Upfront, I have had anxiety almost all of my life and for as long as I can remember. However, I did not want anxiety to stop me from living my best life. Sometimes I had to make a leap when I was feeling bold, and that is why I started to travel. I always wanted to see the world but did not want to be inhibited by my own brain and thoughts. While we may have different anxieties and cope differently, I want to share my own experiences to encourage you to think about traveling.
Below are a few thoughts our anxiety brains may tell us about a trip, and how to alter our thinking about them.
Planning a Trip is Too Daunting: There are many aspects of a trip that one has to think about when traveling, such as transportation, where to stay, where to eat, what to see, and how much money to spend. Because there is a lot to consider, I plan my vacations 6 months to 1 year ahead of my trip. This gives plenty of time to keep checking websites for price deals. If I become too anxious to think about the trip, I can forget about it for a few weeks and still have plenty of time to work out the details. To get into the knitty gritty of planning out a trip, click here.
I Could Never Afford a Trip: Hun, you have come to the right page! This page is all about Thrift Traveling. Check out some of my other blog posts to see the budget details I have put into some of my trips.
Budget: In general, the first important step is to set a limit on your budget.
Consider how much money you have saved in your account and how much more you will put into your savings before you head out on your trip. Set a definitive cap on your budget and stick to it, allowing just a little bit of wiggle room in case something happens. Divide your budget cap by how many days you are staying, and this is how much you can spend each day on average.
Daily Budget: For example, I may have $1300 in my savings account specifically for the trip, but I will allow a budget cap of $1000. For a 4 day trip, I can spend on average $250 each day (1000 dollars/ 4 days = 250 dollars a day). On one day, I may spend $175, allowing me to spend $375 the next day to average $250 a day.
Stick to the Essentials: Maybe you're thinking "how could I possibly spend only $250 a day on vacation?" This is where you have to be strict with yourself. If you're already projecting going over budget while on your trip, cut back on the luxuries. You don't need that $7 latte. You don't need to bring gifts back to friends. You don't need a souvenir that will get tossed into the garage later. Cut the inessentials and focus on the essentials. You're traveling to sight-see, not to buy (if you're traveling to buy, then this section does not apply to you).
Planes Give Me Anxiety: This is a very common fear - you are not alone!
Before Flying: Before boarding a plane, look at the other people that will be on a plane and the flight attendants. They typically look very relaxed and calm. Most of these people are plane veterans and have taken dozens of flights. If the experienced are not afraid, then that is a great sign that the flight will be okay. It may help to take some sleepy motion sickness pills so you can sleep for a duration of the flight.
While Flying: When the plane is taking off, I like to look outside of the window and see the world around me. I try to focus on my mental state and what I want my trip to be like. This will be a fun, relaxing vacation and the fun starts here. Bring things to keep you occupied, like a book, a magazine, Sudoku, and headphones to watch an in-flight movie. If I'm on a long flight, I honestly start getting bored of being anxious and fall into a rhythm of relaxing, staying occupied, and napping! A complimentary drink doesn't seem to hurt, either.
When my sister and I were on a 1 to 2 hour flight from Paris to Copenhagen, I fell asleep before the plane took off. I woke up and asked my sister if we had left yet. Turns out we had been flying for about an hour and were just about to land. Score for no travel anxiety on that flight!
Landing: For me, this is the scariest part of the flight. I've had an extremely shaky landing in Hawaii where I thought the plane was going to tip over. Besides that, every flight was a smooth landing. That's about 5% poor, shaky landings and 95% good, smooth landings. The odds are in our favor.
Nonetheless, my heart rate always increases when I can see the land around me getting closer and closer. I like to death-grip my armrest and religiously watch outside so I can tell the exact moment that we hit the ground. Once the plane touches ground, it's all done! We did it! We made the flight and our fun vacation can begin!
I Have an Itinerary, but We are Not Hitting Every Point. I am Anxious!: This point may be oddly specific because it is. As an anxious person that plans every detail, I was frustrated when my travel partners and I did not hit every attraction I had planned for the day. Here's my story about an anxious trip, and how I used that experience to learn for my next trip:
Anxiety Breakdown in Italy: My boyfriend and I went to Italy on our first big international trip. I planned every day out with attractions, transportation to each city, and where we were going to stay. (See my itinerary here). I remember getting to our hotel at Pompeii after a loooot of walking. I didn't realize Pompeii was so big and would take up our whole day. I had originally planned going into town to adventure afterwards, but that was unlikely now. I started to have a panic attack because my to-do list wasn't checked off.
My boyfriend was so kind. He reminded me that this is our vacation, and not a to-do list. We could just exist in Italy and see no attractions and eat pizza all day, and he would still be having an amazing time.
While it's good to have an itinerary, use it as a guide and not gospel. Things are going to come up unexpectedly on your trip. It's best to have the mindset that you're on a fun trip exploring the world than to think you have to do every. single. thing. that the city has to offer. You probably haven't seen every attraction or eaten at every restaurant in your own hometown, so how can you expect to do it anywhere else?
All of this prepared me when planning for my next trip...
Non-Anxious Adventures in Greece: Similar to Italy, I made an itinerary for every day that we were in Greece, but this itinerary was modified. (See my simpler itinerary here.) I was certain about the city we were staying in, our sleeping accommodations, and transportation to each city. However, for each city, I wrote down a few attractions that would be fun to see but did not have my heart set on anything in particular. This relieved the pressure of a "to-do list" and made the trip more of a relaxing vacation (like it's supposed to be). We spent all of Greece eating, drinking, boating, and hiking and I did not have a single anxiety episode.
In the end, as a person with anxiety, I can have an endless list about what to be anxious about. It takes a lot of working on my own mindset to realize that I can do this and it is not impossible. Having anxiety, I know that if the worst thing were to happen, I have been mentally preparing for it and will know just what to do. It would hurt to look back and think of all the trips I could have gone on if I weren't so anxious, so why not bite the bullet and live life now?
If you have other questions about traveling with anxiety, please feel free to reach out and I'll do the best I can to help. I am not a therapist and was not educated in this field. I do have a lifetime of experience and would be happy to provide insight based on that. Please subscribe for notices about new blogs and content.
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