I, Courtney, don’t read as many travel blogs as Mallory, so I am not sure how often bloggers talk about some of the negative feelings that come with travel. Since these blogs are all about travel, we normally try to be positive and relay all of our great experiences while traveling. The truth of it is though, that travel can induce feelings of anxiety, sadness, homesickness, and fear. I normally have a very negative head space the few days or week leading up to going on a trip and I know I can’t be alone in that, so on this blog I want to talk about some of my coping mechanisms and some helpful tips that I don’t always take myself but should.
Tip 1: Plan Ahead to Reduce Anxiety
Having a well planned trip can help reduce a lot of the anxiety that comes with travel. That can mean different things though. Sometimes, that may mean having a set itinerary so that you know where you will be and what you will be doing each day. Knowing that you have a way to get around, a place to stay when you get there, and at least a good idea of what you want to do while there means there is less room for what ifs to creep in and overwhelm you. Trips are hardly ever perfect though so you need to remember that too and be prepared if things don’t go exactly to plan.
Planning ahead can also help you ensure that you see the main things you want to see while there. While we hope to go to a lot of places more than once, we realistically know that it will not happen or at least maybe not soon, so we treat a lot of trips as once in a lifetime opportunities. If you’re only going to Italy once and don’t plan time to see the Colosseum, you will probably return feeling like you missed out. Plan ahead and you will hopefully have more positive memories when you return home than negative ones.
Sometimes, planning ahead may be more about mentally preparing to go with the flow of not having a planned out trip. When I took a trip to Louisiana with my Dad, we didn’t make any reservations and didn’t really know how long we would be gone, but I knew that and prepared myself to allow what would be to be ahead of time.
Tip 2: Start Packing Early
This is one of those tips that I need to do a better job of following. I have packed for trips well in advance and it made my stress level go way down in the days leading up to the trip. More often, I leave it until the last minute and get extremely stressed. Packing early can help you understand what you may need from the store, what you can and cannot live without, and what suitcase you need to carry. This is also a good place to insert one of my favorite mental mantras: if you forget something, there will probably be a Walmart (or something similar) when you get there, so even if you forgot something, you will most likely be fine.
Tip 3: Use Calming Boosters
After an especially scary flight, I also get a little stressed about flying. If I ever happen to fly a lot in a short span of time, I find that stress gets less each time, but that rarely happens as I generally only fly once a year at most. I find some natural boosters help me maintain my calm. I use Aura Cacia “Panic Button” spray (mentioned in our 2021 Travel Essentials blog) and Olly Goodbye Stress vitamin gummies to help me stay calm throughout the flight. The gummies are also a good way to help when you cannot sleep on trips. I find my thoughts run around my head a lot and I also go into “protector” mode on trips, so this helps calm my brain down enough to sleep.
I also like to take reminders of home. I have these two dogs that I have always taken with me on trips since I was little. I spray them with a little of my Mama’s perfume and my Dad’s cologne to remind me of them.
Another thing that helps keep me calm is music or watching something so I make sure to download some playlists, tv shows, books, or movies to my iPad so that I can make sure I have them on the plane. Most flights have some form of in-flight entertainment, but this makes sure I have something that I know will boost my spirits.
Tip 4: Spend the Money to Stay in Touch
I am very close to my family and I normally talk to them on a daily basis so going on trips is no exception. I always make sure I can communicate with my people before I leave town and sometimes that costs a little more, but to me, it’s worth it. When we went to London, I had to get a whole new phone sent to me because the one I had wouldn’t work over there. I also had to pay by the minute or by the text, but on that trip, I felt especially homesick and being able to talk to people from home was vital.
Fortunately, technology has come a long way and I can now not only talk to but see my parents wherever I am in the world. The piece of mind that gives me is worth the price to extend my data or minutes. I know it may not be worth it to some, but I have never regretted it and it is always worth it in my case.
Tip 5: Remember Past Successes
Trips don’t always… let me back that up, trips never, if ever, go exactly to plan. But they normally go well. Try to think about not only the perfect moments, but the moments when things were hectic or didn’t go to plan and how it normally worked out anyway. When we went to Canada, one thing went wrong after another, but it all worked out and we had a great trip. When we went to Italy, I got a migraine and it knocked me on my butt for a few hours, but it didn’t ruin the whole trip. Honestly, it was helpful in the long run because it helped me realize what I needed to do to prevent that from happening and I have taken better care of myself on other trips. Control what you can and embrace the chaos. You will more than likely have a great trip and come back with awesome memories just as you have before. It’s ok to let the bad feelings wash over you too. As they say on Bluey, “have a little cry, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and keep going.” I know that’s easier said than done, so I just try to do my best and know sometimes my best won’t always seem like my best.
Our McTravels 