Overcoming Pre-Travel Anxiety? No Problem.

Shake off your anxiety ridden days.

Whether you are packing for a weeks, months, or years long travel, the pre-travel jitters that come along with anxiety can often make unwanted comebacks each time you start packing your bags. While boarding your flight or feeling scatter brained sitting on your living room floor surrounded by clothes and travel sized everything, travel anxiety is debilitating to the body and mind. In these moments, this list of eight tips and tricks are helpful to keep in mind and could aid in shaking off anxiety ridden days.

1. Write or bullet journal.

According to Harvard Health, one of the best ways to relieve stress and anxiety is to write down how you are feeling and to let loose by putting pen to paper. Their study said writing in addition to “the act of thinking about an experience, as well as expressing emotions, seems to be important.” The study continued to explain why writing is so vital in distressing because they found that “writing helps people to organize thoughts and give meaning to a traumatic experience. Writing and journaling are definitely one of the best ways to relieve stress.

2. Don’t hold in your feelings.

Talking about how you’re feeling with friends, family, or even a new friend you could have made while waiting in line at your terminal or track. Being conversational and expressing how you’re feeling is a big step in the right direction to finding comfort with your pre-travel anxiety. Sharing your experiences and feelings with others may open a door for you to find comfort in discovering that someone else could be going through the same feelings you are. Taking the initial step to speak up about how your feeling is easily the hardest part, however the release you’ll feel after opening up and expressing what’s going through your head may help you find clarity.

3. Decided what you have control over.

You are a big deciding factor in what you have control over and what you don’t. Figuring out what you don’t have control over and coming to accept that is a big achievement. Taking baby steps to find this acceptance is more rather than trying to figure out all at once and biting off more than you can chew. Be sure to figure out what is out of your hands and what’s tangible for you to make decisions over. In times when you feel like you have no control, start out simple and find all of the little things that you can do to make yourself feel better. Whether that control is taking deep breaths or asking someone for help, you have more control over situations than you may think.

4. Face irrational fears

Many of the worries that are troubling you while preparing for traveling are very unlikely to actually happen. Tell yourself words of affirmation that will make you feel safe and secure such as, “I am strong and capable,” “I have people willing to help me,” and “I am not alone.” Coming to realize that the irrational fears you have about traveling can be solved by reaching out for help or phoning a friend to discuss how you’re feeling. It’s important to be practical with yourself in these moments and understand that the likelihood of these scenarios that your creating in your head is close to zero. Distracting yourself from these thoughts will be the next step in finding relief from these irrational worries.

5. Try breathing techniques.

According to The American Institute of Stress, different breathing techniques can help ease the mind and will help you calm down while experiencing high levels of anxiety. Deep breathing will activate the “Relaxation Response” which is described as a “physical state of deep rest that changes the physical and emotional responses to stress.” The relaxation response creates a “decrease in heart rate, blood pressure, rate of breathing, and muscle tension.” While performing these exercises, it is also helpful to picture something comforting in your mind or a word or phrase to help you feel more relaxed. Repeating the phrase or imagining the picture on the exhale is almost like breathing out the negative thoughts and taking in positive phrases or words of affirmation.

6. Start preparing early.

Try not to procrastinate your planning and packing for your upcoming travels until it is too late. Leaving everything until the last minute will only cause you more stress and will force you to do everything in a hurry which will leave you with more stress that could have been easily avoidable. Thinking about preparing early is practical because it will allow you more time to pack carefully and give you time to do other activities before you leave without feeling pressed for time. The early bird gets the worm!

7. Distract yourself.

While traveling sometimes it feels almost impossible to entertain yourself for hours upon hours. Sometimes, getting lost in thought with sadness, seems to be the only thing that will make the time pass quicker. However, there are many other alternatives to feeling down while traveling. Listening to music, a podcast, reading a book, coloring or drawing, watching a movie or even meditating are just a couple suggestions to counter the travel blues. Remember, the travel jitters are only temporary and finding something to distract yourself will make the time go faster and distract your mind towards a positive direction.

8. Focus on the good.

Remind yourself how lucky you are to have amazing opportunities and find gratitude in everything you do. Keep reminding yourself that your anxiety will not last forever and that the destination at the end of traveling is worth the hours of transit in between. Tell yourself positive words and affirmations and why your traveling in the first place.

Noa Covell

Contributor

Noa is a true New Yorker and thrives on a non-stop, busy lifestyle. She’s loves staying active and is always looking forward to the next adventure that crosses her path. When she’s not on the move, you can find her watching Animal Planet or trying a new pasta recipe.