Fear of traveling

[12cupcakes]

I started to travel small. Today I went to a strawberry festival 2 hours to get there and 2 hours back home. Little nervous but it went well. My daughter drove and I worked on remaining calm going there. Of course there were no strawberries left to pick but I am happy that I followed thru. Will continue with some more short travels by car and work my up to some short flights before solo long ones. Thank you everyone for all your suggestions and support.

[BobD Volunteer]

Well done.

[CDreamer]

Oh very well done. I do appreciate this is very hard but taking small, achievable steps and keeping calm is the way forward. Be very, very proud of yourself.

What is your next step?

[12cupcakes in reply to CDreamer]

Thank you. I don’t know yet where the next adventure will be. My daughter comes up with fun things to do. It is very hot here in Phoenix Arizona area. We have to go higher attitude to get relief from this heat. Thank you for your support and advice

[IanMK]

Good for you. Keep taking the small steps to keep on the path to improvement. Good advice from CDreamer

[12cupcakes]

Thank you. That’s my plan —baby steps to big and bigger steps. And with each success less anxiety. Yeah!

[sportscoach]

Old Chinese proverb (Lao Tzu) ...… The journey of one thousand miles begins with one step

[12cupcakes in reply to sportscoach]

Excellent proverb

[lovetogarden]

Well done! I know the feeling! We just got back from a very long 2 days of flights and I just had to keep telling myself to breathe and keep calm. Watching movies in flight helped a lot. Keep at it and you’ll be flying solo before you know it!

[Plantwords]

With AF, maybe like anxiety and agoraphobia, we have to learn again that we are the safety, we create a safe zone around us with family and friends and even strangers who we might ask for help if we ever need it without having to feel embarrassed or weak for needing the support of others. Like you, I tried short trips, had to make sure my cell phone was glued to me, wanted my wife to accompany me and if not, she had to be available by phone to 'come for me' if I went into AF. I took taxis instead of the subway, avoided stairs and did not want to travel. I did not take a plane for years which deprived us of vacations to places we wanted to go. Now, I realize, I was safe anyway. There was always help nearby if I needed it; there was always help even if I was hours away from a hospital because AF wasn't the kind of disease that couldn't wait a few hours to deal with. A few times I needed help because I was afraid and uncomfortable, but most of the time I did not. And here I am 9 years later safe and still to managing my dis-ease. So, good on you for venturing forward with your life. You will eventually travel alone recognizing that if you need help it's there and when you get comfortable with this thought, that you can take care of yourself, your world will open up again so you can be you again without letting the fear of AF stop you.

[12cupcakes]

Thank you. You certainly give me hope. The fear of a symptomatic AFib episode keeps my anxiety level up I will continue with adventures and build my confidence up. Thank you