If you suffer from anxiety, it’s probably the last thing you want to think about. But vacations can be a relaxation for all those who do not have it, because they can spend their time in the most beautiful and fascinating places in the world. But, sometimes even if a person suffers from anxiety, what matters is that he knows how to enjoy vacation. How To Enjoy Vacation With Anxiety by Charlie Hough

Have you been looking forward to your vacation but in the back of your mind it’s just added to your list of things you’re worrying about? You have a few days off and you can’t stop thinking about what could go wrong instead of relaxing and enjoying yourself. I get it because this was exactly my situation. I had anxiety about the vacation. We all dread the question, what do you want to do for your vacation when we know the answer is nothing for some of us because we have to work. If you think that’s boring then try taking a vacation after being used as a human shield by your boss who laughs as he blows up a plane.

Anxiety, vacation, and travel don’t seem to mix. But it doesn’t have to be that way. If you’re among the 15% of Americans that suffer from anxiety, you know too well what I mean. Whether you have a fear of flying, heights, or public speaking, the idea of traveling can feel like a nightmare. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Some people love spending the weekends exploring new places, going on vacation to foreign places, meeting new people. They enjoy experiences that expose them to new ways of thinking and living. For other people, stress and anxiety about being away from home for longer periods of time can make even the simplest vacations miserable.

How To Enjoy Vacation With Anxiety

Imagine that you’re at the airport and you need to get through security. The line is long and it’s moving slowly. You’re just looking forward to boarding your flight to relax on your vacation. Your anxiety levels are rising every minute as you inch slowly closer to the front of the line. By the time you reach the checkpoint, you feel like your heart is about to beat out of your chest.

The fear of visiting a new, unfamiliar place and the stress of travel plans can lead to what’s sometimes called travel anxiety.

While not an officially diagnosed mental health condition, for certain people, anxiety about traveling can become serious, stopping them from going on a vacation or enjoying any aspect of traveling.

Learn some of the common symptoms and causes of anxiety about traveling, as well as tips and treatments to help you overcome it.

Anxiety symptoms

While anxiety symptoms are different for everyone, if your anxiety relates to travel, when you travel or think about traveling you may experience:

• rapid heart rate, chest pain, or difficulty breathing
• nausea or diarrhea
• restlessness and agitation
• decreased concentration or trouble focusing
• trouble sleeping or insomnia

If these symptoms become overwhelming enough, they can trigger a panic attack.

During a panic attack, it’s common to experience a racing heart, sweating, and shaking. You may feel disoriented, dizzy, and weak. Some people also feel disconnected from their body or surroundings, or a sense of impending doom.

What causes anxiety about travel?

Negative associations with traveling can develop from a variety of experiences. In one study, 65 percent Trusted Sourceof people who had been in a major car accident developed travel anxiety.

Having a panic attack while in an unfamiliar area can also lead to anxiety over traveling. Simply hearing about negative travel experiences, such as plane crashes or foreign illnesses, can spike anxiety in some people.

Anxiety disorders can also be caused by biological risk factors. Some researchersTrusted Source have found strong genetic links for developing anxiety in young adulthood and beyond. They also found that neuroimaging can detect changes in certain areas of the brain for people with anxiety disorders.

Tips to help overcome anxiety about traveling

If travel anxiety is negatively affecting your life, these tips that can help you cope.

Working with a therapist or counselor can help you learn remedies to help deal with anxiety and discover what works best for you.

Identify your triggers

Anxiety triggers are things that lead to an increase in your anxiety symptoms.

These triggers can be specific to traveling, such as planning for a trip or boarding a plane. They may also include outside influences such as low blood sugar, caffeine, or stress.

Psychotherapy, a treatment option for anxiety, can help you can identify your triggers and work through them before traveling.

Plan for certain scenarios

Pre-travel anxiety most often stems from the “what if” aspect of traveling. While no one can plan for every possible worst-case scenario, it’s possible to have a battle plan for some of the more common ones, such as:

• What if I run out of money? I can always contact a relative or friend. I can bring a credit card for emergencies.
• What if I get lost? I can keep a paper map or guide book and my phone with me.
• What if I get sick while on the trip? I can purchase travel health insurance before I leave or be sure my insurance will cover me. Most insurance policies include access to a list of healthcare providers in different areas of the country or the world.

By preparing for scenarios like these ahead of time, you’ll see that most problems have a solution, even while traveling.

