high I thought I was going to die and kill everyone onboard. I fobbed off to my employer that I was sick with the flu etc.

I have had an absolutely horrible time of it. I have been to a Psychologist and I practise Meditation , yoga and relaxation which I have found to be very beneficial. At present I am flying in a two crew envirnment, however I still am sometimes very anxious about flying single pilot as per my prior events.

The most important thing I learned was that your anxiety is your creation, something that you made up all by all your own thoughts.

I have found hard exercise and healthy eating helpful. I have also found that St. John's Wort (a herbal thing) was good.

I greatly sympathise with your predicament as it is a truly awful thing to suffer.

It is great to read others and to realise that I am not alone either.

All the best and take care

Trentino,

have a look at the Depression topic, post of Northern Chique (PPRuNe's Paramedic).

Force yourself to apply those recipes.

It works and you will improve.

Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) is used by psychologists and psychiatrists throughout the world, as Hawk has said.

With respect, saying anything along the lines of NLP only being used in personal enhancement smacks of knowing absolutely nothing about it apart from secondhand information.

Trentino,

If I was going to go to someone trained in NLP, I would give the following advice:

1. Go to the best - Master Practioner or (Master) Trainer if possible.

2. Ensure they are certified by the Society of NLP - this was formed by Richard Bandler.

Conf

I neither wish to offend nor argue about this subject and I offer my respectful apologies if I have done so.

I've looked up a few links that I hope may prove of value to anybody trying to make up their own minds on what might be the best course treatment for themselves.

The Society of Neuro Linguistic Programming (http://www.nlpschedule.com/)

The London NLP & Hypnosis Practice Group (http://www.nlp-london.com/lotto2.htm)

Richard Bandler's Site (http://richardbandler.com/)



Kings College London Institute of Psychiatry at the Maudlsey (http://www.iop.kcl.ac.uk/iopweb/virtual/?path=/students/prospective/)

British Association for Behavioural & Cognitive Psychotherapies - What is CBT? (http://www.babcp.org.uk/babcp/what_is_CBT.htm)

CBT - The Basics (http://www.cognitivetherapy.com/basics.html)

These are probably good starting points for anybody wishing to do some research. I do hope they are of some help.
It would be good to see people add to the list if they find anything of value.

I send you all very warm regards,

GS.

Perhaps mentioning NLP was irresponsible of me, I'm not that sure of the evidence base. However, it works for me !

i had the misfortune of being the captain of a flight in which a ground handler walked into the no.2 spinning propeller ( ground idle power ) killing himself. i was not blamed after investigation but
since then i have recurrent visions of similar fatal accidents, all in my imagination, but this has caused me enough anxiety to fail an airbus course and sim evaluations in the 737 for captain up-grade. i can say that since the death my performance and INTEREST in aviation have diminished and there is certainly no room in this business to openly express it without serious consequences. Therefore i am also considering quitting flying but at my half century what else can i do ?
thanks to you all for opening up, it has allowed me to do the same.

Meatball, im so sorry to hear about your tragic event, I believe what occurred to you was far worst than what happened to me but have you considered treatment or changing life habits? Since quitting the airlines I started exercise and better eating as well as st. johns wort..now ofcourse this is no replacement for concrete help but it helps..it helped me, i can actually fly, enjoy myself on some flights and make money.
Maybe if you change some other life habits you can overcome this.
After gathering tons of advice from people experienced in anxiety/depression I learned that while flying was causing my anxiety(and boy was it bad) it wasnt the root.
it looks like in this situation you are suffering from PTSD(post traumatic stress)...you have to come to the realisation that you are truly innocent of any wrong doing.
Maybe some ways to help yourself is to get counseling on how you view death and maybe even life in general.
I speak from experience in all of this...please forgive me if i am overstepping any boundaries with the above

I have been living with depression & anxiety for many years & in the end it forced me to give up flying as a senior flight attendant. I just couldn't handle the pax & cabin crew anticts anymore & was having to really concentrate hard on the job to make it through the flight, so far from the days where I would laugh & just enjoy being with all the crew. I started having to go to the washrooms to calm down & try to focus, it made me feel terribly ashamed. Unfortuantely cabin crew, although in a caring profession, can be very judgmental & cruel about folk, so I got out before anything major happened like a panic attack. Thats what scared me the most, being infront of a sea of faces in a supervisory position & freaking out in front of everybody. I miss it bad sometimes & having built up 18 yrs experience could have gone on to greater things in the training & management side, but the anxiety & depression just keeps getting in the way.
I feel for anyone who has this horribly debilitating problem, if you don't get it sorted it can really screw your life up.

