Travel anxiety is exactly what the term implies – anxious feelings experienced while traveling.
Travel anxiety can result from several causes. But the primary triggers include visiting unfamiliar destinations and the culture shock that comes from interacting with foreign people. It’s worse for travelers with underlying anxiety disorders.
Fortunately, there are numerous ways to combat travel-induced anxiety and make the most of each vacation.
Highlighted below are six ways to deal effectively with travel anxiety.
Identify Your Triggers
Anxiety triggers are the factors that increase the risks of developing anxiety symptoms. They can range from ordinary things like being in social places to trigger specific to traveling, such as flying on a plane.
Either way, it’s essential to identify these factors ahead of time.
For instance, it would be best to avoid venturing into forests crawling with spiders if you happen to be arachnophobic. Similarly, boarding a plane wouldn’t be such a great idea if you’re aerophobic. That’s especially if there are alternative means to access your travel destination, such as using a van or boat.
It’s also important to note that avoiding potential hotspots isn’t the only way to deal with travel anxiety triggers. The mere knowledge of what to expect is sometimes all it takes to address these triggers. That means it’s perfectly possible to plan a vacation overseas even if you have a flight phobia. You only need ample time to prepare yourself psychologically for the flight.
Consider Anxiolytic Herbal Extracts
There are numerous herbs that you can use to combat travel anxiety. They range from lavender and chamomile to ashwagandha, kratom, cannabis, etc.
Kratom deserves a special mention here due to its medicinal and therapeutic properties. It has found increasing popularity in the field of pharmacology and has significant ability to consider as an anxiolytic.
As you plan your next trip, remember to give some thought to premium quality kratom variety pack as it really works well for relaxing and putting you in a great mood that makes it impossible to be anxious.
Kratom can treat all types of anxiety; such as anxiety due to a medical condition, or an emotional state, and even for short-term anxiety due to stage fright or some stress.
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Plan for Responsibilities At Home
Travel anxiety may often emanate from the thought of leaving home. This is more common among solo-traveling parents with young kids.
There are always the nagging concerns of who will mind your children and pets. Or who will mow the lawn and blow the leaves?
The best way to address these feelings is by planning for responsibilities at home.
If you must travel alone, ensure you find a house sitter to look after your kids and pets. Consider a trusted friend or relative. Alternatively, hire a professional house sitter from a reputable agency.
Most importantly, keep constant communication with your kids and the rest of your family. It helps relieve anxiety.
Tag Along a Travel Companion
Traveling alone is often encouraged because it helps travelers interact easily with the locals. But if you have an underlying anxiety disorder or are more likely to develop travel anxiety, your best bet would be to tag a friend or family member.
It’s difficult to become anxious when there’s always someone around to talk to.
Just be sure to conduct your due diligence while searching for a travel partner. Ideally, they should be people who enjoy the same activities as you.
If you’re an outdoors person, your travel companion should equally love the outdoors. Similarly, you wouldn’t want to travel with a night owl if you’re an early bird. And the same logic should apply to seemingly trivial matters like meal types, mealtimes, and dress codes.
The last thing you want is to be dealing with competing interests all the time.
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Plan for Any Eventualities
Travel anxiety doesn’t only come from everyday stressors and phobias. It could also emanate from completely unforeseen situations. Examples include;
- Running out of money
- Losing your travel documents
- Getting lost in the middle of nowhere
- Coming down with an endemic disease
The concept of planning to deal with your phobias could also apply here.
For instance, if you’re planning game drives across the African plains, there’s almost a 100% chance that you’ll contract malaria. So, how about you pack antimalarial drugs! You might even do yourself one better by getting travel insurance.
Most travel insurance policies allow you access to selected healthcare providers in different countries worldwide. Some even offer emergency evacuation services. It all depends on the package you choose.
Practice Meditation
Meditation offers numerous benefits. Most notably, it lets you gain higher control of your thoughts. This can help in ignoring ambient sights and sounds that could trigger anxiety.
Indeed, numerous studies have shown that meditation can help fight numerous anxiety symptoms. The practice also helps improve blood circulation and breathing.
Consider meditating every morning before embarking on your various excursions for the day. And remember to choose a spot with minimal distractions.
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Final Word
Travel anxiety is a common concern faced by millions of travelers. While the experience isn’t avoidable, you can manage it by implementing the tips mentioned above.
