Many people will relate to travelling under a cloud. Holidays are meant to be liberating and exciting, fun and interesting. Travelling, however, for many people, is a nightmare. There are so many things to consider and so many hurdles to overcome. The problems can start as early as the packing stage and go on through the arrival at the airport, reach climactic heights on the airplane, continue through the journey to the hotel and take in the hire car pick up on the way.
All of the various stages of holiday travel can result in one long bout of anxiety. Not everyone can travel in a carefree way unless they have a calm companion to help them through all of the stages from home to hotel.
Once the brave decision has been made to leave one’s safe and comfortable home and venture across to an alien environment with deposit paid and promises made to your fellow traveller, there is very little chance of going back. This is often a good thing because the final destination is more often than not, really worth the hassle.
The anxious traveller is almost always looking for the next reason to be anxious as if, in this way, the next hurdle can be considered and avoided before it actually takes place, thus taking out any element of surprise. Some measures can be taken to defeat the onset of a panic attack, these include re running old panic attacks which have already been survived, thus giving them an almost familiar friendliness to them or a favourite of mine, looking at your fellow airplane travellers and refusing to allow them to see you in any embarrassing distress, especially the irritating ones. Taking precautions such as buying travel insurance at least gives you the peace of mind if you do become ill whilst away, as does packing all those important little things in hand luggage.
The key word here is “relax”. Be aware of your sudden overheating and immediately take measures to cool down. Breathe slowly and have a back catalogue of pleasing day dreams that you can run by your brain to take your mind of things. Listen to an audio book; this is perfect for taking your mind of a situation. But above all, don’t let your travel anxiety spoil the great unknown. Holidays and travel in general can be fun, exciting and peaceful if you let it.
Article written by Helen North from the holiday insurance team at cheaptravelinsurance.com