As you can tell by the responses, you are definitely not alone. Only recently (within the last 10 years) have feelings of depression, anxiety, etc., been openly acknowledged as a serious illness with even more serious consequences. For too long, people were afraid to acknowledge their feelings, much less to share them with others, in fear of being laughed at or shipped off to the "loony" bin.

Before other medical problems forced me to retire, I had horrible, life altering, anxiety. Though not as bad as most. When I was on the flight deck, either working or jumpseating, nothing bothered me. But for unknown reasons, I developed serious problems when riding in the passenger cabin, of all things! And, to make it worse, I commuted to my base. Before boarding, I would start trembling in fear. Inflight, I would hold on to the arm rest, have cold sweats, trouble breathing, horrible fears of turbulence, weather, system failures, you name it. Many times I would drive 10 hours to avoid the 45 minute flight. Once, when faced with deadheading home, in the passenger cabin, for a 4 hour flight, I bought a ticket on Amtrak for a 3day ride on the train (which I thoroughly enjoyed, btw).

I firmly believe that these feelings led to the strokes that grounded my career. I was in good shape, lots of exercise, workout, running, good diet, no smoking, normal blood pressure and cholesterol, no history of heart disease. I did seek medical help, psychiatric help, alternative therapies for my anxieties, and nothing helped. Today, 6 years later, I still wont get on an airplane. Funny, isn't it?

There are now many programs and options available for help. I hope you will seek some of them. It's encouraging that you are opening up, talking about it, sharing your thoughts. I wish you the best of luck. Feel free to EM or email me at any time.

If you continue down this road you may lose your medical.There are tons of self help books avaiable for this,further to this line flying is quite boring allowing the mind to constantly wonder.Perhaps try another type of flying.

Psyc stuff the regulaters don,t like that to much.So don,t talk to you doctor upon renewal,about this.

Trentino
I am sorry for all of you and the course that life sometimes leads. I have been in this game nearly 26yrs. My wife left me after 13yrs and 2 days before sim. Like a fool I went for it and failed within 10 mins. Devastating, having never failed before. The Doc said it was not a "medical" problem. Refer to the Chief Pilot. Not so easy as it is personal, but I did. I was given 10 days "off", but the last 5, had to go do office work. Not appreciated initially, but, it took the mind off the personal problems. I re-sat and passed, the sim ride. Looking back, my airline did the right thing, and only flew with experienced F/O's for a few weeks.They gave me some grieving time, but put me back to work asap, and it definately helped. At the end of the day, the people I work for, cared enough, the good friends I have, cared, my family cared, and above all, my children. I HAD to stop feeling sorry for myself, for them especially,and get on with it. I still have my moments, but as was mentioned, time heals. All the best, and hope, one day, you feel you can fly again.
tic

hey guys, i am flying again and little by little the anxiety is going down, i am currently a cfi again and sometimes the anxiety hits me in flight....especially when i am flying with young kids...18 and younger...i get this feeling that their wellbeing is totally in my hands, and it is! I am learning little by little to control it and the good thing that i remember is that anxiety is totally harmless... this relieves me and makes me breathe easier...
Looking back at these posts that i am seeing, i realise that i dont have it so bad, alot of guys in here have it worst than myself and i fly eachday with this in mind and consider myself lucky...this post should be redirected to these individuals much more affected than myself.

That's fantastic news Trentino, welcome back to aviation.

Congratulations on beating your own private demon. We knew that you could do it, even if you didn't realise it at the time. Now you do know, and through your honesty, many others can take heart that this is a quite normal and totally surmountable problem.

You've been very honest in saying that you still have some residual, but manageable anxiety - that's normal, Rome wasn't built in a day. A private suggestion, from personal experience, in your heightened mental state before the demon recedes forever, it is easy to react a little too quickly and impulsively to non-urgent operational situations. Sit on your hands (mentally), analyse, and respond appropriately.

To the still extant sufferers 'out there' who still suffer, take heart from Trentino's victory, and never forget the doctor's advice to the little girl who swallowed the prune seed - "IT WILL PASS".

