Traveling with Anxiety
Diane Keaton’s epic meltdown in Something’s Gotta Give about sums up how I deal with travel anxiety. Crying. Instability. All-white outfits.
Surely there is a better way.
I have often tried to ignore my anxiety while in new and unfamiliar places. But that means not dealing with the anxiety properly — or at all — until I finally experience “the straw that breaks the camel’s back.” In the end, pretending there is no problem becomes a problem all on its own.
While you cannot completely avoid anxiety during your travels, you can take steps to keep it in line and curtail its intensity. Here are some top picks for how to manage anxiety when you are far from the comforts of home.
Slow down.
Travelling, especially if the visit is short, may induce some extreme FOMO. You may feel the need to see everything because you don’t know when you’ll be back. Yet trying to fit in as many activities as possible on your travels can backfire if you are prone to anxiety.
When you notice symptoms such as restlessness, feelings of doom and fatigue popping up consistently on your trip, these are red flags. Slow your pace to prevent your anxiety from escalating. This technique is guaranteed to pay off down the road. It will keep you present, allowing you to fully experience the job of the select activities that you do choose to participate in.
Speaking of which, slowing down will mean cutting an activity or two out of your itinerary. This can be a really tough thing to commit to — won’t you miss something amazing?
You might.
Yet, if you press on with your fast and furious travel plans, it may become the catalyst for a total meltdown. And that, my friends, will cause you to miss much more than just one or two activities.
Alternatively, you can plan your trip to be slower paced right from the get go. If you are with an ambitious partner or travel group, plan to set aside a morning or afternoon to do your own thing, separate from the other travellers.
Depending on how unruly your anxiety can be, you may even benefit from doing this daily. As you compile the itinerary, jot in a slot of rest time here and there, as though it were another site to check off your bucket list.
Use touch and movement to reduce anxiety.
Let’s talk about autism here for a moment, in particular, the behavior of stimming. Stimming is a self-soothing action that is seen in persons on the autism spectrum in response to intense emotions or overwhelm (Bennie, 2019, para.1). It can include things like rocking movements, bouncing one’s leg repetitively or running one’s hand over soft textures.
For the person with autism, stimming is an incredibly important coping mechanism and may not always be voluntary.
But self soothing is something neurotypical persons with anxiety can benefit from too. We can learn something valuable from people with autism: positive forms of self soothing help reduce sensory overload and anxiety.
A simple way to practice stimming or soothing during times of stress on your trip is to carry an object with you that has a soothing texture. A polished rock is an ideal travel item.
It can be kept in your pocket at all times and won’t cause any problems when you go through customs at the airport. Hold the rock, rub your fingers across to or roll it around between your hands to experience a calming effect.
Other soothing objects that use the sense of touch and movement to lower anxiety could include a stress ball, a piece of velvet that you can scrunch in your hands, a Rubik’s cube, a necklace with smooth beads on it or a fidget spinner (though the latter may not be appreciated by the person sitting next to you on the plane).
Choose an item you know you’ll feel comfortable with and pack it in your carry on. If you find yourself without any soothing objects, you can use your body:
-Massage the area just below the centre of your collarbone with your thumb.
-Firmly drag your thumb back and forth over the back of your other thumb.
-With two fingers, tap firmly and repetitively between your eyebrows (the glabella.)
-Bounce your leg.
-Twirl your hair.
Take a nap.
Get refreshed and take a break from the chaos of your travels with the awesome power of napping. Set an alarm to allow for 15–20 minutes of sleep. It is ideal to avoid sleeping for long periods of time during the day, as this can disrupt your sleep routine at night, which can make your anxiety worse. A short nap allows your body to go from a heightened state of fear to a slower, calmer place of functioning.
Try partial sensory deprivation.
If you are unsuccessful with napping, you may find partial sensory deprivation just as refreshing. It’s like hitting the reset button for your brain and body.
You have probably seen float tanks advertised as a way to achieve sensory deprivation, but a quiet space like your hotel room is all you really need. Remember hiding under the covers as a kid when you were frightened?BINGO. That is partial sensory deprivation.
Put on some comfy clothes, get in bed and pull the covers over your head to block light. You have just created a makeshift sensory deprivation environment. I highly recommend wearing earplugs to truly achieve Nirvana.
There are tons of options for reducing sensory overload and anxiety while travelling. You may find the following to be helpful:
-Have a warm bath with the lights down low. Wearing a sleep mask or even just closing your eyes works, too. Now try covering your ears with your hands for a few seconds at a time and practice deep breathing.
-Close the door and turn the lights off in your room. Sit in this quiet(er) space for a few minutes.
-Wear earplugs or earbuds without music on the plane, bus or train. The 32 decibel earplugs sold at most drug stores muffle overwhelming sounds from machinery and passengers while still allowing you to hear announcements made over the intercom.
