Tuesday, 27 June 2017

Travelling With Anxiety - 6 Things That Help Me

So if you've read my blog for a long time it'll be no secret to you that I suffer with anxiety, and it's pretty bad. For those of you who are new to my blog I suffer with generalised anxiety and have done for a few years now, and unfortunately I can't really say has improved over time. My anxiety presents itself in all sorts of situations, and as much as I love travelling, that can trigger my anxiety. I did a post about it a while ago if you're interested, I'll leave a link here. I never go far from home, the only places I've been the last few years are Manchester and London but regardless of that I always feel a sense of panic and anxiety when a trip away is getting close. I always try my best to not let it ruin things though, I tend to look forward to little holidays so much so I never want to let my anxiety stop me from enjoying them, I just find ways of coping with it. So I thought i'd share with you a few of the things I do to try and keep my anxiety at bay, and hopefully if you get the same as me before a trip, these might help you.

Booking In Advance 

As much as I love the thought of a last minute getaway or one day being surprised with a weekend away, for now it just isn't going to happen, I need to be in control of as much of the booking as possible. I like to plan a few months advance for a weekend away or a holiday and book as early as possible. Not only do I find booking early gets you the best deals and cheaper train tickets etc. I also just like to have an idea of all our plans. I like to know where we'll be staying, the time we need to get the train etc, that way we can plan what we'll be doing when we're there and generally just getting these things sorted in advance really helps me.

Making Notes & Packing Early 

Aswell as booking early, I also like to pack early. I'm not saying I start months in advance or anything but maybe 2 weeks or so before I'll start making a list of anything we need to take, what we still need to get etc. I just feel so much better about everything if I'm getting prepared early. I hate leaving packing til the last minute then realising something isn't clean that I want to take, or I needed to pick up a few bits from the shop and now it's too late. I just can't deal with it. I'll gradually pack over time and then the night before I'll do all the last minute checks. I find making notes at least a few weeks before really helps me. I also like to make notes on my phone of other things like our hotel check in time, train time, opening times of certain shops. All little things but again making notes is a massive help for me.

Travelling Early

 I like to travel as early as possible on the first day. So we'll leave in plenty of time for the train station, just so we've got plenty of time to get any food or magazines, find our platform and when the train gets in, get to our seat before it gets packed. I can't imagine anything worse than having to run for our train or someone else getting in our seat, I worry every time about that so I like to leave nice and early. Also I like to get the train early in the morning just so we've got plenty of time in the afternoon to get things done. For example, when we go to London I like to get the train around 10 and then we're there in perfect time for checking in and then we have the rest of the afternoon and evening to explore. We're usually out of the hotel again by 2 on the first day so we have most of the day then.

Itinerary 

Usually when we book to go somewhere we've already got in mind a few things we want to do there but I always like to make some sort of itinerary. I'm not saying you have to be super strict as that can take the fun out of it but there is no harm in having some sort of plan or a list of places you want to go, and on what days, just so you don't miss out on things. I also find this is good as once everything is written down you can see whats near each other and what things you could do on each day. For me it just helps so much having some sort of plan of our whole trip.

Music and Reading 

Music is something that helps massively with my anxiety anyway but especially when it comes to travelling. If I am feeling stressed or anxious on the day we're leaving I'll put my headphones in and when on the train I'll just zone out. I really enjoy having a few hours to just listen to music and not think about anything. I also find reading helps me a lot aswell. A good book is brilliant for a train or plane journey, it's cheesy but you can just get lost in someone elses life.

Home Comforts 

 I think its always nice to take a little bit of home with you if you struggle with anxiety or being away from home. I always take fluffy bed socks and they always make me feel cosy before bed. I also like to take a little blanket type t-shirt I have or one of Georges t-shirts to snuggle with. Just little things like that make me feel a bit more content in a hotel and help me relax so much.

That's a few things I do each time I travel to try and help reduce my anxiety. Sometimes I'm fine and usually once I'm there I don't tend to be that bad but just the thought of going away and the actual travelling. can be a bit of a stressful thing for me! I'm sorry if these aren't brilliant tips, they are just what I find helpful but everyone is different. I'd love to know if you struggle with things like this and how you cope!

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