Travelling solves different purposes for various people. Some of us take roads less traveled to feel a kick in our adrenaline levels, while others do it to get acquainted with life skills. Traveling indeed stretches your comfort zone in one way or the other. Many travelers report life-changing experiences and enhanced perceptions after a trip—a kind of rare skill that they would not exchange for any material gain.
No wonder traveling is rewarding in multiple ways. What seems like a stressful and exhaustive process is more of a learning experience. At the end of each trip, we come out as a better version of ourselves. Meticulous planning and execution of our plans foster confidence in us and, in many ways, teach us to become self-reliant. Although there are many odds of estrangements and perils of the roads that may look scary, one can learn to conquer all such challenges with some pre-planning. Some anxiety is part and parcel of a travel trip. For anyone dealing with anxiety issues, the entire situation gets all the more overwhelming. However, with this three-step action guide, you can safely manage anxiety on your journey.
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- Dealing with Anxiety on the Trip
Traveling may expose you to different anxiety forms that can trigger your psychological breakdown anytime while you are on the road. Most travelers reminisce about such incidences to be inevitable and yet most strengthen moments of their journeys. Effectively dealing with such difficulties makes us more resilient and mentally healthy.
For this, you can consider inculcating natural anxiety relievers such as cannabis while you are traveling. The chemical structure of cannabis makes it bindable to our endocannabinoid system (ECS). The ECS is responsible for managing homeostasis in our body that controls and manages stress, mood, and anxiety. Therefore, administering cannabis responsibly can take away your travel anxiety troubles and foster peace.
If you do not want to skip the psychoactive compound THC in cannabis, you can go for an isolated CBD oil or CBD capsules for pain and travel anxiety. CBD can serve as a multipurpose medicine in your travel kit.
Note: If you are traveling to another jurisdiction, it is recommended that you check the ground rules and regulations for CBD or cannabis. Some countries have stringent laws when it comes to alternative medicines.
Even though being on the road for extended periods may make you feel homesick, it can very well alleviate such a feeling. You can start by designating a day and time to connect to your family member regularly. Being homesick while on the road is a fair deal. As a result, planning on meeting new people, spending time with them, getting along an all-new community can significantly help. Another simple way to mitigate bottled up emotions is to write down your thoughts in a journal. Sometimes little things like hunting down restaurants that serve authentic dishes from your homeland or tuning into folklores can make you feel warm and give you the much-needed comfort.
- Planning is the key
While most travel fear will subside with subsequent traveling, it is important to keep patience and take one step. So, the first step to overcoming travel fear is to understand and address your anxiety triggers. Make an in-depth study of the nature and process of your anxiety before trying to find a solution. This means having a keen observation of the pattern and triggers of your anxiety. Do you particularly get conscious of talking to strangers, or are unfamiliar locations a cause of the trouble? When you understand your stressors, it is easy to fit pieces and look for a solution.
Segregating your problem areas will help you chalk out a plan as per your convenience. It will also give you some liberty to analyze and take corrective actions. If crowds make you uncomfortable, small conscious choices like booking tickets in advance and takeaway meals will take some mental pressure off your mind and help you relax.
Apart from planning the nit-grits of travel, you can also prepare your mind at this stage. Affirm and answer some cardinal questions that can help you keep centered while on the go. Some of the points to keep in mind could be.
- Re- instating the purpose of your travel
- Knowing the value travel will add to your life
- Chalking out a detailed plan for the next couple of days
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- Dealing with Extreme Situations
The single most challenging concern of people with anxiety issues is often the fear of getting a panic attack. The problem can catch you off-guard at any vulnerable moment making the situation tough to deal with. Remember, some kind of stress is pertinent to travel, and everyone experiences it sometime or the other. While in many cases, our body intelligence teaches us to learn and adapt in the situation, keeping some information handily can be a lifesaver.
Get in touch with a doctor and prepare a guideline to handle such attacks. In extreme circumstances, you can also get in touch with agencies and support groups. Prepare a contingency plan and set some budget aside for emergencies. Sometimes a change in the atmosphere can mitigate a lot of your stress. So, if the roads’ rough seem a little heavy, take some time off and treat yourself to some luxury.
The Bottom Line
Never let the idea of anxiety weigh down your spirit to adventure. No matter what situation throws at you, it is the travel misadventures that teach you some of the best coping strategies. In some way, travel will challenge you and foster a positive change in your behavior. The more you travel, the more you will shed your inhibitions and come out stronger.
