Travel Anxiety Revealed | Psychology Today

Not everyone has that. A friend of mine can sleep peacefully in the middle seat of economy class from JFK to Singapore, or happily read on his Kindle across multiple time zones. Having traveled with him, I can assure you that he is not at all disoriented in a city he has never been to before. Getting lost happens, yes, like when he discovers he’s booked himself into a hotel next to an industrial park an hour from downtown. But he attracts people to help him find what he needs. zero anxiety.

Not me. I carefully check my ID and credit/cash cards, and keep printouts of hotel reservations and ticket confirmations as well as backups on my phone. Fearful of the unknown, I thought about what I would do if the airline mistakenly sent my luggage to Ulaanbaatar, or my wallet was stolen, or my plane was delayed so I missed the truck to the resort center. Which does not excuse me from my low grade He is afraid When driving in an unfamiliar city or even an unfamiliar part of a familiar city.

My anxiety begins the moment I hear the tires of an airport taxi hit my gravel road. But why do I feel like I’m being taken away from my home? Why, suddenly, can’t I bear to be separated from my dogs and chickens? After all, the trip was my idea, and I planned it. But oh, all the things that could go wrong in my absence: fires, mudslides, floods, earthquakes. I live in California, after all.

You get the picture. I’m an anxious traveler. That’s how a lot of people are. Even Sigmund FreudAs he admitted in a letter to his friend Wilhelm Fliess: “Before every journey I fall into a state of dreadful anxiety and doubt my courage to undertake it.” exactly.

I know, I know; What’s all the fuss about? Leisure travel is a privilege and a luxury. Nobody makes you do that. In fact, some people cannot be removed from their homes. But I venture that most of us feel some tension between the desire to go and the desire to stay, and perhaps this is why departures are often full of quarrels. “We’re going to be late,” one partner shouts, and the other replies, “Because you forgot to pack the passports again.” Or “Mom, why do you always have to call when I’m trying to leave on a trip?” Then there are all those people who are always upset at the airport yelling at staff and airline staff. What’s going on here?

On one level, it’s simple: transitions are emotionally difficult. Ask any young child. The larger or more difficult the transition; The more fragile a person is, the larger he appears. But even well-adjusted children will often cry when a babysitter comes over, even one they love, or when you, the parent, pick them up from a playdate they don’t want to leave. Sometimes getting them out of the house without a tantrum, even if they go to Mickey D’s, is a challenge.

Leaving a place that feels safe, comfortable and welcoming is very difficult. That’s why leaving home is usually the hardest. We are like animals that are reluctant to leave the burrows that protect them from predators. Home is where we have the most control, and the most familiarity. We have Our things Those around us and our routines for our comfort. We know what to expect there. Our history and our ghosts are there. Think of Homer’s Odysseus, who rejected the love nest of the gods and offered his hand to the princess enchanted. marriageliving in a peaceful and luxurious society (unlike his own), choosing instead to fight for a full 10 years to get home. Although he was also conflicted, he clearly enjoyed the aforementioned goddess, princess, and peaceful land.

Even if we are unaware of our duality, the feelings emerge anyway, turning into anxiety, Angeror even depression. My husband gets depressed during departure and arrival, which continues until the bags are unpacked jet lag Gone, routine established. But this seems to be changing since it was reflected in his early travel experiences, when he was sent as a very young man to cross the country by train and visit people he did not know or to travel to Europe on his own for some life enrichment. He knew that these trips were great privileges that he could not refuse, and he could not tell his parents how miserable he was. He couldn’t even think about it. Instead, as children do, he blamed himself for failing to dive into the adventures. It’s no surprise that even his long-awaited travel these days can stir up those early feelings.

Your exploration childhood The connection to travel can be revealing. It can also relieve travel stress. It’s for me. Understand that as TeenI had to throw myself—scared, uneducated, and unprepared—out into the larger world if I wanted to escape a stifling upbringing and expand my life with new places and people. Now, I just smile and bear the anxiety that remains when I travel. But I do travel. No matter how hard it is to walk out my front door, whether it’s a weekend in Big Sur or a trek in Nepal, it’s always worth it.