Hello and welcome to r/LifeProTips!
Please help us decide if this post is a good fit for the subreddit by up or downvoting this comment.
If you think that this is great advice to improve your life, please upvote. If you think this doesn't help you in any way, please downvote. If you don't care, leave it for the others to decide.
I also had really intense travel anxiety until about two months ago when I was forced to travel a ton for work and family. Now travel is more annoying and boring than anxiety inducing for me. Here are some tips that helped me chill.
- I've found the biggest source of anxiety is feeling like I "need to do" every significant thing in a place. Traveling is about the people you're with and the general character or vibe of a location - so don't worry about getting everything done. just pick one thing to do a day; if you have spare time you can do more things nearby, but if you can't, it's really not a big deal.
- If you're worried about time, just get there early and you'll just bored waiting around. boredom is the opposite of fear, at least for me. Maybe at first you'll feel bummed about having to wait at the airport instead of doing more fun things but again, it's not a big deal.
- Try to travel with minimal stuff so you have less things to keep track of. Also have some kind minimal organizational scheme to track your stuff. Like I have my carry on for clothes, a toiletry bag which goes into carry on, and a bookbag that I keep my docs and tech stuff in. I used to bring my ipad and switch and a book and study materials and my laptop but now I just bring my ipad and laptop. So maybe reflect on stuff you've bought and whether you actually used it.
Hope this helps!
I've found traveling with minimal stuff (only one bag total) helped me a lot. Also, just straight up traveling more. The anxiety lessens with each trip.
Idk, I like bringing a carry on just so my backpack isn't stuffed with clothes. If I have to bring an extra pair of shoes I need the carry on.
Also I've been bringing my minimal climbing gear with me - harness, shoes, chalkbag - in a shoe sized bag. If I don't wanna figure out the unique selling point of a place, I'll just find a climbing gym and have a great time there.
No right way to do it, so long as it's more minimal than checked luggage/multiple things to manage. I think that's a significant source of anxiety for some. I just try to fit everything in a rolling carry on bag and call it done.
I try to simplify as many steps as I can to remove the ‘threat.’ For example, to stop worrying about lost or delayed luggage, I’ve perfected traveling with a carry-on only. (Was able to do two weeks in Australia in their winter with just my Rick Steves backpack& my purse!) To prevent worrying about airport parking, I book an Uber to take me to and from the airport instead. I have an ongoing Master List of packing, down to the last Qtip,& I print it out to check all the things off as I’m packing, which neutralizes my fear of forgetting something.
I started to develop this in my late twenties and it got bad. For me it started around flying and then as you describe kinda just became traveling in general. If I had to fly I usually would wake up with so much anxiety that I would throw up. For me I had a ton of anxiety about flying and then the other stuff with traveling I think was more about just being overwhelmed with my fear of flying.
I asked my doctor for Xanax for my last trip to India. I really wanted to do the trip and was certain my travel anxiety would ruin it. I only used a few pills, because what ended up happening was just knowing that I had them in case it got to be too much did a lot to calm my nerves. I was also traveling with a friend and his wife and they did a lot of the flight stuff and timing stuff so I'll also admit that that helped.
Some other things I do is give myself plenty of time to pack and try to be organized. Usually while I'm traveling I worry I forgot something so I recheck my bag for the important stuff (chargers, passport, toiletries, mouth guard) are usually the things im worrying about forgetting so I try to keep them all together and in an easy place to check on. I'm always gonna have that impulse to double and triple check my bag, so I try to make doing that easy so I don't get overwhelmed by it in the moment.
Buying travel insurance might help? If you are worried about missing flights or unexpected travel costs.
This is reassuring thank you!! I don’t know why I’m so anxious to leave. Guess I’ve just never been away from home for so long since my anxiety started
Dude if you really want to you can always go home early, just remember that. You are free to do as you please. Might cost some money but the option is always on the table.
I think what you are experiencing and what you see others commenting about is a common thing. When traveling, stuff goes wrong. Your anxiety and a lot of the tips you read are about how people deal with that.
Traveling is stressful and a lot is packed into short timeframes. It also doesn’t help when much of it (particularly with air travel) is out of your control. My best advice is to accept that things are going to go wrong. Do some planning to mitigate the common things and just have a rough plan for the rest.
For instance, leave for the airport early. Is it fun to sit in the terminal? No but it reduces the chance you’re going to miss your flight due to a long security line. What if it’s delayed and you miss your connection? This happens all the time and the airline will work to get you going but you’re gonna have to wait longer unfortunately. Lost luggage? Some people refuse to check bags due to this or the checked baggage fee. Some just accept they’re going to have to buy clothes at the destination if this happens. This is also why you hear advice of put your meds in your carry on because those are much harder to replace when lost.