Plan for responsibilities at home while you’re away

For some people, the thought of leaving home causes anxiety. Leaving the house, kids, or pets alone can cause extreme anxiety. However, like planning ahead for your trip, planning for being away from home can help ease that worry.

Hire a house sitter or ask a friend you trust to stay at your place to help take care of your affairs while you’re away. A good sitter will provide you with regular updates and communication while you’re away from your house, children, or pets.

Bring plenty of distractions

What’s your favorite activity that helps reduce your anxiety? For some people, video games and movies offer a visual distraction to pass the time. Others find comfort in quiet activities, such as books and puzzles.

Whatever your distraction is, consider bringing it along for the ride. Enjoyable distractions can help keep stave off negative thoughts and give you something positive to focus on instead.

Practice relaxation

Learn relaxation techniques before you leave and use them while you’re on your trip. ResearchTrusted Source shows that mindful meditation can help to significantly reduce anxiety symptoms.

Breathing deeply, relaxing your muscles, and grounding yourself can all help you relax and deal with anxiety.

Travel with friends

If you have anxiety about traveling alone, bring a travel buddy. If you choose to travel with someone else, there are plenty of partner or group activities to enjoy.

You might find yourself being more open and adventurous around someone comfortable. By the end of the trip, you may have even made a few new friends to travel with.

Consider medication

If therapy, preplanning, and distractions aren’t enough to help, medication is an option. There are two types of medications that are commonly prescribed for anxiety: benzodiazepines and antidepressants.

Research compiled from a 2017 studyTrusted Source found that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are most effective for long-term anxiety treatment.

In the case of a panic attack while traveling, a benzodiazepine such as lorazepam can provide short-term, immediate relief.

Find the positives in traveling

Traveling is a popular activity — so popular that U.S. residents made over 1.8 billion leisure trips in 2018. Exploring new experiences, cultures, and cuisines is a great way to widen your worldview.

Before your trip, it may be helpful to write down all the positive experiences you hope to get from traveling. Keep this list with you as you travel and refer to it during moments of anxiety.

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How is anxiety diagnosed?

Anxiety becomes a serious issue when it negatively affects your quality of daily life.

One of the most common diagnostic tools used to diagnose anxiety disorders is the The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Under the DSM-5 criteria, you may have an anxiety disorder if:

• you experience excessive anxiety on most days, for longer than 6 months
• you have at least 3 or more common anxiety symptoms on most days, for longer than 6 months
• you have trouble controlling your anxiety
• your anxiety causes significant stress and impedes your daily life
• you don’t have any other mental illnesses that could cause the anxiety symptoms

If you meet a certain number of these criteria, your doctor may diagnose you with an anxiety disorder or phobia, depending on the severity.

WHEN TO SEE YOUR DOCTOR

If travel anxiety is negatively affecting your daily life, it’s time to see a doctor. Through therapy, medication, or a combination of both, you can learn to get through your travel anxiety. SAMHSA’s Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator can help you find a professional near you.

The takeaway

If you have travel anxiety, you may find yourself unable to participate in or enjoy traveling. Before a trip, mindful preparation can help reduce your negative emotions about traveling.

During the trip, mindfulness, distractions, and even medication are all options for reducing travel anxiety.

Both psychotherapy and medication are effective at managing most anxiety disorders and anxiety about travel. Reach out to a mental health professional to learn how to overcome your travel anxiety.

The Ultimate Guide to Traveling with Anxiety: 5 Tips to Know

Having anxiety doesn’t mean you have to be homebound.

Raise your hand if you hate the word “wanderlust.”

In today’s social media-driven world, it’s nearly impossible to go more than 30 minutes without being oversaturated with images of gorgeous people in gorgeous places doing seemingly gorgeous things.

And while that may be great for them, there seems to be a complete disregard for the people out there who aren’t going anywhere because they have anxiety.

It turns out that anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States, affecting 40 million adults (18.1 percent of the population) each year. Anxiety disorders are highly treatable, but less than 40 percent of folks with anxiety actually receive treatment.

So kudos to those of you out there living #thathashtaglife. But for a significant portion of people, that life seems woefully out of reach thanks to anxiety.

The good news is that it’s entirely possible to get out and see the world — yes, even when you have anxiety. We’ve reached out to experts who have given their professional tips and tricks on how to travel when you have anxiety.

1. Recognize the trigger(s)

As with any anxiety or fear, the first step to overcoming it, or coping with it, is to recognize where it comes from. Say its name out loud and you take away its power, right? Just like any fear, the same is true for travel anxiety.

