Travel Anxiety Tips & Tricks
Recently I have been hearing a lot of my friends and followers express their struggles with travel anxiety. This is something I have suffered with for over 10 years of my life.
To give you some background information, I developed emetophobia (phobia of throwing up) when I was just 10 years old. While it may sound silly to someone who does not suffer from it, it is one of the most debilitating phobias one can have. While I also deal with general anxiety and depression, it's the emetophobia that I find myself struggling with most intensely. For me personally, the cycle of anxiety comes to a head most often when I am traveling, specifically in a closed off environment with multiple people for a long period of time. I struggle with knowing that if someone gets sick on a plane, car, bus, etc. that I cannot get away from it immediately. While most of my anxiety is about other people getting sick (I've only thrown up 3 times in my life) I also have an intense fear of getting sick myself. As nausea is one of the most common symptoms of anxiety, you can imagine that this is a pretty horrible cycle for me. The cycle normally goes like this: I know I'm getting on a plane soon, I get anxious that someone will get sick on the plane, that anxiety makes me feel like I'm gonna be sick, therefore making me feel even worse and potentially sending me into a panic attack if I don't self soothe and talk myself down.
Now that you know a little bit more about my struggles with travel anxiety, let me present you with my very tried and true methods for calming it.
- Comfy clothing i.e. pants with a loose waistband, a hoodie or crewneck, layers in case I get too hot or cold, and nothing tight or restricting (I never wear a bra when I'm flying lol it makes me feel even more trapped.)
- Noise cancelling headphones: These are definitely more expensive than your regular headphones but are so worth it if you're set off by noises/sounds like I am.
- Something that smells good: I like to bring eucalyptus essential oil in my personal item. I also will specifically spray my sleeve with my favorite perfume or Dr. Teal's Aromatherapy Sleep Spray.
- Downloaded media: Whether it's an audiobook, Netflix episodes/movie, a playlist, a podcast, or games you can play while on airplane mode (I like 2048 lol), I find it helpful to have a plethora of distractions at my disposal for when my thoughts get out of hand.
- Medicine: As a last resort, if I can’t calm my anxious thoughts, I bring a medicine that makes me sleepy. In the past I have used either Dramamine, Nyquil, Benadryl, or Zzzquil. Make sure to research if any of these medicines cannot be combined with what you currently take before using them!
- Drinks: I always have a large container of water, something bubbly (Diet Coke or Ginger Ale are my go to’s), and a tea bag (I like Peppermint or Lemon Ginger).
- Snacks: Comfort snacks that aren’t too hard on the stomach and don’t have a strong odor like granola bars, chocolate covered almonds, fruit snacks, crackers/chips, and maybe even a sandwich with some protein in it for longer flights!
That’s it! I hope that these tips and tricks are helpful for you babes. I have never talked about my phobia on here before and I’m grateful that you all make me feel so safe and supported on this platform. I hope I can do the same for you!
Have a great week my loves,
Xoxo, Millie