How do you travel with panic disorder?

[Heyyouthere33]

Hey all, I have a serious question. How do you travel with panic attacks. I haven't had a serious panic attack in months ( I've has small anxious episodes tho) but I have a trip in less than a month away to Mexico and I'm very concerned about flying. I get very anxious in long car trips but I can usually pull over if need be and walk around abit to settle the nerves but in a plane ride, thats not usually the case. What do you all do that helps you. And if you don't travel because of the panic, do you regret it?I'm honestly on the fence of going because of the high numebers of covid cases and all the variants but if I don't go, i know I'll be missing out on something I've wanted to do.

[Agora1]

Hi there! It might not be the best of times to travel because of Covid but as foranxiety, there are several ways to cope with the fear when traveling.

You are right in that when driving, we can always pull over and walk around which

helps immensely in using up that extra built up adrenaline..

As for being on an airline, you could have your doctor give you a sedative (benzo)

that you can take before your flight. Or...you can do what I did and that was put

my headphones on and listen to my Relaxation Meditation which did calm my nerves.

Watching a movie on flight (if possible) might help as well.

Make sure you have a sweater or something to wrap around your shoulders should

you get chilled. When you are comfortable it is easier not to feel anxious plus it can

almost make you sleepy by supporting your neck and shoulders.

As for the Covid, follow protocol for safety. I wish you a safe and enjoyable trip xx

[Dolphin14]

I don't travel due to anxiety. I haven't in years and I don't regret it. Anxiety ruined the trip. As soon as the flight was booked I would begin to panic. I would then panic the whole trip knowing I had to get back on the plane.

I agree with Agora. Ask for a Benzo, most doctors will give you two tabs so you have one each way.

It's hard to miss out on things. I just got used to it. I hope you find a way to get there. It sounds like you really want to go.

N95 or KN95 are recommended for travel. Please protect yourself.

🐬

[JkBauer]

Good morning,What a great opportunity that you have to go to Mexico! Sounds like it will be a fun trip! I love to travel, but other things cause me to have anxiety and stress. I have a couple of things that I do to help me regain focus and find a calm and peace about it. 1). I am a praying person. Prayer is very important to me. I talk to God and ask Him for His help, wisdom, and guidance, and that He will give me a sense of peace and a calm spirit. 2). I make a mental list, and then I write it down on a piece of paper. On one side the positive/ important benefits then I draw a line down the middle, and then I write down the negatives/ downside of the situation. One thing that you have to do differently though is that the Positives have to outweigh the negatives. Now, the work begins. You take one positive and match it up with one negative, and take the positive to teach you how to overcome the negative. I hope that makes sense. IE: I had a problem one time with my supervisor at work. We could not agree on a situation so, the principal told us that we had to find a way to agree to disagree. So, I had gotten a piece of paper and folded it in half lengthwise. Positive on one side and negative on the other side. One of my positives was that I liked her, she was a good teacher/ the negative was that she was always demanding and her ways were always the "right way." - So I had to find a way to bring peace to our disagreements and one-sided conversations. We were friends outside of school, how could I take our friendship and develop a good relationship inside of school? She was a talker and I was the quiet one. I took my list and decided what kind of positive attitude did I have towards her outside of school and what kind of attitude did I have towards her inside of school? I had to learn how to relax and humble myself. What did I do differently outside of school with her, that was different inside of school? Again, I was more relaxed outside of school. So I prayed to God, help me find peace with my friend in school as I am with her outside of school. Change my attitude that I may be more like you and that I will have less anxiety about this situation. As I started to find myself starting to relax and trust God to take care of my anxiety my stress started to disappear. He knew exactly what to do and how to help me! And as I continued to pray, I started to learn how to speak up a little more and give her some ideas and some of my thoughts, we started communicating more and she started liking my ideas and we began to implicate some of them into our student's goals and plans... Try praying, making a list of positives and negatives, and see how you can overcome the negatives by changing them into positives. God bless you! I will be praying for you also!

🙂