Anxiety is something that a huge percentage of the world’s population suffers from. It can come in many forms, and at any time of life. Some people have to learn to deal over their life, whereas some people need to manage it for couple of weeks / months at a time. This is why I have written a post which should give you some confidence if you want to travel with anxiety.
I have a bit of trouble writing this post, as it causes me anxiety but I want to be able to encourage others to pursue their dreams and not let their anxiety hinder them!
- Research thoroughly where you are visiting, it will give you some peace of mind knowing that you have all affairs in order. Read about how to plan your trip here.
2. Have contingency plans! Have a credit card with spare money on or a back-up bank account, print out all of your bookings, have a paper map, make sure you are insured, and so forth. Having this sense of security can help to ease panic if a bad situation arises.
3. Keep in contact with home. If you are worried about feeling home sick, then check out my blog post here. But keeping in contact with home does not just help with homesickness, it can give you a sense of security. It is important to know that you’re not alone.
4. Travel as a group until you feel comfortable doing your own thing, and if you never feel comfortable travelling solo then that’s fine! I’ll be writing a post about the advantages of travelling as a group so keep on the look out for it! Travelling as a group also gives you a sense of security and allows you to ask others when you are struggling.
5. If you have something at home which helps to ease your anxiety, try and bring it with you. If you cannot bring it with you, then try and bring an alternative.
6. Try to think rationally. I really understand that thinking rationally goes against everything anxiety means! You need to be confident in your ability to calm yourself from a panic attack should one happen, and you need to be confident in yourself that you can think rationally. If you have contingency plans in place, then you can fall back on them. Should your luggage go missing, just remember that you’ve got extra money to buy new clothes with; it will all be okay!
7. Leading on from the last point, make sure you know what your triggers are. For me, my anxiety is triggered when a food station is dirty. Why does this make me anxious when I have worked with muddy horses all day? I don’t have a clue but I know that I struggle with it and therefore I can put precautions in place. If you know what your triggers are but don’t know how to avoid them or manage them, then I highly recommend getting in touch with a therapist.
8. Talk to someone about your trip. Talk through your anxieties before leaving, another person might be able to help rationalise your thoughts or find the root of the problem. You can talk to your family, friends, therapist, online services.
9. Keep busy during your trip. Plenty of nice distractions won’t give you the opportunity to think about your anxiety. One time I saw a cobra in South Africa but my group and I were in such a panic about the monitoring cameras getting burnt down, I didn’t have time to think about it until I got back to my accommodation and began writing in my diary, which is then when I had a panic attack.
10. Writing down your feelings is a great way of sorting through them. It also helps as you can read through your entries at a later date to help to determine what triggers your anxiety and what makes your anxiety better.
Love your list! This is exactly the reason why I always travel prepared because traveling in a place not familiar would really heighten anxiety.
Nice tips to take note of! Travelling is not a daily thing we do, we should ensure that we will enjoy it every time we do so.
What a thoughtful post. Anxiety can be paralyzing. And it can hurt so much. Thanks for sharing.
I really love your tips especially know what your triggers are. Once you know that, it can be a game changer and help with coping better🤗
Great tips! Specially to have someone with us while travelling. Talking to someone actually helps reduce my anxiety level.
This is good information. A few people I know have anxiety, especially when it comes to flying.
I’m anxious over a lot of things, but interestingly, travel is not one of those. I love visiting new places and getting to know a fresh new perspective, but yes, thorough research and prep can definitely help with the anxiety.
Thanks for sharing these tips! I get anxiety BAD when travelling….I am fine when I get comfortable at our destination but the preparation, flight, etc. gets to me.
Wow very useful tips anxiety while travelling is common but the main task is to cope up with it
Love this! I struggle with anxiety and travelling can definitely make it worse. Thanks so much for sharing this with all of us!
Ive tried travelling with pets. and I am much more anxious than they are. haha When we boarded a ship, my dog just slept the whole night, while I always got up to check up on him. haha! Thanks for these tips. Really useful!
Excellent tips! Thank you for sharing. I’m a very anxious person and although I love to go to new places, I’m often left very anxious when it comes to planning, flying etc.
This is a really good post. There are definitely some things in here that I can put to use in my own travelling.
These are great trips! I’ve travelled with a friend who has anxiety before and I was honoured to be in the group of people that she trusted. That being said, understanding her struggles, I went out of my way to be there for her throughout the whole trip.
One of my good friends has bad anxiety and I can always expect a phone call from her every few days while she is on a trip.Ill send this post to her to help out on her next trip.
Really great tips! I think distraction can be a powerful way to deal with feelings of anxiety, especially when there is nothing that can be done in the moment to help. Doing things like puzzle games on my phone or even a sudoku can help my brain calm down.
Wonderful tips! I’m not an anxious-type of person though. And not when travelling. But its good to be well-prepared.
What a good point, the shared tips are very much helpful and I will try to apply all of these …..
This is so me. I always have to have pep talks with my husband before I travel
Nice tips! I can get anxious when I travel, so I try to do a lot of these. I always have a new book to read while traveling.
I have two pups that get anxious easily. Your tips are extremely helpful and I will be using them next time we travel.
These are good points. It is so easy to get anxiety while traveling because everything can be up in the air. I am usually so busy with my kids that I don’t have time to realize I am anxious about anything. But we are a pretty chill family, so it would take a lot to get me riled.