For as long as I can remember, I’ve suffered with pre-trip anxiety.
While everyone in my family would excitedly count down to our annual summer holiday, I’d instead be filled with dread.
Often, this dread was hard to define. It wasn’t that I was anxious about one specific element of our trip – flying, for example, or a fear that something would go terribly wrong.
Instead, it was just a general sense of unease; an anxiety about leaving the safety of our routine for the unknown of a new country.
This pre-travel anxiety got steadily worse as I got older, to the point that I often wanted to cancel trips altogether. I began to experience panic disorder in my twenties, something that made travelling incredibly challenging. As a result, I’d spend weeks before a trip worrying about what might happen if I had a panic attack while away, or what I’d do if my anxiety became too overwhelming.
The result was powerful, and often crippling, pre-trip anxiety.
Over the last few years, I’ve worked hard to get my pre-travel anxiety under control. I want to enjoy the anticipation that comes with the lead up to a trip and to feel confident, if not relaxed, as I head to the airport.
This is something I’ve now (just about) achieved and it’s been nothing short of transformational. I not only enjoy the build up to travel, but the entire trip feels much more enjoyable.
Below are my 5 best ways to manage pre-trip anxiety; tried and tested by the most nervous traveller of them all – myself.
Looking for more help with your pre-travel anxiety? Take a look at our bitesize course.
Symptoms of Pre-Travel Anxiety
The symptoms of pre-trip, or pre-travel anxiety, are much like anxiety symptoms more generally.
They are the result of what’s widely known as anticipatory anxiety – that nervous energy that fills our minds and homes in the lead up to an event (in this case, a perfectly nice holiday).
For some, pre-travel anxiety might manifest itself as intrusive ‘what if’ thoughts.
These loud and demanding thoughts are not only a manifestation of anxiety, but tend to trigger secondary anxiety – creating a perpetual loop of fear. They are often disturbing and frightening in nature – for example, ‘what if I get unwell abroad and can’t get home?’ or ‘what if I’m in a traffic accident while I’m away?’
Alternatively, some might only suffer from physical symptoms of pre-trip anxiety. These symptoms might include an upset stomach, insomnia and panic attacks.
Other pre-trip anxiety symptoms include:
- Rumination (prolonged periods of negative, repeated worry)
- Avoidance (not engaging with the logistics around the upcoming trip)
- Cancelling the trip altogether
- Negative forecasting (it’s going to be horrible and I’ll have a horrible time)
- Feeling anxious
- A compulsion to over plan and ‘control’ every aspect of the trip
- General symptoms of anxiety
- Lack of appetite
- A sense of ‘doom’ or fear as the trip approaches
How to Cope with Pre-Trip Anxiety: 5 Tried and Tested Ways
1. Swap Anxiety for Excitement
Did you know that the sensations we feel when we’re anxious are exactly the same as those we experience when we’re excited?
Both are caused by what scientists call ‘high arousal’, i.e. they cause a fast heart rate, cortisol surges and butterflies. The only difference is that we apply a positive emotion to one and a negative emotion to the other.
When experiencing that creeping sense of pre-travel anxiety, we are therefore faced with a choice. We can either label these sensations as negative – and suffer the consequences – or we can shift our mindset and give these emotions a makeover.
Next time you feel anxious, instead tell yourself you’re simply excited. Try to enjoy the feelings, the sensations and stick a positive label on them.
You’ll be surprised at just how effectively it can lessen your anxiety.
2. Label Unproductive Worrying
If you experience pre-travel anxiety, you’ll no doubt find yourself worrying about everything and anything prior to your departure.
However, it’s important to notice when your worrying becomes unproductive; i.e. it only worsens your anxiety symptoms, rather than helps to relieve them.
One of the tell-tale signs that your worry is becoming unproductive is that it begins with every anxious person’s favourite phrase: ‘what if?’
‘What-if’ worrying happens when we begin to overthink situations and attempt to control the uncontrollable (a habit most anxious folk like to indulge in). Given that ‘what if’ thoughts are usually based on fictional, future events, they predictably don’t have an immediate, or actionable solution.
For example: ‘what if there is something wrong with the plane?’, ‘what if my luggage is lost?’, or ‘what if something bad happens to a family member while I’m away?
As these worries don’t have an immediate solution, we ruminate over them endlessly – only making ourselves feel worse.
The key is to therefore learn to quickly label these thoughts as ‘unproductive worry’ and not engage with them. Instead, focus on those worries you can solve – or what is known as ‘productive worry’.
Examples of this breed of worry might look like: worrying about missing your flight, so booking an early taxi, or stressing you’ll get sick abroad, so getting great health insurance.
All of these worries have productive solutions – things you can do to remedy the situation. By focusing on these concerns, you’ll not only feel more in control, but will avoid the (often distressing) rabbit hole of unproductive worry.
