[Sportschosun reporter Lee Ji-hyun] Actor Cha In-pyo recalled the moment he experienced panic symptoms for the first time on an airplane. He said the shock was so severe that he struggled to fly alone for quite some time afterward.
On the 21st, Cha appeared on the interview segment "Your Life" on the YouTube channel Shinaelife and spoke about the panic attacks he had experienced.
Cha said, "Two or three years ago, I boarded a flight to Istanbul with a production team to film a documentary." He added, "We had to film across five countries and six cities over about 20 days, but I suddenly had a panic attack on the first flight departing from Incheon."
Although he had flown many times before, it was the first time he had experienced such symptoms. He recalled that after eating the in-flight meal and when the cabin lights went off, he turned on his reading light and was looking at the script.
Cha explained, "Suddenly, it felt like I was drowning. I couldn't breathe from the bottom up, as if water were rising inside me." He continued, "When you take a deep breath, it should go down, but it wouldn't. It felt like air was being pumped into a tire over and over again."
He quickly realized that he was having a panic attack, but said he did not even have the room to calm himself down. Cha described the intense fear at the time, saying, "I felt so suffocated it was as if I had to rip out my eyes just to survive. It felt like every organ in my body had to escape the 'prison called Cha In-pyo' in order to live."
The fact that he was trapped inside a closed airplane made the fear even worse. Cha said he thought he had to get outside to survive, but then realized, "I'm on a plane right now. I absolutely can't get out. No matter what happens, I can't leave here."
He said, "At that moment, a sense of despair began to wash over me. I felt like there was nothing I could do." He also confessed that his perspective on life changed. Cha said, "Everything on the ground, the bank balance I had left behind, my house, my beloved wife and family, none of it could help me. I realized that everything I had built over my lifetime, the little name recognition I had, the things I earned from it, the interests and relationships, none of it had anything to do with who I was in that moment."
He added, "I thought this must be the feeling people have when they die." He continued, "Right before crossing from this world to another, I thought this might be what it feels like to be completely cut off from everything I have lived through and left utterly alone."
The severe symptoms subsided after about 30 minutes, but they continued to affect his ability to fly. Cha said, "I still can't fly alone, can I? So whenever I go somewhere, I always go with my wife. If we fly together, I can go. If not, I can't."
The experience also changed the way he approaches life. Cha said, "That experience gradually adjusted the direction, intensity, and density of the life I live now." Looking back on the things he once wanted and fixated on, he said, "I used to think, 'I really want to do this,' 'I really want to drive that kind of car,' 'I really want to come in first.' But I realized none of those things are of any help."
He also said he is slowly overcoming the symptoms. Cha noted, "I'm okay now. I haven't tried a short trip alone yet, but I think I can do it." He added, "For long-haul flights, if I go with my wife, she acts like a sedative for me."
Shin Ae-ra also explained that her husband has been steadily working to overcome the condition. Cha said he has been looking for and practicing ways to calm himself before takeoff, including breathing techniques. "Many people go through this more than you might think," he said. "Breathing together before takeoff really helped."
Meanwhile, Cha In-pyo and Shin Ae-ra married in 1995 and are widely loved as one of the entertainment industry's most admired couples.
olzllovely@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
