How to overcome travel anxiety according to experts

Making sure you have checked in for your flight, checking to see if you have your password with you, ensuring you don’t forget the lights on before you leave… travelling can certainly cause a lot of stress, which can take different forms for different people. But there are ways to help reduce that stress, so that you can enjoy your trip to the fullest.

With travel season upon us, the experts at HAYPP wanted to help those struggling with travel anxiety by providing helpful tips on how to best overcome it.

Expert shares five helpful ways to overcome travel anxiety.

To be able to best cope with your travel anxiety, you need to have a good understanding of the things that actually cause it. Pinpoint specifically what is making you feel anxious about your trip—is it that you’ll be on the road for hours, that there would be things out of your control, that you would have to be surrounded by a lot of people at an airport?

Once you understand what triggers your anxiety, you can ensure to plan ahead for the best ways to handle those triggers.

One of the reasons for experiencing anxiety when travelling is that you’re being taken out of your comfort zone and won’t have full control over everything. To help ease that anxious feeling, try to plan out your trip in as much detail as possible.

Write down an itinerary, either on paper, or you can make use of a trip planner app like TripIt, Wanderlog or Sygic Travel, for every day that you can follow. That will give you a sense of control, but it’s equally as important to think of alternative plans of action for anything that could potentially not go as planned, so that you’re prepared.

Deep breathing by taking long breaths through the nose and then exhaling slowly through the mouth is a technique proven to help reduce any feelings of stress. Another useful way to calm your mind is by meditating, which can take many different forms from listening to music to focusing on your breath.

To make sure you find the mindfulness technique that works best for you, try out a few different ones before your trip, so when the time for travelling comes you can use the most efficient one to set your mind at ease.

Having things with you that generally bring you joy can be extremely useful in distracting you from your negative feelings. These can include physical items like a journal in which to write your thoughts, a book to read, or a game to occupy your attention.

Alternatively, you can create a playlist of songs you love or make sure you have your favourite TV show (or film) with you, as these will keep your mind occupied, decreasing your feelings of anxiety.

Being physically active is a great way to reduce feelings of anxiety and stress. Even if it’s just a long walk, make sure to incorporate physical activity in your days, especially the days leading up to your trip and if possible, during the trip as well.

Spending some time outside and connecting with nature, be it only by visiting a park, can have a positive effect on your physical and mental wellbeing, which in turn will help reduce your anxious thoughts.