Best Regards,

Old Smokey

Hey there Old Smokey, i must credit you with giving me more of a boost..its so comforting to know an experienced guy had something like this and overcame it, it gave me the fuel i needed when i thought i was running dry....
Just to tell you guys how i was at one point and how i am now...take a look and see if you fit in this
before controlling anxiety

1. Very tight chested, angry, short on breathe, total lack of confidence in yourself and the airplane, feeling like you are unable to perform to the task, feeling dizzy, tingly extremities (spelling) feeling dread at the idea of another flight....forgetfullness because of your preocupation..the list goes on.....

if this was you there is a way to overcome it and if a guy like me can make the progress i did, anyone can

heres how i did it....i went to the doctor...he told me things i knew but comming from an 'm.d' it made it 'official'
the things i was told were...anxiety is totally harmless, it cannot kill you even though it feels like it could.....any dizziness or spasm or any other side effect is simply caused by adrenaline which, in high amounts for a long time will make you feel sick..at the moment you feel an attack come on..
A. control breathing...deep breathe, hold it and release
B. talk to youself outloud or silently...remind yourself that you are a good pilot and the key is.. BELIEVE YOURSELF! ##
I was told by doctors that the key to anxiety relief is directly related to positive reinforcement....( what a great day this is, i am lucky to be flying, i am a good pilot, i can handle anything thrown at me) This worked for me very well.
C. While positive reinforcement is key...it will not help you without exposure exposure esposure....to overcome your demon you must kill it yourself, dont run away ( like i almost did)

Ok....now only a few months later after following the techniques above i can honestly say that i feel the exact opposite of what i wrote in top paragraphs....remember you are more powerful than you realise and UNDERSTAND THIS.... if you are reading this paragraph it means you care too much about flying to give it up, so go out and do what you used to love to do and make it your love again
p.s excuse my poor sentence structure, i just flew 6 hours and i am too tired to put it in order :D :D

Well done Trentino

I went flying by myself for the first time in months a week ago and had yet another anxiety attack. However this time I managed it and let it pass instead of panicking and wanting to return and land asap.

I felt good that I had achieved this and I am not so bothered about the thought of flying single pilot in the future.

I cannot underestimate the help exercise has given me in overcoming this.

Just like you, I believe that I will overcome this and continue my career.

Cheers

Hey there Dr. Rudi I am very happy for you that you were able to overcome this even though you did have another attack.
The fact you had an attack and that you faced it and let it subside is incredibly important.
When you experience the attack and fight it off you are actually conditioning yourself to eradicate anxiety forever...
The most harmful thing you can do with anxiety is to run from it.
When you run you are conditioning yourself to allow anxiety to live side by side with you.

I am confident that with every solo flight you take, anxiety will have less and less of a grip on you.. Eventually Dr. you will notice an improvement in all areas of flying, even with Multi crew flying.

I felt it was important not to PM the above message so that other pilots (those who would rather not admit they have this) to know there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Many many professionals (far more than you think) with high immediate stress jobs go through serious episodes of anxiety and self-doubt in their work. I know I have and it isn't pleasant.

With sympathetic friends and proper help almost all emerge from the tunnel better than before, so take heart!

Turning to drink or drugs or women for relief is a sadly common error and is responsible for most of the folk who don't make it.

You'll be OK - just be a little forgiving of yourself for a while.

All the best

Mac

Well done Trentino...an example to as all !

A very interesting thread. In a strange but comforting way its a form a relief when you hear and read others go through the same thing/similar thing as you.
My 'anxiety time' came last year whilst hour building. I needed to be checked out before being let loose in a club aircraft. So on the checkout flight. Some rather dodgy and downright dangerous crosswind landings with the CFI in the RHS basically put paid to any solo flying. My confidence was shattered... Another flying session later with the CFI -all clear to fly... However the anxiety hadn't gone. So for the next 2 flying sessions, without the CFI knowing I'd booked and flew dual slots. The CFI got wind of what was going on and asked to have a chat in his office.
The meeting was chaired by him, with me and the last FI I flew with in attendance. We all spoke and to cut a long story short. The CFI expressed the anxiety thing is such a way that my confidence gradually re-emerged and I was able to fly again..
The talking to yourself whilst flying def. helps. Just a sentance or two does the trick.

Cheers.
Has.