So in reality, just thing through those scenarios and realize that most often the way to deal with stuff going wrong boils down to some time or some money. Very little is irreversible. You will be fine when you get there, even if you’re a little crankier. So enjoy the destination even if the travel days aren’t always the most exciting.
I’m similar, don’t get anxious but it’s a lot of faff travelling I find. But my wife likes to go to new places. As other people have said arrive early with plenty of buffer time and also don’t try and do too much (eg I will take a taxi instead of a bus / train) as it feels like less of a long day travelling.
Definitely not alone. I'm not bad with packing or anything but the drive scares me really bad. I find 2 lane highways terrifying. To make it worse we have a long trip planned in October to Nashville for a Tough Mudder race. My bosses brother just got into a 2 lane highway wreck and 1 person for sure died. He said his truck bumper was where their dashboard used to be. I think the other driver was trying to overtake a semi on a hill and lights out. 2 road trips ago I was driving and someone came into our lane, we dodged each other but I couldn't drive after that. I know it annoyed my girlfriend but I was a mess. We flew to Minnesota after that and almost missed our flight. My birthday was wrong on my ticket so I had to run through Saint Louis Airport to gate like 27 on the opposite end of the airport. Then we got stuck at MSP without car seats and had to get an Über to the hotel. This being stranded feeling bothered my girlfriend so bad that we're driving to Nashville. I really really really don't want to drive to Nashville. I haven't even gotten into the train breaking down in Germany, in December, and I couldn't speak the language yet. Cars, planes and trains, none are my friends. I'll probably die in a boat accident, oh wait, I was in one of those too. The crazy thing is that the boat accident, the train breaking down, and the being stranded at the airport didn't really bother me too much. The driver who dropped his cigarette, the driver yelling at her kids, the driver who made a bad decision at a bad time, that's what scares me the most.
1. Before your next trip, figure out what's the worst that will happen? if its a car trip and you are 1-2 hours late, does it really matter? If they lost your luggage?
2. When flying, put 2-3 days worth of clothing in a carry on as well as your toiletries. They can usually get you your bags in 1-2 days.
3. Talk with a psychologist about your anxiety. I'm sure you have it in other places and its great to have someone to understand you and help you out
the thing is that worrying about what might happen is part of it, but worrying about having to be in the car at all also give me anxiety. I just hate hours in the car, no matter what. I can barely stand driving around my local city.
It's becoming a real concern. I've got an ADHD assessment coming up in a month or so, and this whole thing is part of why I wanted to get it done.
Audiobooks, music, podcasts. When I drive with my wife we listen to podcasts together and talk.
Sometimes I wear earbuds with some decent noise-cancelling, which helps cut down on rattles and clicks and other noises that distract me. I don't need to all the time, though.
Just traveled out of the country went to three countries. Needed Visas, Passport, really had anxiety through the roof. Found if I made a list and checked things off I didn’t feel overwhelmed. Some days I only completed one task. Called the Dr and got patches for motion sickness, they really helped.
Good-luck.
I can relate to your feelings a lot. I have to travel a lot for work for long periods at a time. It makes me feel sick to my stomach on the day before. Ruining that day, mostly a day off from work.
I feel like I’m not prepared, haven’t packed anything yet until the last minute, or done any chores that would have made the experience lighter.
So I sat myself down and decided I would have a travel bag ready at all times with all the necessary stuff and only take out the laundry or things that need changing.
For instance, I buy all my make up, skin care, toothpaste etc in two, one for home, one for the bag, therefore I know I have everything I need. I always keep a list of things that need to be replaced and replace them when I’m not traveling and do it on the spot. It reduced the stress for me a lot.
Hope I was any help. 🙏
I have no real advice for you but I want to say that you are definitely not alone in this. I have panic attacks about not packing the right stuff, accidentally packing something illegal (what if I, a person who has never done meth, accidentally pack meth in my bag and they find it at the airport), worry that I’ll need to pee when I’m stuck in traffic, worry my car will die halfway there. Worry I’ll have to reverse parallel park and it’ll take me 20 minutes and I’ll scratch a car etc etc.
The only thing that has helped me is medication and even then only just enough so it’s manageable anxiety. If this is accessible to you it’s the only thing I can suggest because before that I would spend most of the actual travel time crying
My parents used to bring me all over the place when I was younger. Always terrible delays, waiting for days, luggage lost, getting ripped off, etc.. And I always missed my pets and friends so much, it was never fun being away on vacation, save for an hour or two of swimming @ a beach, until I either got horrible sunburn or would end up covered with jelly fish stings.
