Travel anxiety is the fear of going to an unfamiliar place. Sometimes, the anxiety is limited to the actual process of flying or commuting to the new destination. In other cases, the thought of navigating an unfamiliar area can cause feelings of anxiety and panic. Travel anxiety can make it difficult or impossible to enjoy vacations, work trips, or family reunions.
If you’re tired of being overwhelmed by negative emotions whenever you go somewhere new, there may be some things you can do. Here are several techniques for overcoming travel anxiety and fully enjoying your journey.
Identify Your Anxiety Triggers
To overcome your fear of new places, it’s crucial to get to the root of your discomfort. This isn’t always easy and may require a lot of self-reflection. Additionally, what triggers travel anxiety in you may be different than what triggers it in someone else.
To identify your triggers, think about an upcoming trip you’re planning. Reflect deeply on what makes you most nervous about the trip. Is it the thought of dealing with an unexpected issue at the airport? Common airport fears include missing your flight, losing your luggage, or getting involved in a plane crash.
Or, perhaps you’re more worried about getting lost when you arrive in a new state or country. Maybe the very act of planning your vacation is what sends you into a frenzy of unmanageable stress. Whatever the case may be, identifying your anxiety triggers can give you greater insights into what’s worrying you. Then, you can take steps to handle your anxiety triggers in a healthy, effective way.
Plan in Advance for “What If” Scenarios
Ignoring your fears isn’t the best way to reduce travel anxiety. Instead, it’s better to plan in advance for the scenarios you dread the most. That way, even if the worst-case scenario does occur (which is highly unlikely), you’ll be prepared for it. For example, imagine you’re worried about someone pick-pocketing you in a new location. To prepare for such a scenario, you could invest in a money belt that you can wear under your clothes.
If you fear jet lag will ruin your vacation and require days of recovery after returning, use a jet lag supplement during your travels. If you worry that you’ll get hopelessly lost during your travels, print out detailed maps and directions to important places beforehand so you’re not reliant on cell phone service.
You could also arrange for public transportation from the airport to your hotel. That way, you won’t need to worry about losing your way in an unfamiliar place and being stuck without lodging.
Travel With Friends
Friends have a way of helping you feel comfortable in situations that would normally make you panic. If the thought of attending a destination wedding or family reunion by yourself makes you weak in the knees, invite a friend along. It helps to select a friend who has a lot of experience with traveling and knows how to navigate unfamiliar areas.
Besides helping you feel less threatened while traveling, a friend can also step in and make decisions when you’re feeling overwhelmed. Your friend may also have fun planning certain aspects of the trip that you find intimidating. For example, you might put them in charge of finding a hotel or booking excursions.
To make things even more fun, invite more than one good friend to come along. Group traveling can be highly entertaining and relaxing. It can also offer plenty of distractions so you’re less likely to focus on the things that make you feel anxious.
Practice Relaxation Techniques
Practicing relaxation techniques can help bring your heart rate and blood pressure under control when you’re feeling overwhelmed. Popular relaxation techniques include meditation, yoga, and deep breathing. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to be alone in a dark room to meditate or benefit from deep breathing exercises. With practice, you can utilize these relaxation techniques even when you’re surrounded by people in a busy airport.
Deep breathing is a great relaxation method to try in public because it won’t draw unnecessary attention. To perform this exercise, place your hand on your stomach and breathe deeply while focusing on the sensation of your abdomen expanding and contracting. While continuing slow, controlled breaths, imagine you’re in a peaceful location. The air that you’re inhaling fills you with calmness and peace. Focus on exhaling out all your worries and unfounded fears.
Meditation can also help you find peace in otherwise chaotic settings. You can find guided meditations online to help you gain experience and become more comfortable with the practice. At first, meditating in public may seem all but impossible. However, with perseverance, it could become your favorite anxiety-reducing technique whether you’re in a quiet hotel room or on a noisy train. It may help to bring noise-canceling headphones to minimize distractions while you meditate your anxious feelings away.
Consider Talking to a Therapist
If you’ve tried and failed to manage travel anxiety on your own, it may be time to talk to a professional. A therapist may be able to help you get to the source of your anxiety. Sometimes, anxious feelings arise from unresolved childhood trauma.
Your therapist may try different approaches to help you overcome your fear of traveling. These may include cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), exposure therapy, or eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR).
CBT aims to reframe thinking patterns that typically cause psychological distress. Through identifying and deconstructing fears, it helps patients learn that there really isn’t anything to fear. Exposure therapy works in a similar way by encouraging safe exposure to situations that induce panic. EMDR may reduce travel anxiety by helping the affected individual process traumatic memories tied to the anxiety and restructuring negative thought patterns.
For many people, traveling is a highlight of life. But for those with travel anxiety, it’s a potent source of panic. Use these tips to overcome your fear and fully enjoy life’s adventures.
