Fly with Hope Rehab Thailand’s Historic DC3

Fly with Hope Rehab Thailand’s Historic DC3

Hope Rehab Thailand Facility

Hope Rehab is an exciting, inspiring, and stimulating place to begin your recovery. Our extensive facility offers more than your usual luxury resort or hotel. It has more of a village community feel. There are many interesting buildings and fun instillations to disocver including our historically important DC3 passenger airliner.

Start your Recovery Journey at Hope Rehab on our DC3

We love our vintage DC3 as it symbolises the start of your journey. Of course, flying to Thailand is one type of journey, but we are referring more here to how ‘life is a journey’ and that your new recovery journey begins with Hope Rehab Thailand. The plane also represents freedom and adventure where you are the captain –  ‘the sky is the limit’. Other passengers on the plane could be the other or clients at Hope, your peers, or the group  (we are all in it together),  so synergy and teamwork is essential to travel at such close quarters peacefully.

Hope Rehab’s DC3 History part 1

1. Hope Rehab’s historic DC3 Airliner – Abandoned in Thailand 1975 after the airlift out of Saigon at end of Vietnam war. Our esteemed Landlord and Patron now a Thai diplomat served as the Director General of the Thai Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications for over 25 years.

Fly with Hope Rehab Thailand’s Historic DC3 – How Recovery is Like Flying

‘When everything seems to be going against you, just remember that the airplane takes off against the wind’ this means that struggles and challenges can keep us strong and safe, also help us reach new heights. In addition another nice flying metaphor is a tailwind for a plane helps it fly effortlessly across the globe. Its like a boost, such as the boost you get doing the activities at Hope every day and we will teach you how to keep that daily boost going by doing a few simple things. Tailwind is the opposite to a headwind that is pushing you back like resistance training. That is also good for you, building strength and determination mentally.

Hope Rehab’s DC3 History Vietnam

Hope Rehab’s DC3 History part 2

2. The DC3 Served in WW2 with the US navy in Japan originally then transferred from the US Navy Pacific fleet to the French Army in Southeast Asia in the 50s, the known as Indochina. The French army used is their Indochina conflict during the 1950’s. Later it was used by Air-America (CIA) cover airline for covert operations in Laos.

Hope Rehab’s DC3 History part 3

3. Air France acquired it later from the French Army then gave it to Air Vietnam. It ended up abandoned at Utapao airprt, Chonburi near Hope Rehab – and finally brought to Hope’s facility by our landlord the Director General of Ministry of transport.

The Airplane Oxygen Mask Metaphor

Most passengers are not paying much attention however the cabin crew always tell us if the cabin loses pressure, the oxygen masks will drop down from overhead and we should secure our own before helping anyone else. I.e. ensure your program and boundaries are respected and stay healthy or you will not be able to help others. For many people it is not their first instinct, especially parents. The instruction goes against a parents first reaction. Also remember the higher your stress level, the more important your self-care becomes.

Fly with Hope Rehab Thailand’s Historic DC3 – Learning How to Fly

On one hand, learning how to recover is like learning how to fly – ‘the pilot who teaches himself has a fool for a student.’ In other words, we need to benefit from the knowledge of those who have gone before us and and then share this knowlege with others (‘one addict helping another’) On the other hand, modern addiction theory tells us that our addictive personality is a disease, it is part of us, so in a way we are powerless over it. Well, I think our ability to recover is also inside us like a seed just waiting for the right conditions to grow. It just needs to be released like a ‘young bird learning to fly’ A fledgling bird learns to fly by first watching its parents and then using its faith to jump and spread its wings.

A New Perspective That Comes From Flying High in the Sky in a DC3

Flying in an airplane gives you a brand new perspective on things. If you have a window-seat, you can look down on the world below. While flying over your home town, everything looks so small, and you may notice connections (e.g. roads you didn’t realize existed) that you were previously unaware of. This is just like the Hope mindfulness program, it gives you a new perspective on your life. When we rise above the inner turmoil in our heads (which is what mindfulness is all about) it all becomes way more manageable. From this viewpoint, we can also start to become aware of options we didn’t know existed.

Fear of Flying – Fear of Recovery

Fear of flying can be compared to fear of recovery. Anxiety related to a loss of control, trust issues or the unknown. It’s an irrational fear as compared to other forms of transportation that we all use daily are far more dangerous. For an addict getting clean can be scary, like being naked in public. For some addicts just contemplating not having their substance within reach creates enormous stress response similar to that of aerophobia. We often compare our addictions ‘like being on Autopilot’ just like ordinary people’s everyday habits, E.g. wake up and make the coffee.