3. Dealing with Catastrophising
Something people with pre-trip anxiety do very well is catastrophise. In fact, it’s something we all tend to do from time to time, particularly when we feel nervous or anxious.
A form of ‘cognitive distortion’, catastrophising is a toxic way of thinking that immediately assumes the worst; often taking a positive, or good event, and exaggerating the potential negative consequences of it.
This is a very common practice for nervous travellers and although it might sound benign, catastrophising can create real distress and unhappiness; leading to panic attacks, high levels of anxiety and phobias.
Catastrophising prior to a trip might look like this: ‘if our plane gets delayed, we won’t get there until late and I’ll be really tired, which will make my anxiety worse. I then won’t be able to calm down and the entire trip will be a disaster’.
During the build up to our departure, we therefore need to be aware of when this ‘maladaptive thinking’ starts to occur and to redirect our thoughts. Rather than following the thought down its tempting rabbit hole, instead take a step back and become more of an impartial observer.
When you notice yourself thinking ‘the plane made a strange noise, it’s going to crash’, breathe and wilfully explore other explanations – write them down, if it helps.
Look for the evidence that your catastrophic thoughts are correct (spoiler alert, you won’t find much) and instead, offer yourself a more balanced view.
You don’t need to be overly optimistic, but simply realistic and fair.
4. Coping with the Unknown
One big trigger for pre-trip anxiety, or pre-travel anxiety, is the unknown.
Our prehistoric brains do not like the unknown; it represents danger and possible threats.
Our minds therefore work hard to eliminate uncertainty wherever possible, whether that be looking at past experiences to predict future happenings, or by creating entirely fictional predictions to help fill the void.
Neither methods, however, are reliable and often result in catastrophising and imagining the worst (see above).
We therefore need to learn to tolerate the unknown, rather than trying to control it.
Feeling anxious about the unknown is very normal – and biologically important. It’s what we’re hard-wired to feel. However, we can make this sensation feel less overwhelming.
Firstly, and as mentioned above, we must learnt to disengage with unproductive worry and chasing down those ‘what if’ thoughts. Ruminating on them will not change the outcome of your situation, or make you any ‘safer’.
The unknown will still exist.
Secondly, and although a little cliché – mindfulness can play a very important role in helping to dilute the anxiety created by uncertainty. Rather than fixating on the future (something you cannot control, despite your best efforts), instead focus only on the present.
You can practice mindfulness through fantastic apps such as Headspace, or by completing small mindfulness exercises each time you feel your mind begin to ‘future-surf’.
For example, name five things you can hear this moment. Four things you can see. Name three things you can smell, two things you can touch and one thing you can taste. Repeat until you begin to feel calmer.
Another way to deal with uncertainty is to take some of your routine with you on your travels.
Indeed, while you may not be able to control everything, it’s helpful to know that there are a small things you do have some power over.
Plan these little routines before you travel, to help reassure yourself. For example, plan a perfect day for yourself while you’re away – pack your workout gear so you can go for a run in the morning, or your favourite shampoo for a bit of familiarity. Plan where you’ll have lunch and bring with you your journal, or book, to help ground you. Research where you might go for dinner that night and pack your favourite pyjamas so you know you’ll have some familiarity waiting for you.
Try, where you can, to insert these smaller routines into your travels, to help bring about a semblance of control.
5. Set Aside Some Worry Time
Pre-trip anxiety can arrive days, if not weeks, prior to a holiday.
However, and contrary to what we think we know about worry, this sort of prolonged worrying is not productive or effective.
Worrying about something for 2 weeks, rather than just 2 minutes, has absolutely no impact on the end result – you will not be more prepared, nor will you be any ‘safer’.
Instead, you’ll just be more anxious, stressed and sad. As they say, worrying really is a fool’s errand.
In the lead up to a trip, we therefore want to be strict with how much time we give to rumination and worry; limiting it where possible.
To do this, try building some ‘worry time’ into your day. For example, ten minutes of worry from 6.30pm until 6.40pm.
Throughout the day, whenever you notice yourself slipping into pre-travel anxiety, note down what you’re worrying about and remind yourself that you can only give this your attention during your allotted ‘worry time’.
For now, however, it’s time to move forward.
Once the time comes to begin your worrying, try to give it your all – really sit and ‘binge worry’. Look back at your notes from the day and notice how you feel.
Our prediction? By this point, those worries will have already lost their potency and appeal – and you’ll likely not feel like worrying about them. You’ll probably also find these ten minutes incredibly long, if not very boring.
This experiment helps to not only control your worrying, ensuring there are boundaries and parameters around it, but will highlight just how many irrational thoughts fill our heads each day.
Thoughts that once passed, really mean very little at all.
Looking for more help with your travel anxiety? Take a look at our Overcome Travel Anxiety course.
Read more: 5 Proven Ways to Cope With Pre-Trip Anxiety