Some anxiety is triggered by the unknown. “Not knowing what will happen or how things will go can be very anxiety-provoking,” says Dr. Ashley Hampton, a licensed psychologist and media strategist. “Researching what it is like to go to the airport and go through security is important,” she recommends.

Traveling can also trigger anxiety because of a previously bad travel experience. “I have had clients tell me they no longer like to travel because they were pickpocketed and now feel like they’re unsafe,” Hampton adds.

She recommends that instead of dwelling on the one negative instance, focus on all the many, many instances that were positive. “We also talked about strategies to implement that can help to prevent them from being pickpocketed again,” Hampton says. Sometimes bad things happen, she adds, and those things can happen to anyone.

Is a fear of flying itself triggering anxiety? For many people, travel anxiety comes from the physical act of being on a plane. For this, Hampton recommends deep breathing and a combination of counting when the plane is taking off and climbing into the sky.

“I also try to sleep, as time sleeping is less time for me to spend worrying,” Hampton says. If the flight is in the middle of the day, distractions are positive tools that can help reduce anxiety, like reading a book or listening to music.

Figuring out your anxiety triggers is a good way to help anticipate it and ultimately help you through to the other side.

2. Work with your anxiety, not against it

Speaking of distractions, these can be some of the most effective ways to fill those anxiety-fraught moments while either in transit or on the trip itself.

First, if traveling alone is too much, there’s no reason to not travel with a friend to help share some of the responsibilities. In fact, traveling with a friend could make the whole experience downright fun.

“Share your concerns, your coping strategies, and how they can support you if you become anxious,” says George Livengood, assistant national director of operations at Discovery Mood & Anxiety Program.

“If you are traveling by yourself, let a friend or family member know that you might reach out to them if in distress, and coach them on the ways they can provide support over the phone,” he says.

It can help to accept, expect, and embrace the fact that you’ll be anxious, too. Often trying to push away the feelings of anxiety can make it worse.

“By embracing the fact that they will be anxious and preparing for what it will be like, they can actually reduce the likelihood of the anxiety happening, or, at least, reduce the severity of the symptoms,” says Tiffany Mehling, a licensed clinical social worker.

For example, being prepared with the thought “I will be anxious if there is turbulence” and visualizing how you’ll respond — maybe with mindfulness or breathing techniques that can slow down the psychological reaction — can be effective.

It can even be as simple as, “When I get butterflies, I’m going to order a ginger ale as soon as possible.”

3. Come back to your body

Anyone with anxiety can tell you that anxiety isn’t just mental.

Dr. Jamie Long, a licensed clinical psychologist, offers seven easy steps when trying to mitigate travel anxiety by tending to your body:

• The night before your travels, drink plenty of water and nourish your body. Anxiety can diminish your appetite, but the brain and body need fuel to combat anxiety.
• Once through security, buy a cold bottle of water — and be sure to drink it. Our thirst increases when we’re anxious. The cold bottle of water will come in handy.
• In the boarding area, do a 10-minute guided meditation, preferably one intended for travel anxiety. There are many meditation apps you can download to your phone. Most apps have meditations intended for different situations.
• A few minutes before boarding, go to the bathroom or a private corner, and do a few jumping jacks. Intense exercise, even for just a few moments, can calm a body revved up by emotion.
• Walking down the gangway, do four-count paced breathing. Breathe in for four seconds, hold for four seconds, exhale for four seconds, and repeat.
• While in your seat, give your anxious thoughts a competing task. Bring something to read, have something to watch, or even say the alphabet backward. Giving your brain a focused task keeps it from dress-rehearsing a catastrophe.
• Practice compassionate and encouraging self-talk. Tell yourself, “I can do this. I am safe.”

While traveling, it’s also important to be thoughtful about food choices. The foods we put in our bodies can directly affectTrusted Source our ability to regulate our moods, including the amount of anxiety we feel.

Be cautious of spiking caffeine, sugar, or alcohol intake if you’re looking to manage your symptoms. And stay nourished, especially if your travels involve a lot of physical activity.

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4. Set your own pace

There’s no “wrong” way to travel. If you’re active on social media, you might be led to the conclusion that there are “right” and “wrong” ways to travel, based on your peers who are semi-preaching YOLO and not “traveling like a tourist.”

The truth is, as long as you’re respectful of the places you visit, there’s absolutely no wrong way to travel. So, set your own pace to what feels comfortable. You aren’t doing it wrong.

