How to Fight Travel Anxiety

March 7, 2017 - Yonder

From plane crashes to terrorist attacks, stories like these have bombarded the news frequently. It is no wonder many people have trouble with travel anxiety. But guess what! You can fight your anxiety! There are so many ways to decrease this common type of emotion that many travelers find themselves dealing with. And here are seven ways to do just that!

Listen to Soothing Music

Relaxing music is known to have a positive link to emotions. Thus, calm music is a powerful anxiety reducer. But how does calming music actually decrease anxiety? A few physical symptoms of anxiety or a panic attack include a pounding heart, nausea, sweating, trembling, and breathing issues. On the positive side, soothing music slows the heart and pulse rate, lowers blood pressure, and decreases stress hormone levels. By taking away the anxiety symptoms of traveling, music puts the mind and body in a relaxed and back-to-normal state. Be sure to download some calming music before your trip!

Helpful Tip: While listening to your soothing tunes, practice specific breathing techniques to assist in relaxing your body and mind.

Eat Healthy

Similar to listening to soothing music, eating healthy also reduces anxiety. By eating better, all of the negative symptoms from anxiety decreases. For instance, it is stated that eating a high protein breakfast helps stabilize your blood pressure and gives you more energy to deal with your emotions.

It’s also helpful to eat complex carbohydrates before you travel. Serotonin, a chemical in the brain, is responsible for maintaining mood balance. When serotonin is decreased, depression is likely to result. Therefore, eating complex carbohydrates will boost the amount of serotonin in the brain, resulting in a soothing mood. Complex carbohydrates include oatmeal, whole-grain breads, and whole-grain cereals.

Another tip is to drink the right amount of fluids. Dehydration can cause an increase in anxiety symptoms. Keeping hydrated before, during, and on your way home from your trip can help create an uplifted mood and assist in dealing effectively with the traveling anxiety. Here are some things to do if you’re looking to stay healthy while traveling.

Know the Statistics

A lot of people think that airplane crashes are the leading cause of death in the mode of transportation. This cannot be further from the truth. Highways are the most common place for transportation deaths in the United States. About 1.3 million individuals are killed in road crashes per year, which averages to 3,287 fatalities per day. In comparison, the odds of being killed on an aircraft is 1 in 29.4 million. Thus, you’re more likely to die in a road crash than traveling in an airplane. So, remember these statistics when you find yourself feeling traveling anxiety.

Read Funny Stories

We all know that funny stories lead to laughter. But what does laughter really do to anxiety? Remember, as mentioned before, that one physical symptom of anxiety includes breathing trouble. By reading funny books or articles followed by the act of laughing, you are practicing a type of deep breathing because laughter raises oxygen levels in our bodies. As a result, laughing decreases stress hormones, and the stabilized oxygen levels helps with relaxation.

Talk to Other People

Similarly to reading funny stories, talking to other people at the airport is a sufficient way to distract yourself. While having a conversation with others, you are able to forget about your anxiety and think about other positive thoughts. This tip is especially helpful if you’re traveling solo. Create dialogue about your upcoming trip, and what you plan on doing there. Talk about your plans about future trips. These conversations with other people will help stabilize your heart rate and blood pressure, decreasing the anxiety symptoms. This will also help while on the plane. Striking up a conversation with the passenger sitting next to you will allow you to not concentrate on the traveling or the fear. Before you know it, the aircraft will already have landed, and you would have arrived at your final destination hopefully feeling a little more relaxed.

Look Forward to the Fun

Looking forward to the fun of your trip will help you to forget about your travel anxiety. Look forward to what you will do there, how many photographs you will take, what souvenirs you will buy, and the new people you will meet. Think about the new attractions you will experience. Remember that you are traveling by plane because you want to get to a wonderful place and check some activities off your bucket list.

Play Mobile Games

Playing mobile games is another way to take away the distraction from your traveling anxiety. While at the airport, download fun, attention-keeping games on your phone or tablet. Games or activities that keep your adrenaline going such as car racing games may be an effective option to deter you from your traveling fear. Because anxiety attacks and fear can also be adrenaline rushers, putting that mental activity on high-paced mobile games will transfer that energy from your anxiety into your game.

These seven tips for fighting traveling anxiety are effective ways to succeed in your travel. Your travel anxiety is sure to be eliminated by following these tips. Once your anxiety is taken care of, the goal of having a pain-free trip is highly possible. Enjoy your trip and have safe travels!