Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States, affecting 40 million Americans every year; that’s more the entire population of Canada.
Feelings of anxiousness can permeate every aspect of our lives and it affects each of us differently. For some, anxiety can be crippling, panic-inducing and downright debilitating. For others, like myself, it’s background noise; always there, but more noticeable during the quiet moments. Regardless of where you fall on the spectrum, one thing remains true: travelling can feel like an impossible feat when you’ve got anxiety.
Consider the birthplace of your anxiety
For as long as I can remember I’ve been told I’m a worrier. When I was a kid I understood that this designation was bestowed upon me as an attempt at offering comfort, to ironically dissuade me from doing the very thing I was told I was. As an adult, I now realize that it’s possible these attempts at comforting me have likely only reinforced my negative habits. Being told you’re something over and over again has a way of making an idea or feeling stick.
When my first trip abroad rolled around at the age of 16 I was simply unprepared. I was going away to Europe for 2 weeks and before I left I spent my time simultaneously packing and reviewing the list of everything that could go wrong while I was away. Things culminated with a breakdown in the airport, the kind where your chest heaves in and out until your head begins to pound along with it. The contents of my tear ducts and sinuses emptied themselves right there in the line for departures. I couldn’t think straight, I couldn’t hear any of the sounds around me. I had no idea what was happening.
That would be the first of many panic attacks.
Believe it or not, getting on that plane bound for unfamiliar territory… helped
While they can sneak up on you at seemingly random times, I have found that my worst panic attacks hit me when what I want and what I think I can handle collide. I knew I wanted to see a new country but I was also very afraid of the uncertainty of being away from home. I wanted adventure but feared the unexpected.
But believe it or not, disrupting my routine and getting on the plane that day was the best thing for my anxiety.
Sometimes you have to say no
Of course establishing trustworthy routines is an important and effective component of managing anxiety in your everyday life. But sometimes you really do have to say no to the most anxious parts inside you that try and tell you that you can’t. Remember: you don’t have to beat your anxiety, you just have to live with it and understand it.
And you know what makes living with an anxiety disorder a lot easier? An excellent network of support: enter your tour group.
Touring eliminates the fear of the unknown
When you book a group tour you benefit by receiving a travel plan that’s been laid out for you, one that tells you weeks (even months) before you leave what you can expect to do, see, eat, feel and hear. Another perk? Having everything planned out for you allows you to be spontaneous about the smaller moments that really make a trip unforgettable, rather than feeling overwhelmed by the gravity of being responsible for everything yourself.
If you aren’t lucky enough to be travelling on a tour there are still ways to manage your fears. Lizzie of Wanderful World shares her own strategies for conquering anxiety on the road,
"Prior to travelling, I find it helps if I plan everything - I even print out maps of how to get from the airport to my accommodation. The 'not knowing' can often trigger an attack, so being prepared and knowing how you can get from one place to another can really help settle some of that anxiety. Having control over the situation and taking charge of the things you can take charge of really makes a difference. When travelling, seek out spaces where you can be alone if you need a few moments to re-group and take everything in small steps. It seems much less daunting booking a flight, then booking accommodation, then getting to the airport, then checking in, then travelling, etc, than it does thinking about everything at once as one huge obstacle."
You make friends before you even leave
The fear of rejection can be overwhelming and if you’re like me, meeting new people is a process where you must repeatedly confront your deepest insecurities. But when you take a group tour you don’t have to spend time dreading that first encounter in the hotel lobby. Take TourRadar for example, they have the MeetApp that lets you meet and chat with everyone you’ll be touring with long before you leave for the airport. Virtual introductions let you get comfortable in advance and that eliminates a lot of the “Will they like me? Will I like them?” toxic thought patterns that will hit you.
Guides are your personal historians, event managers and… therapists
When you travel on a group tour you’re never really alone — even when if you want a break from your fellow travellers. In those moments when you feel like your anxiety might be winning despite your best efforts, your tour guide is there to talk you down from the ledge. Their entire purpose revolves around not only ensuring you see everything on your bucket list (and eat at all the best restaurants) but also making sure that you’re feeling safe, secure and supported.
Take my friend Katie’s first group tour experience for example. Katie was first diagnosed with general anxiety disorder in college which would later evolve into semi-frequent anxiety attacks. She decided to take the leap after graduation and booked her first solo trip, a tour with Contiki. Once she had arrived (which was an emotional hurdle in itself) Katie settled into the comfort of the group setting and began to give herself permission to have fun.
But a few weeks into the trip she got a message from her mom saying that her grandfather had unexpectedly fallen gravely ill*– and advised her to prepare to come home at a moment’s notice. The worst had happened. She was away from her family and completely powerless. Of course, this sent Katie into an emotional tailspin. Luckily her tour guide was there, ready to pick her up and help her wade through the sea of emotions she was drowning in.
“Honestly, the guide really kept me sane. I think if he hadn’t been there to help me snap out of the full-on panic I was feeling the rest of the trip would have been wasted.
He just kept re-assuring me that he’d be able to get me to the airport without me having to worry or work out the details. I was also able to talk to him about what was going on without feeling like I was dumping on him.”
Sometimes the worst part of being anxious can be the guilt of feeling like you should be happier for the sake of those around you. When you travel with a tour guide you never have to worry that your emotional baggage is too high maintenance. Guides are there to guide you — through more than just the Colosseum.
*Katie also wants you to know that her grandfather ended up being just fine.
Travel transforms the relationship you have with your anxiety (for the better)
There should be no expectation that once you return home from your tour you will be cured of your anxiety. That’s not the point of group travel. Instead, you’ll return with three important learnings:
- Your anxiety is manageable
- Your anxiety does not rule your social life
- Your anxiety will not and can not stop you from enjoying the same travel experiences as the other people in your life
“My anxiety is the worst when I’m alone so when I travelled in a group, the quiet times that tend to trigger me were few and far between. Despite worrying about being accepted by my fellow travellers, I was constantly in awe of how kind everyone was. People went out of their way to connect with you and totally let you take your alone time when you needed it. We were always going from place to place, always seeing something new or doing something exciting. It didn’t leave a lot of time for feeling lonely or sad.”
When you return from your trip you will have earned new ways to classify yourself:
Traveller. Friend. Zipline buddy…was the last one just me?
Whatever steps you take outside of your comfort zone while on the road, are steps in the right direction. Every day you try something new whether it scares you or not is one more thing you get to remind yourself you’ve conquered.
There’s a whole legion of support out there waiting for you, it’s only a passport stamp away.
