Just a Few Tips for Traveling with Anxiety

Sorry for no post last week. It was a really bad week, and I had to take a break to deal.

I don’t know about you, but I get some severe anxiety when traveling. This is something that just developed within the last year, and I hate it. I have wanderlust in my soul, I love traveling so much. Lately, any time I get in the car to even just leave town, I find myself having trouble. I know exactly what my trigger is, and I can take medicine to help, but it doesn’t stop the spiral. Here are a few tips I use to reign it in when the elephant on my chest makes a visit.

Plan for it

You know it’s coming, so you need to be prepared. Before you leave, make sure you have everything you need. Pack your medicine. Be sure you have a book or two. Make sure your phone has the music you want to listen to downloaded, and that your phone is charged.

Practice your coping methods

My last post was about coping methods for panic attacks. There are multiple ideas beyond just those that I offered. Have some ideas written down to look at when the anxiety comes by. Practice mantras about being safe, remind yourself that the worst case scenario is not the likely scenario, and have someone with you or on speed dial that can talk you through an attack.

Remind yourself why you’re traveling

There has to be a reason why you’re traveling. Do you just enjoy the ride? Are you visiting someone? Are you doing it because you have to? Are you doing something fun? Are you doing this to push yourself out of your comfort zone? Find your why and build from there. Decide if this is something that you want to do, or if staying home is something you’ll regret later.

This is a hard decision, and I’m going to be real with you here. I bail out on travel often because of my anxiety. It’s an ongoing struggle with me. Sometimes I win, and sometimes I fail. That’s okay because it’s a process. Listen – you can travel with your anxiety if you’re willing to try. It’s okay to fail sometimes too. You don’t really fail until you quit trying. So keep your head up and keep going. Good luck on your travels!

Why Routines Are Important for Anxiety

I’ve had anxiety for most of my life. In the last two years, it’s gotten so much worse. In October last year, I decided that enough was enough. I was tired of feeling scared to even live my life. Fate allowed me to stumble upon an amazing anxiety mentor at just the right time. While working with her, I learned something. This was something that I already knew, but I hadn’t really stuck to anything long enough to really let it work. Routines are so important for those of us with anxiety.

Structure

Routines give us the structure that anxiety doesn’t always allow us to have. Now I’m not saying that everyone needs structure in order to manage their anxiety. I have found over the last few months that having a morning routine and an evening routine means that I have less stress throughout my day-to-day life. I know what I’m doing and I have time to plan. I start the day knowing what to expect, then I end the day with a relaxed mindset knowing that I can handle tomorrow.

I’ve also found that routines allow for more productivity. I know what I’m doing and I know that I can get it done. I have time in the evenings to list the things I need to prioritize, and I have the mornings to review and prepare for those priorities.

Planning

As I previously stated, having solid routines allows us to be prepared for the day ahead. A morning routine allows you to take the time in the morning to get ready. You’ll face the day knowing what you need to do. You can set your schedule, then you can get to work, reassured that you have the time to get it all done. This means that you spend less time stressing about how to get it all done, and more time to spend chasing your dreams.

Mental health

Perhaps one of the most important things about having a routine is that it helps us with our mental, emotional, and physical health. A routine means that we take our vitamins and medicine when we’re supposed to. When the routine becomes a habit, we don’t even think about it anymore. Healthy habits are easier to incorporate into our routines, and the bad habits are easier to eliminate.

The same routines can help us take care of our mental and physical health. We can incorporate journaling, meditation, and exercise. We can start the day with a healthy mindset, and then we can end the day by checking in with ourselves. We can examine our mood through the day, our anxiety level and our triggers, as well as how much water we drank and how much sleep we got.

Routines can be so helpful to those of us dealing with anxiety on a regular basis. They provide structure and get us ready to face our day-to-day lives. Create some routines for yourself or shake yours up and see what happens. Let me know how it goes.

Artist Dates Aren’t Just for Artists

If you are someone that spends a lot of time online, then you’ve probably heard of an artist date. An artist date is this amazing concept found in The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. This is a block of time that is yours. During this time, you go out by yourself and spend some time letting creativity come to you. For content creators, there are many benefits to this creative exercise. For the anxious mind, there are just as many benefits.

One of the many benefits is a clear head. Taking some time to spend alone with no one to distract or judge you can be so freeing. Turn off your phone and spend some time alone. This can be exploring a part of your city, sitting outside reading a book or just sitting, or anything that feeds your soul.

Another benefit is a change in perspective. Sometimes the problems we see are so large and daunting. Taking a step back and spending some time out of our comfort zone allows us the ability to see what we normally wouldn’t. This allows us to change our viewpoint and the big, scary thoughts and ideas become smaller and more manageable.

Mindset shifts can happen at any time. Normally we associate a mindset shift with consistently adding new, better ideas into our lives. When you take the time to be alone and out of your comfort zone, then a shift can happen all on its own. We sometimes call this an epiphany – a moment when something that puzzled or troubled you suddenly doesn’t because the answer becomes clear. A shift in your mindset can happen the same way.

Room to breathe is so important. This is a frequent benefit of getting out into nature. A bigger space away from everything is so peaceful. Fresh air, a good breeze, and a change of scenery can do wonders for the anxious mind.

Leaving the comfort zone is always a great way to shake the anxiety and it’s something that happens with an artist’s date. This is a scary thing that frightens many of us but you grow outside of your comfort zone. So step out of it and experience something new or better.

New experiences are perhaps the best part of an artist date. Go somewhere you haven’t been before. Explore that place you’ve always been curious about. Get out there and feed your soul.

An artist date is meant to inspire you and feed your creativity. It will certainly do that. If you let it, it will also help with an anxious mind. For students that are struggling, that date might just be exactly what you need to reorient yourself. Give it a shot and let me know all about your adventure.