If travel makes you feel anxious, you will know about the impact that it can have on your life. You may have to be selective about the family holidays you book or rearrange business appointments to cater for your anxiety; the impact is far-reaching and can be detrimental to how you want to live your life. However, here are some tips and tricks to reduce your worries so that you can travel a little more comfortably.
- Research
For some people anxiety is triggered by feelings of going to an unknown destination; research where you are going so that you are already familiar with the destination before you get there. Google Maps is a great tool that will allow you to be able to explore the area from the comfort of home. Use the Street View option so that you get a real feel for the place and can see where you are going. Print off a map of your destination and mark the locations of places that you will need to go to such as the supermarket, the beach and the bank. You can also mark the route that you will need to take.
- Plan
Plan the details of your journey well in advance. If crowds make you feel anxious, plan your travel for less busy times and avoid peak travel time. The weather will still be good but everywhere will be quieter: the airport, the hotel, the beaches. Leave plenty of time to arrive at the airport ahead of check-in time; carriers usually recommend a couple of hours before check-in opens, so add an hour on so that if you are late because of unexpected traffic, it won’t affect your flight obligations.
Occasionally flights are delayed, and this can cause frustration and anxiety for travellers. The plane carriers are legally obligated to provide passengers with compensation for flights delayed over three hours within the EU, but companies such as FairPlane pursue your claim for you, so you don’t have to worry about chasing the payment yourself.
Prearrange your travel arrangements from the airport at your destination to your accommodation. If you are travelling as part of a package holiday they often provide coach transport to your hotel; however, these tend to not take the direct route to your hotel and you can find that you are in transit for a lengthier period than you are comfortable with. You can find companies that can offer more direct transport to and from your accommodation.
- Use your smartphone
One of the benefits of your smartphone is that you can take pictures very easily. If your anxiety is heightened by feelings that you have left the gas hob on or perhaps left the doors unlocked, use your phone to take pictures of the hob in the off position or a video of you locking the door. It will take a matter of seconds to take a snapshot, but it will help you to be able to relax knowing that all is as it should be.
If you can identify what makes you anxious about travelling, spend the time to think of other ways that you can appease your worries ahead of your day of travel. If you are travelling with friends and family, tell one or some of the group how you feel so that they are aware that they need to be on hand help you too should you struggle.