Anxiety While Travelling – Do you experience sweaty palms, racing hearts, or breathing problems when traveling? Chances are you might be having travel anxiety. Anxiety about travelling can be a severe issue for some people. While it is not classified as a medical condition, travel anxiety is a real experience that can affect your adventures.
The anxiety results from a preoccupation with your beliefs or fears about the future or how things will turn out. Contrary to popular opinion, this travel anxiety is nothing to be ashamed of. Several techniques can ease tension and cope with anxiety while travelling.
Here are the five best ways you can cope with travel anxiety.
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1. Try anxiety-alleviating supplements
Several supplements on the market can help you feel less anxious while traveling. Top on the list of such items is cannabis products. Cannabis has a long tradition of assisting people in relaxing, which is why it is growing in popularity among travelers as a remedy for travel anxiety.
Instead of traveling with butterflies in your stomach, get a hold of delicious cannabis edibles like CBD gummies. These are chewable candies made by infusing CBD into gummy sweets. They have medicinal benefits for those suffering from anxiety on a flight. Some gummies also contain calming ingredients like melatonin to help the brain relax. You can look for CBD gummies in UK to deal with anxiety.
A highly potent CBD edible can help you relax your mind and body. You experience a physical frame of mind without getting unwanted highs. The effect of these orally administered CBD edibles starts working within 30 minutes. However, ensure you learn about the cannabis regulations before taking these products with you. Other than CBD you can also use THC Oil to deal with anxiety. If you are a US resident and visiting a state where recreational marijuana is legal, you can bring your own high-THC cannabis with you. You can also buy popular strains like Gelato or even purchase seeds to grow it at home.
2. Practice meditation and mindfulness
Meditation and other mindful practices can reduce stress and improve your psychological well-being. Time and time again, these methods have been proven effective in reducing anxiety and helping to recenter yourself.
Mindfulness is the best solution to counter the impact of travel anxiety. It can help you turn inward to become quiet and focus on what is happening in the present moment. When you perform mindfulness practices, you counterbalance anxiety patterns in the brain.
Try meditating before you start your journey or during the trip. Several medication strategies can help you cope with anxiety while traveling. You can trick your body into relaxing through these mindful practices. Start by closing your eyes and slowly scan from the top of your head to your toes. Release any tension you sense when passing over a section of the body and pay attention to your shoulders and abdomen.
3. Breathing techniques
Outside of meditation and mindfulness, slow breaths are another effective way of dealing with travel anxiety. Research has shown that breathing exercises can help with anxiety. You can distract yourself from breathing in and out and improve your mood during heightened moments of anxiousness. Slow-paced breathing strategy is effective in helping with relaxation.
Inhale deeply through your nose while sitting up straight in your seat. Hold for a few seconds, and then exhale slowly through your nose instead of the mouth for two to three seconds longer than the time taken to breathe in.
Focusing on your inhalation and exhalation can help de-stress if you feel anxious. The level of consciousness used to control your breathing signals the brain to adjust the parasympathetic branch of the nervous system. The best thing about breathing is you can do it before the trip and during the trip on the plane.
4. Talk to those around you
If you become anxious when you get onto a plane, why not tag along with someone else? Traveling with friends and family can help when travel anxiety gets triggered. In contrast, a ride along with friends can make things fun and push you to try new things. Tell them what makes you nervous, and they can distract you with a card game. Travel buddies can help you calm down by chatting to distract you or remind you of the reality of the situation.
You can also talk to someone next to you about your travel anxiety and how it affects your life. Talk to a pilot, flight attendant, or a lovely lady sitting in the aisle next to you. Alternatively, call a loved one through social media apps and talk to them. You can also video call your loved ones and talk about fun things as you travel.
5. Bring distractions
One way of reducing your nerves is to confront your surroundings. Come along with distractions that can help you focus on something enjoyable rather than stewing in your anxiety. A few ideas include a new book, your favorite musician’s new album, mobile game apps, word searches, and crossword puzzles. These activities can take some brain power such that your brain won’t have the mental space to be anxious.
Embrace positive aspects of your trip through these distractions. For example, you can focus on the part of the journey that excites you. Make a list of all the exciting, fun, and relaxing things that might happen while traveling. You can also listen to calming music on your mobile device or watch a movie to help your calm down.
Bottom line
Feelings of anxiety, fear, or nervousness are never fun during a trip. However, stressful moments happen to the best of us. While it’s difficult to control the unraveling of a frustrating situation, there are specific strategies you can use to cope with the tension. Try these tips to help soothe anxiety during your next traveling trip. Remember that anti-anxiety medication should be the last thing you try to help with anxiety.