Tips for Stress-Free Travel
Even if you’re excited to go on vacation or see long-distance friends and family, traveling can be a source of anxiety. When it comes to battling the anxiety of crowded airports and long flights, preparation is key. Read on for a few techniques to help reduce stress on a travel day.
Prioritize Your Health and Wellness Early
Anxiety about the airport can often start before the day of the trip. Begin practicing self-care, eating nutritious foods, prioritizing sleep, and hydrating before your upcoming travel. Locating important documents like passports and downloading boarding passes ahead of time, as well as familiarizing yourself with the airlines policies about bags or seating arrangements, can also be helpful.
Reduce the Unknown
Anxiety often comes from the unknown and unfamiliar. If you don’t travel often or you’ve never been to the airport you’re about to travel in, look at a map of the layout.
It’s helpful to understand how the airport is laid out, if there is construction, where the terminals and gate sections are, and how to access the parking lots. Having an understanding of how to navigate the airport will make you feel more prepared and reduce some nerves on the travel day.
Give Yourself Extra Time
Running late and worrying about missing your flight is an easy travel mistake to avoid. Make sure to give yourself plenty of time and arrive early. Checking your bags, long security lines, extra security screenings, or other delays can eat up time. Most airports recommend arriving two hours ahead for domestic flights and three hours ahead for international flights. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has a convenient app which provides data on current security screening wait times and allows travelers to report delays in real time. In addition, most airport websites offer live updates and up-to-date information on wait times, traffic, and closings.
Pack Smart
Packing a few extra items can help reduce anxiety and make your travel day more enjoyable. If you worry about the airline losing your bag, placing a small tracking device that connects to your phone in your luggage can help locate a lost bag. Headphones can help block out noise of a busy airport or the sounds of the plane. A book or tablet allows you to relax on the go with your current read or TV show. A portable charger ensures your electronic devices stay charged if you don’t have access to an outlet.
Educate Yourself
If part of your anxiety comes from the flight itself, some find it helpful to educate themselves about plane noises, turbulence, flying conditions, and more. There are videos online of pilots explaining what each noise is in real time as the plane flies, discussing turbulence and the safety of various flying conditions, and other common plane-related fears. Techniques such as grounding exercises, deep breathing, and meditation may also help reduce in-flight nerves.
Go Easy on Yourself
Traveling can be stressful. If you get nervous, anxious, or panicked, remember it’s a normal response to stressful situations. Being hard on yourself about the emotions you’re experiencing will likely make things worse. Give yourself grace and remember the situation is temporary.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1: A Quick Grounding Exercise
5 – What are five things you can see?
4 – What are four things you can touch?
3 – What are three things you can hear?
2 – What are two things you can smell?
1 – What is one thing you can taste?