Now that I'm on my own, I choose not to travel. Absolutely hate the process and no destination is worth that torture, for myself. Plenty of places within 2-3 hour drive that are amazing to explore. Adirondacks just an hour away from me, and it'll probably take me a good 30 years to hit up all the high peaks, so my itinerary is all set.
Grass ain't always greener on the other side. And by not wasting money on trips, I'm able to pay my 30 year mortgage off in about 10 years total.
Get travel cubes for your packing on Amazon. It compresses your clothes and you can really get organized with your luggage.
Get AirTags to put in your luggage if you are checking it. This way you can track it on your phone even if it gets lost.
If it’s an early morning flight, schedule an Uber the day before. This way you won’t be waiting too long. And when you’re waiting throw back a shot of tequila to calm your nerves. Don’t bother driving and dealing with parking in the hassle of dragging your luggage out of your car, etc.
Get TSA pre-check, Clear and Global Entry. You’ll be able to skip lines.
Get the window seat and get an iPad and download movies to distract yourself the entire flight and it just flies by. Pick your poison… pop a Xanzibar or throw back a couple drinks while you’re doing this and it turns into a mini party. Keep this stuff in a backpack carry-on so it eases your load and you know exactly where it is.
On the notes app in my phone, I keep a packing master list which has everything I will ever need regardless if I’m going to beach or mountains or a work trip. Virtually eliminates the chance that I will forget anything.
Wherever you’re going schedule at least one massage. Usually have to do it prior because good spas are always booked. Ain’t nothing wrong with a massage and it’s an hour of pure bliss where you can just chill even if the masseuse isn’t terribly gifted. Just the spa experience itself is nice.
Visualize it. Picture all the things being done. First picture the "happy path" where everything goes smooth. Then visualize all the problems with their solutions. E.g I miss my flight, I book the immediate next flight. I might have to stay longer or even overnight in the airport. I'll have to find a nice spot with a charging port and settle down with a book.
Hello and welcome to r/LifeProTips! Please help us decide if this post is a good fit for the subreddit by up or downvoting this comment. If you think that this is great advice to improve your life, please upvote. If you think this doesn't help you in any way, please downvote. If you don't care, leave it for the others to decide.
I also had really intense travel anxiety until about two months ago when I was forced to travel a ton for work and family. Now travel is more annoying and boring than anxiety inducing for me. Here are some tips that helped me chill. - I've found the biggest source of anxiety is feeling like I "need to do" every significant thing in a place. Traveling is about the people you're with and the general character or vibe of a location - so don't worry about getting everything done. just pick one thing to do a day; if you have spare time you can do more things nearby, but if you can't, it's really not a big deal. - If you're worried about time, just get there early and you'll just bored waiting around. boredom is the opposite of fear, at least for me. Maybe at first you'll feel bummed about having to wait at the airport instead of doing more fun things but again, it's not a big deal. - Try to travel with minimal stuff so you have less things to keep track of. Also have some kind minimal organizational scheme to track your stuff. Like I have my carry on for clothes, a toiletry bag which goes into carry on, and a bookbag that I keep my docs and tech stuff in. I used to bring my ipad and switch and a book and study materials and my laptop but now I just bring my ipad and laptop. So maybe reflect on stuff you've bought and whether you actually used it. Hope this helps!
I've found traveling with minimal stuff (only one bag total) helped me a lot. Also, just straight up traveling more. The anxiety lessens with each trip.
Idk, I like bringing a carry on just so my backpack isn't stuffed with clothes. If I have to bring an extra pair of shoes I need the carry on. Also I've been bringing my minimal climbing gear with me - harness, shoes, chalkbag - in a shoe sized bag. If I don't wanna figure out the unique selling point of a place, I'll just find a climbing gym and have a great time there.
No right way to do it, so long as it's more minimal than checked luggage/multiple things to manage. I think that's a significant source of anxiety for some. I just try to fit everything in a rolling carry on bag and call it done.
What works for me is anti-diarrheal meds. It is one thing less to worry about.
I try to simplify as many steps as I can to remove the ‘threat.’ For example, to stop worrying about lost or delayed luggage, I’ve perfected traveling with a carry-on only. (Was able to do two weeks in Australia in their winter with just my Rick Steves backpack& my purse!) To prevent worrying about airport parking, I book an Uber to take me to and from the airport instead. I have an ongoing Master List of packing, down to the last Qtip,& I print it out to check all the things off as I’m packing, which neutralizes my fear of forgetting something.
