There is an event in aviation called a “flat spin.” This is a sudden and chaotic loss of control in which the aircraft remains level but begins to rapidly rotate around its axis, like a dinner plate spinning on your finger. The maneuver is normally unintentional and is frequently fatal, as it can be unrecoverable.

I have been in this situation once, in an aircraft rated for acrobatics (and combat, actually,) with a competent military-trained acrobatic pilot who was luckily acting as my co-pilot. I got a little too ambitious (I was chasing another airplane in an aerial version of laser tag) and entered a flat spin. Inverted. The aircraft was upside-down, spinning rapidly around like a Frisbee and rapidly losing altitude.

The safety pilot recovered the aircraft without difficulty, obviously, because I am still here. The video tape of the event is interesting: I pull the airplane inverted and then become too aggressive on the controls. The spin ensues and the safety pilot simply says, “my airplane” and recovers. I say, “nice recovery,” and he says, “I do these for breakfast.”

Over in a few seconds and no big deal.

But now I feel like I am in the emotional and logistical version of the same thing. Chaotic, out-of-control and dangerous. This time, there is no one coming to save me.

I am spun.

Awareness

The first step, of course, is to recognize the situation. In the airplane, it is extremely disorienting, as you can imagine. In life, it is much worse. Here are some signs and symptoms:

- Each day spins into the next, in a blur.

- Friends and family and places that have always been safe and familiar are now foreign, unpredictable, dangerous.

- People and events previously unknown to you become your only islands of refuge in this tempest. They are now critically, inexpressibly important.

- Your anxiety is off-the-scale and through-the-roof and any other applicable cliches.

- Eating and sleeping in any normal manner are distant memories.

- Your once controlled and rational mind now vacillates between distraction and panic.

- Any carefully-plotted course is now long gone. Only the spin remains, round and round with only one direction intact. Down.

The indicators are hard to miss, but in chaos, you can’t take anything for granted. Go through the checklist, see if the bullet points apply to you; add your own.

But if you’re spinning, time is short and you must do whatever you can to regain control - the altimeter is winding down.

Recovery

I normally aim for 1100 to 1200 words in these articles; enough to make it worth your time, but not so long as to cause you to lose interest. I don’t think I will get to that volume this time, however.

Because I don’t really know what to put here.

I’m doing all the tried-and-true things that have worked for me and my clients and students for decades. But no luck. Pretty uncomfortable, really.

There seems to be only two possible outcomes for this scenario: recovery or - not. If I can find things that work (again, this time; I’ve always come up with something before), I will tell you all about it. Hold your hand through it, if I have to. It’s what I do.

Tell you what; let me know if you want to know how the story ends and I’ll try to keep you informed.

Spun

I have spent a lifetime of training and experience to be able to help people in this situation and situations like it. But, dear reader, my humanness has overtaken me and my “control inputs” are so far useless. I’m afraid I have no sage advice for you this time, no saving wisdom. For you or for me.

I have “departed controlled flight,” to beat the aviation analogy to death, and the ground is rapidly approaching.

My dad used to say, “It’s not the fall that kills you; it’s the sudden stop at the end.”

Stay tuned.



I am a creator (musician, writer, live-streamer and podcaster), entrepreneur, educator and counselor.



To learn more about how to use these concepts or to inquire about working with me, you can contact me through my website, the comments section on my Substack or Medium accounts or The Authentic Life Blog page. If you have found value in this article, follow my Instagram account for daily insights, or my X account for occasional tweets. To support this community, you can Buy Me A Coffee or donate through my Patreon account.

- JWW