Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi,
Am curious to know if anyone here suffers from travel anxiety? When I was little occasionally I used to suffer from bad anxiety when we had to travel than the few miles into our town, but the 45 miles to where my grandparents live was too much and resulted in anxiety and attacks leading up to the day in question. Then on the day of travel, we would take my dads car, if I went nine times out of ten I'd have a panic attack and end up sick along the way.
I'm a bit older now but my travel anxiety is even worse now. Any journey even the short ones into town make me so anxious and give me anxiety symptoms leading up to it and on the day.
I never go anywhere now. No job, no friends just extreme anxiety. Also another form of this is that when I'm in the car and travelling I need the toilet and need to wee literally within five minutes of the journey starting. And on hour long journeys it becomes so difficult, especially as most public toilets are closed here now.
This morning I was meant to go with my dad to see my grandma but the anxiety was severe and I backed out and now I feel so guilty and bad.
I know that the logical thing to do is to go to the doctors but I get severe panic attacks when I go so I don't go.But I realize that this is becoming really bad for me.
Yep. Odd though because I HAVE travelled all over Europe quite alone.
Bizarrely the daily commute causes more issues for me than international travel. I hate crowds, the packed damp bus with screaming babies and teenagers who think the whole world wants to listen to their grunge music and the stench...the commute is a traumatic sensory bombardment. I literally do need a lie down in a darkened room by the time I get to the office. And I have 2 hours of that each way.
Internationally, I find this easier if I pick non-busy times and plan to the nth degree and arrive super early for everything.
I have though never been to a country where I don't speak the language. France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, US, Ireland, French Canada...I HAD to know I could absolutely buy a ticket, order a meal and find the loo alone before I'd ever dare go. Mercifully, I got a BA Hons in Modern Languages. Would I go to Japan? Love to, but I would have to take a course in Japonese first.
Dawn said:Would I go to Japan? Love to, but I would have to take a course in Japonese first.
I don't speak Japanese but have been there 5 times, wandered to every nook and cranny I could find the time to go to off the beaten track and never had an issue.
I didn't know until I went but the public transport system has english for everything (as does the airport and big chain hotels) so getting about on your own is actually easy in spite of the intimidating looking train maps in Tokyo).
What helps is how clean, efficient and well laid out everything is. Yes the scale can be daunting (like walking for almost 20 mins to get out of one underground station - they are like small cities) but stuff is signposted and with some prep to know where to go, it is a breeze.
I went to a lot of restaurants where there was no English menu or servers who spoke it - use apps on your smartphone which will use the camera and translate the picture in real time. Then just point to what you want - easy.
Obviously learn a handful of phrases to get by.
People there are incredubly poilite and helpful too, much more so that any other country I have been to, Often when I was staring at the labyrinthian underground map working out which line to take for my next adventure then someone who spoke broken English would ask if they could help - no hint of expectation of anything in return.
I can't think of a better place to vacation for a more interesting, exotic, clean and safe trip - and the food is possibly the best I've had in the world which is saying something.
Iain said:I went to a lot of restaurants where there was no English menu or servers who spoke it - use apps on your smartphone which will use the camera and translate the picture in real time. Then just point to what you want - easy.
That is an absolutely awesome suggestion! Great tip.