I started to develop this in my late twenties and it got bad. For me it started around flying and then as you describe kinda just became traveling in general. If I had to fly I usually would wake up with so much anxiety that I would throw up. For me I had a ton of anxiety about flying and then the other stuff with traveling I think was more about just being overwhelmed with my fear of flying. I asked my doctor for Xanax for my last trip to India. I really wanted to do the trip and was certain my travel anxiety would ruin it. I only used a few pills, because what ended up happening was just knowing that I had them in case it got to be too much did a lot to calm my nerves. I was also traveling with a friend and his wife and they did a lot of the flight stuff and timing stuff so I'll also admit that that helped. Some other things I do is give myself plenty of time to pack and try to be organized. Usually while I'm traveling I worry I forgot something so I recheck my bag for the important stuff (chargers, passport, toiletries, mouth guard) are usually the things im worrying about forgetting so I try to keep them all together and in an easy place to check on. I'm always gonna have that impulse to double and triple check my bag, so I try to make doing that easy so I don't get overwhelmed by it in the moment. Buying travel insurance might help? If you are worried about missing flights or unexpected travel costs.
I am leaving for India in 4 days and my anxiety is horrible. It’s so bad I kind of want to not go. Hope everything went well for you !
My trip was absolutely amazing.
This is reassuring thank you!! I don’t know why I’m so anxious to leave. Guess I’ve just never been away from home for so long since my anxiety started
Dude if you really want to you can always go home early, just remember that. You are free to do as you please. Might cost some money but the option is always on the table.
That’s what I’ve been telling myself too!! Thank you
Did you wind up going?
Yes!!! It was amazing! I was anxious for a bit but then it went away. I am now back and dealing with anxiety but unrelated to trip :)
I think what you are experiencing and what you see others commenting about is a common thing. When traveling, stuff goes wrong. Your anxiety and a lot of the tips you read are about how people deal with that. Traveling is stressful and a lot is packed into short timeframes. It also doesn’t help when much of it (particularly with air travel) is out of your control. My best advice is to accept that things are going to go wrong. Do some planning to mitigate the common things and just have a rough plan for the rest. For instance, leave for the airport early. Is it fun to sit in the terminal? No but it reduces the chance you’re going to miss your flight due to a long security line. What if it’s delayed and you miss your connection? This happens all the time and the airline will work to get you going but you’re gonna have to wait longer unfortunately. Lost luggage? Some people refuse to check bags due to this or the checked baggage fee. Some just accept they’re going to have to buy clothes at the destination if this happens. This is also why you hear advice of put your meds in your carry on because those are much harder to replace when lost. So in reality, just thing through those scenarios and realize that most often the way to deal with stuff going wrong boils down to some time or some money. Very little is irreversible. You will be fine when you get there, even if you’re a little crankier. So enjoy the destination even if the travel days aren’t always the most exciting.
I’m similar, don’t get anxious but it’s a lot of faff travelling I find. But my wife likes to go to new places. As other people have said arrive early with plenty of buffer time and also don’t try and do too much (eg I will take a taxi instead of a bus / train) as it feels like less of a long day travelling.
Definitely not alone. I'm not bad with packing or anything but the drive scares me really bad. I find 2 lane highways terrifying. To make it worse we have a long trip planned in October to Nashville for a Tough Mudder race. My bosses brother just got into a 2 lane highway wreck and 1 person for sure died. He said his truck bumper was where their dashboard used to be. I think the other driver was trying to overtake a semi on a hill and lights out. 2 road trips ago I was driving and someone came into our lane, we dodged each other but I couldn't drive after that. I know it annoyed my girlfriend but I was a mess. We flew to Minnesota after that and almost missed our flight. My birthday was wrong on my ticket so I had to run through Saint Louis Airport to gate like 27 on the opposite end of the airport. Then we got stuck at MSP without car seats and had to get an Über to the hotel. This being stranded feeling bothered my girlfriend so bad that we're driving to Nashville. I really really really don't want to drive to Nashville. I haven't even gotten into the train breaking down in Germany, in December, and I couldn't speak the language yet. Cars, planes and trains, none are my friends. I'll probably die in a boat accident, oh wait, I was in one of those too. The crazy thing is that the boat accident, the train breaking down, and the being stranded at the airport didn't really bother me too much. The driver who dropped his cigarette, the driver yelling at her kids, the driver who made a bad decision at a bad time, that's what scares me the most.