“I like to recommend clients spend some quiet time transitioning to being in a new space once they arrive at their destination,” says Stephanie Korpal, a mental health therapist with a private practice. “It can be critical to slow down and let our emotional selves catch up to our physical selves.”

She recommends a few minutes of deep breathing or meditating once you arrive at your accommodation.

It can also be helpful to be aware of the pace while traveling. It can be easy to get caught up in the idea of packing every minute with activities and sightseeing.

“If you suffer from anxiety, that pace might actually prevent you from soaking up the experiences,” Korpal says. “Be sure, instead, to incorporate downtime, relaxing at your place of lodging, or maybe reading at a coffee shop so you don’t get physiologically overstimulated.”

5. Don’t confuse anxiety with excitement

Ultimately, some anxiety is normal. We all need anxiety to function. And often, anxiety and excitement can have similar signals.

They both increase heart rate and breathing, for example. “Don’t let your mind trick you into thinking you must be anxious because your heart rate has increased,” Livengood says. There’s no need to psych yourself out!

The excitement, after all, can be what makes travel worthwhile. It’s part of the fun and part of the reason you want to travel in the first place! Don’t lose sight of that.

And remember, anxiety doesn’t mean you’re resigned to being homebound.

With some creative thinking and preparation — and, if needed, some professional support — you can learn how best to travel on your own terms.

As humans, our relationship to flight has changed dramatically in the last century. Air travel has developed from a fantasy into a common and widely used mode of transportation. There are about 100,000 flights in the world every day, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). It estimates that 3.7 billion passengers worldwide will fly during 2017. In the United States, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reports that an all-time high of nearly 718 million passengers flew on 8.6 million flights during 2016.

Air travel has increased in recent years in both frequency and overall safety. The 2016 accident rate of 2.8 accidents per million departures is the lowest airline accident rate in recent history, according to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

According to a report in the journal Research in Transportation Economics, air travel is safer in terms of fatalities than any other common mode of transportation, including:

• cars
• ferries
• subways
• trains
• buses

Still, there are moments that make even a seasoned traveler a bit uneasy. When the wheels start running down the tarmac or you hit a bad patch of turbulence, it’s not uncommon to grasp the armrests a bit tighter.

These moments of feeling jostled or unsettled are usually short-lived, and they pass once the moment is over. That is, unless you have an actual fear of flying, known as aviophobia. People with aviophobia have a deep-rooted, continual fear of flying that’s much more than a fleeting feeling of uneasiness.

What causes fear of flying?

There are several possibilities for what contributes to your fear of flight. It could be caused by a single direct influence or a combination of factors.

A direct influence might be a particularly bad flight you experienced or a connection to someone who experienced a traumatic flight incident or aviation event.

Feeling out of control is a common anxiety trigger, and it’s a common influencer of aviophobia. Being way up high is certainly one way to recognize that some things in life are out of your hands!

Claustrophobia is another condition that can trigger aviphobia. The cabin of a plane is a tight, crowded space, and it can feel especially confining during boarding, when emotions are already heightened.

8 tips for conquering fear of flying

If you experience fear of flying, the following tips may help lessen your discomfort on your next flight.

1. Stay centered. Breathe deeply for four counts, and then release for six.
2. Find a focus. Cross your ankles and cross your hands in front of your chest. Breathe deeply while resting your tongue on the roof of your mouth.
3. Eliminate stressful distractions. Lower the window shade so you’re not distracted with moving elements.
4. Anticipate your anxiety. Do mindfulness and meditation exercises daily a week or two before a flight.
5. Be prepared with soothing elements. Find things that help you stay focused and less anxious. Find music that is soothing. Pack snacks that you enjoy but also make you feel good. Stay away from things with sugar, which is a stimulant.
6. Remove other influencers. Aviphobia may increase when general anxiety is heightened. It may be helpful to remove additional anxiety-inducing elements, such as caffeine, energy drinks, and any other stimulants.
7. Locate your fear. Do you fear a loss of control? Is it a fear of death? Is it claustrophobia? Different triggers require different things to help soothe them. If facts about aviation safety will make you feel better, read up on those before boarding. If claustrophobia is a trigger, talk to your airline about boarding early or getting an aisle seat.
8. Release the fear. Many people with flight fears also have control issues. Think about releasing control of the situation to the pilot, a trained professional with thousands of hours of flight time.