Need tips for travelling anxiety & coping in a different place

Hi @Former-Member ,

Sounds like you had a great job being able to travel everywhere for a living but totally understandable how amazingly difficult for someone with MI to be in such a role. It's funny how much I feel I can do things like that until I am actually doing it and facing the stress of it all. I could not do it when I remember how many times I've stepped up to do something and been totalled by the situation I put myself in.

Music would really work for me as a familiar thing. Just throw on my head phones and drown everything out until I feel better. I find the clothes I'm wearing helpful as well. I don't know how you would handle coping with the crowds if you were in a hurry though. I would love to understand more about mental illness and coping mechanisms or methods of coping that would allow a sufferer to properly manage flying around the country. Familiar things are great but I guess you would need people to connect to on arrival that you could ground yourself with. That's so opposite to what a sufferer would naturally do though having a tendency to avoid conversation. I think that an online version of connecting to people via text message would be something. I'm not sure if it would work but I know I find dealing with people via text is a whole lot easier than in person. I know that if it were

not for technology and we were all face to face that I would have little or nothing to say. But yeah, I could definitely imagine someone sitting in departures at Sydney airport, hovering over their phone and organising all their social connections at say Melbourne before the leave and then connecting to everybody on arrival at their destination.

Hi @Late @MDT @Owlunar @outlander

I made it back. I had a couple of good times, but all in all, I don't think it was worth the anxiety and stress. Or perhaps it was, as I am now at home and feel pretty hopeless.

@LateI only just got your last message, sorry, I will try to reply another time.

Hi @Former-Member

I am glad to hear you have been there and now you are home - it's really great to have been successful with the whole deal - and I do understand that the social aspect of it and being glad you are home makes you feel you might be ungrateful - but here you are - you went - you saw people - I think it was their idea you travel soon after your hospital stay - and you got home - Teddy behaved - he got lost but you found him - and it was stress plus organising - the social aspect was tough -

But you can be grateful you are home without needing to bother about being ungrateful - think for yourself - you have done something that was really hard for you at this time in your life and now it is a memory you can reflect on - and get what you need to from the experience

I travel twice a year and I am always glad to get home - it's the most important part of your trip - getting home safely - and the memories last -

I'm pleased for you

Dec

Hi @Late

Welcome to the forum family - it's good to see you here and also to read your comments on travel - we all have something to bring to the table and we all learn from each other's experiences here too - and thank you for your contribution

One thing I didn't think to mention for travel was clothing - it's so important to wear comfortable clothing on planes - I have taken a look around at my fellow travellers and even in business class people do not dress up for the part as a rule - however I have seen people dressed up and maybe they are flying interstate for the day and need to look business like at the other end.

When I started travellling in 2015 I found the plane trip stressful - we all need to have a favourite thing to distract us - that was a good point you made too - I like to have a window seat and always ask for one - and on that first the airport was crowded and the plane delayed and after all the hassle my seat had been taken and I was given another and I found this difficult - one reason I travel business class now - I like to make the whole trip the best I can - I like to see the horizon - it settles me - not seeing it makes me feel weird and giddy

We are all different - I am glad you have found us and shared your own tips

Dec

Hi @Owlunar

definitely something to tick off in my 'scared of' box.

The troubles of home life already have me firmly in their grip. I knew I couldn't run away from them, at least for a brief period, but I feel like when I left, or worse. I think a little respite let's me forget what the here and now is. then i come back to the here and now, and it is a different here and now i expect. i get confused with the days, months, years and sometimes i don't know "when" I am. I find that really confusing because the i find evidence from the outer world that my "when" is incorrect. And then I just want to curl up in a ball and cry and hide forever. Sorry but reality has hit hard.