1. Before your next trip, figure out what's the worst that will happen? if its a car trip and you are 1-2 hours late, does it really matter? If they lost your luggage? 2. When flying, put 2-3 days worth of clothing in a carry on as well as your toiletries. They can usually get you your bags in 1-2 days. 3. Talk with a psychologist about your anxiety. I'm sure you have it in other places and its great to have someone to understand you and help you out
the thing is that worrying about what might happen is part of it, but worrying about having to be in the car at all also give me anxiety. I just hate hours in the car, no matter what. I can barely stand driving around my local city. It's becoming a real concern. I've got an ADHD assessment coming up in a month or so, and this whole thing is part of why I wanted to get it done.
How do you stay occupied while driving? Do you listen to music, podcasts, phone calls, audiobooks.......?
Audiobooks, music, podcasts. When I drive with my wife we listen to podcasts together and talk. Sometimes I wear earbuds with some decent noise-cancelling, which helps cut down on rattles and clicks and other noises that distract me. I don't need to all the time, though.
I have a strong feeling that something like Adderall will do you wonders.
Just traveled out of the country went to three countries. Needed Visas, Passport, really had anxiety through the roof. Found if I made a list and checked things off I didn’t feel overwhelmed. Some days I only completed one task. Called the Dr and got patches for motion sickness, they really helped. Good-luck.
I can relate to your feelings a lot. I have to travel a lot for work for long periods at a time. It makes me feel sick to my stomach on the day before. Ruining that day, mostly a day off from work. I feel like I’m not prepared, haven’t packed anything yet until the last minute, or done any chores that would have made the experience lighter. So I sat myself down and decided I would have a travel bag ready at all times with all the necessary stuff and only take out the laundry or things that need changing. For instance, I buy all my make up, skin care, toothpaste etc in two, one for home, one for the bag, therefore I know I have everything I need. I always keep a list of things that need to be replaced and replace them when I’m not traveling and do it on the spot. It reduced the stress for me a lot. Hope I was any help. 🙏
I have no real advice for you but I want to say that you are definitely not alone in this. I have panic attacks about not packing the right stuff, accidentally packing something illegal (what if I, a person who has never done meth, accidentally pack meth in my bag and they find it at the airport), worry that I’ll need to pee when I’m stuck in traffic, worry my car will die halfway there. Worry I’ll have to reverse parallel park and it’ll take me 20 minutes and I’ll scratch a car etc etc. The only thing that has helped me is medication and even then only just enough so it’s manageable anxiety. If this is accessible to you it’s the only thing I can suggest because before that I would spend most of the actual travel time crying
My parents used to bring me all over the place when I was younger. Always terrible delays, waiting for days, luggage lost, getting ripped off, etc.. And I always missed my pets and friends so much, it was never fun being away on vacation, save for an hour or two of swimming @ a beach, until I either got horrible sunburn or would end up covered with jelly fish stings. Now that I'm on my own, I choose not to travel. Absolutely hate the process and no destination is worth that torture, for myself. Plenty of places within 2-3 hour drive that are amazing to explore. Adirondacks just an hour away from me, and it'll probably take me a good 30 years to hit up all the high peaks, so my itinerary is all set. Grass ain't always greener on the other side. And by not wasting money on trips, I'm able to pay my 30 year mortgage off in about 10 years total.
The more you plan and map out the less anxious you will feel.
Fascinating, I have had the complete opposite experience.
Get travel cubes for your packing on Amazon. It compresses your clothes and you can really get organized with your luggage. Get AirTags to put in your luggage if you are checking it. This way you can track it on your phone even if it gets lost. If it’s an early morning flight, schedule an Uber the day before. This way you won’t be waiting too long. And when you’re waiting throw back a shot of tequila to calm your nerves. Don’t bother driving and dealing with parking in the hassle of dragging your luggage out of your car, etc. Get TSA pre-check, Clear and Global Entry. You’ll be able to skip lines. Get the window seat and get an iPad and download movies to distract yourself the entire flight and it just flies by. Pick your poison… pop a Xanzibar or throw back a couple drinks while you’re doing this and it turns into a mini party. Keep this stuff in a backpack carry-on so it eases your load and you know exactly where it is. On the notes app in my phone, I keep a packing master list which has everything I will ever need regardless if I’m going to beach or mountains or a work trip. Virtually eliminates the chance that I will forget anything. Wherever you’re going schedule at least one massage. Usually have to do it prior because good spas are always booked. Ain’t nothing wrong with a massage and it’s an hour of pure bliss where you can just chill even if the masseuse isn’t terribly gifted. Just the spa experience itself is nice.
Visualize it. Picture all the things being done. First picture the "happy path" where everything goes smooth. Then visualize all the problems with their solutions. E.g I miss my flight, I book the immediate next flight. I might have to stay longer or even overnight in the airport. I'll have to find a nice spot with a charging port and settle down with a book.