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4 Expert-Backed Tips To Help Stay Calm During Stressful Travels
This may be obvious but traveling can be stressful. With missed flights, traffic jams, and a lot of "are we there yets," the smooth sailing into a vacation or family visit is often more turbulent than you expect.
If you're flying, pre-download some mindfulness apps to play during takeoff and landing and pack nutrient-dense snacks so you're not scrambling for less-than-ideal food at the airport. If you're driving, opt for a vehicle that aids in stress relief like the Lincoln Nautilus, which has a multi-sensory experience to help you relax in your car. If your vehicle isn't equipped with massage seats, meditations, and relaxing smells like the Nautilus, make sure your mindful music is queued, maps are loaded, and buffer time is included in your ETA.
Need more tips and tricks? We gathered our favorite stress-relieving tips for your travel plans, whenever they may be, to help ease the discomfort before a much-needed break.
First things first: Travel anxiety is a real thing
"When we talk about travel, we need to acknowledge that travel anxiety is a real entity, and some people really do suffer from acute travel anxiety. And we do know a percentage of the population does suffer from an anxiety disorder, so those people especially can anticipate that when they travel, they might suffer from anxiety or even a panic attack," says board-certified psychiatrist Indra Cidambi, M.D.
Time away should give you a break from everyday stressors and offer you a chance to recharge, recoup, and enjoy much-needed time with family. The travel to get you there? Clearly less so. Maybe it's TSA lines that wind and weave, flight delays with little information about takeoff and no end in sight, or missed layovers that leave you stranded in a random city, carving into your precious days off or family time. Do you feel an uptick in your heartbeat just reading that? I certainly do.
Plus, when you are in the midst of travel mishaps, you're likely not in a great setting to calm yourself (overcrowded gates don't offer the best vibes). And you're likely surrounded by less-than-healthy eating options, which can exacerbate the issue (airports are getting better with this, but fast food still abounds). So if you find yourself stuck, anxious, and restless during travel, there are a few things you can do:
Always plan ahead
To start, make sure you are calm from the get-go, she says. Check in via mobile apps or fill out any form you might need to beforehand (like if you are coming back on an international flight, always fill out the customs form on the plane, not while you are waiting in line). And when you enter the airport, turn on your most calming, relaxing playlist. "This will put you in a good mindset and distract you," she says.
If you're driving, eyeball the route before you hit the road, and make sure your preferred travel app is updated. It's also important to have your charger handy and anything else you may need (thinking primarily of you, snacks).
Have an anxiety SOS game plan
"The most important thing you can do is to come up with a coping mechanism before you leave," says Cidambi. "Have a plan in place before your trip, so if you feel anxiety coming on, you already know what you are going to do."
If you feel anxiety coming on, there are a few easy techniques to try:
- Practice proper breathing using your stomach muscles, and reduce breathing through your chest. Here are our favorite breathwork practices to try.
- Count backward from 100. "If you ask people to count upward, they can do it quickly, but doing it backward forces people to slow down," she says.
- Splash your face with cold water to bring yourself into the moment. "When someone is having a panic attack, it's very difficult to talk them out of it; sometimes you need something physical to pull yourself out," she says.
And if your kids are the ones with anxiety? One of education expert and author Caroline Maguire, PCC, M.Ed.'s go-to tips when helping a spiraling kid is to have them chew gum. When doing so, tell them to focus on the slow, repetitive movement. "Tell your kid to focus on chewing slowly and to really pay attention to each bite," she says. "It will help them break out of their anxiety."
Be mindful of what you are eating and drinking
What we put into our bodies affects how we feel. And on the flip side, when we're not eating enough, it may trigger anxiety, too.
"Two things tend to happen: One, you get through TSA, rush to your flight, and then you're on the plane and don't have anything nutritious to eat. So you're on the plane with an empty stomach, and your anxiety can increase. Then when you land, you might be tired because you didn't have a snack or meal," says Cidambi.
Make sure to stock up on a few healthy snacks you can munch on during the flight, so when you arrive at your destination, you don't feel sluggish or irritated.
Factor in buffer time
"Come back the day before the vacation ends," says Cidambi. "People pack their travel itinerary so tightly, meaning they leave the first day they have off work, and they come back the night before. That's a big no because they don't have room for things to go wrong, like delays."
Plus, coming back from a vacation or family time can feel like the Sunday scaries on steroids—so factoring in a full or half-day for you to do laundry, fit in a workout, and get your things in order can help alleviate that stress.
The takeaway
Travel can be stressful for lots of folks. Experts recommend that you have a plan in place, give yourself grace, and be sure to keep up your healthy eating habits—all of these can help ease anxiety. Bon voyage!