Sometimes, just taking a break from all that unfamiliar sensory input can stop your anxiety in its tracks.
Music.
Keep those headphones charged and download your favorite tunes because this tip can save your butt just about anywhere. Listening to music that evokes the mood you’d rather be feeling (ie., calm, happy, “I definitely have it together right now”, etc.) creates a microenvironment you can control wherever you are.
Alternatively, listening to music that is familiar can also de-escalate your panic. My go-to song is We Are The Champions by Queen. It’s certainly not meditation music, but listening to it feels like going home. It feels safe.
Choose your song. Build your playlist. Bring your charger. You got this.
Wear comfortable clothing.
Your routine is disrupted and you are far from home. Plans change and unexpected situations arise as you travel. But something you do have control over is your clothing.
Choose items that have stretch, made of soft and breathable fabrics. And wear some comfy shoes that you can actually walk in because I am not chipping in for a three-block cab ride when your heels start giving you blisters. Bye, Felicia. Good. Bye.
Fortunately, fashion trends such as athleisure and workleisure allow you to be comfortable and NOT look like a slob — simultaneously, I’d like to stress. Use this to your advantage. You are allowed to look and feel good. Traveling is the worst time to put comfort on the back burner, so don’t do it.
Pack for the weather too! I find that restrictive clothing or synthetic fabrics make me feel agitated in warm climates. If I don’t dress cozy for chilly climates, I feel miserable and dissociate. Wearing the right clothing will help regulate your body. And a comfortable, regulated body will be less susceptible to the anxieties of travel.
Breathe slowly.
There are many handy dandy breathing techniques that can be used anytime anxiety arises — whether you are in front of a microphone giving a speech or just resting in bed. I like to keep it simple, so I’ve found that simply breathing slower than usual works marvelously. And, as crazy as it may sound, repeating the thought breathe slowly while you’re trying to breathe slowly can actually help keep you on track. You can try it now.
Breathe in slowly through your nose; hold your breath for one second; exhale in one single breath out of your mouth. If you like, you can make a sigh when you exhale. The more dramatic the sigh, the better the results of this exercise. There. You did it!
For times when you feel that you need assistance, try a guided meditation or guided breathing exercise like the one below.
Keep one routine.
Anxiety is soothed by the familiar. Holding onto a daily ritual like your morning skincare routine or reading before bed can give you stability. For me, it is drinking my morning coffee while I scroll through Instagram, adoring pictures of hamsters and guinea pigs without disruption.
You may not have much routine as you travel, but choose one familiar action that can realistically be a part of each day. Being able to anticipate a set activity at a set time will bring you some relief from your anxiety.
Talk to somebody.
It helps to talk to someone about how you are feeling. In a way, it is like lifting the lid off a pot of boiling pasta, allowing some steam to escape.
The alternative is leaving the lid on as the steam causes it to bounce around. The pot boils over. A carby-chaos of pasta and water stream onto the kitchen floor. Some of it burns onto the stovetop. Some of it pours down the side of the stove where the counter starts — you know, that weird chasm of space that you never clean because you’d have to pull the stove out entirely and deal with all the food pieces you have inadvertently dropped there over the years.
I hope I did not go too deep into that anxiety=cooking rabbit hole, but the point is, talking helps. It is OK to ask for help.
If you anticipate anxiety during your travels, it is a good idea to set up a Skype or Messenger visit with someone ahead of time. Maybe you want to check in with a friend every couple of days or book a Skype appointment with your therapist for halfway through the trip. Knowing that you already have a time set up where someone will be available to talk to you can reduce your anxiety.
If you are not able to plan ahead for a listening ear, internet-based communications can help. Email, Facebook, WhatsApp and Skype can all be lifesavers when you travel. If possible, pay for a bit of extra data on your phone for the duration of your trip. When this is not an option for you, visit a cafe for access to their WIFI. Even in the mountains of Sapa, Vietnam, the coffee shops have WIFI. Rarely will you find yourself fully cut off from communication while traveling.
Humans have a deep need to be heard, to feel understood and to be treated with respect. Simply having a listening ear at your disposal can bring you a sense of wellbeing.
Living with anxiety is tough; traveling with it can be tougher. Do keep in mind, though, that travel can bring with it some of the most exciting experiences and treasured memories. If you have the opportunity to travel, it is worth the challenge. Try it and see.
References
Bennie, M. (2019, May 15). Understanding Stimming and Autism: The Good and Bad Side of Anxious Behaviours. Retrieved from: https://autismawarenesscentre.com/stimming-the-good-and-bad-of-anxious-behaviours/
Photo of suitcases by Caroline Selfors via Unsplash
