Let's start off by talking about me and a perfect example of anxiety and fears. I remember as a high school student going over to a friend's house to swim. One of my friends was standing on a float and got to close to the edge. I started yelling to move to the center of the pool. I just knew she was going to fall, hit her head on the cement edge, and her brains were going to go spilling out all over the concrete. I also remember the looks my friends gave me. A vivid imagination must also go hand in hand with anxiety because after watching Jaws, I could never swim in open salt water without hyperventilating. I know the stats about getting struck by lightning and eaten by a shark, but that's one of the few things I just can't seem to overcome.
So how is it that I'm able to travel without anxiety? It helps that I've traveled solo since I was two. (My mom was court ordered to put me on a plane to see my biological father.) But with that being said, I still get heart palpitations during take-off, landing and bad turbulence.
Travel anxiety is a lot more common than you think it is. How do you recognize and overcome travel anxiety? I will share with you what are people's greatest fears that keep them from traveling and how to defeat them. You may not be able to pinpoint the exact issue, but confronting your discomfort can help. Here are seven reasons people use not to travel:
1. Fear of flying
2. Horror Stories
3. The cost
4. Foreigners hate Americans
5. Terrorism
6. What if something goes wrong
7. How will they live without you while you're gone
Fear of flying is very understandable. While we don't hear about the number of car crashes that happens every day, we are bombarded with graphic images of plane crashes from all over the world. Coping strategies that help with common anxieties can also be use to help with flying anxiety. Soothing music, repetitive prayers, some crochet work or a good book are very helpful to me in taking my mind off of a bumpy ride. For some people, a glass of wine or an alcoholic beverage is a good idea, but that can also make your stomach queasy with motion sickness. Speaking of motion sickness, over the counter meds like dramamine or bonine can have a mild sedating effect which will also give a small sense of calming. Finally, one of the best solutions is to have a friend or loved one seated next to you who knows about your fear and can talk about funny stories or other anecdotes to get you through moments of tension or stress.
Everyone has a horror story they want to share with you about traveling (or their birth experience or both). It's like when your sibling tastes something bad and then they hand it to you to try too. It's the whole misery loves company. But honestly, if you think about this logically, everyone has a horror story about almost any topic you can imagine. Most of my horror stories have changed because I have realized how much fun it is to go home and regal my friends with laughter! I have never lost luggage, although I have had some delayed. I have never been pick-pocketed, although my husband had his wallet stolen when he was drunk in Cozumel and left it in the taxi. I have never been hurt while on a trip, but my mom did get sick once and had to be treated in a hospital. With preparation, common sense and awareness, these horror stories would be non-existent. If your brother/sister has to tell you his or her story, don't take it to heart.
Traveling will cost you. This is another prime example of how good planning can make it possible. The idea is to budget. Will you be doing a group tour where most of your meals are covered or are you traveling solo? Can you make monthly payments for your trip or do you need to pay for the whole thing all at once? The majority of our trips, everything is covered except tips, souvenirs and lunch. For a tour director who is with you the entire trip, you should budget about $6 per day not including flight days. A bus driver gets tipped about $2 per day, as do local tour guides or museum guides. Lunch will average about $15 in a typical European city. An afternoon pastry with an espresso should be about $5, and a glass of wine with dinner is about $6-$8. Make a list ahead of time of whom you would like to buy souvenirs for and your approximate budget for each. Once you have this down, you can start saving and money while you're abroad won't be an issue.
Foreigners hate Americans. This is a pretty broad statement. To me, that's like saying I hate lawyers. I use this example because we have three lawyers in the family. In my experience, most locals in the places I have been love tourists and Americans. Tourism brings in lots of money for their economy. Why would you hate someone who is helping to pay for the resurfacing of Main Street? Do some foreigners hate Americans? Absolutely. I have met them in my own neighborhood and surprisingly in my hotel while they are visiting America! Some people just have a bad attitude that has nothing to do with you.
Terrorism. The word is even kinda scary. How do you overcome this fear? Let's take a look at some statistics. Over a three year period from 2011 to 2014, the CDC filed a report for domestic deaths caused by violence or homicide. In the United States, there were over 440,000 deaths caused by violence or homicide. During that time period of three years, they logged in deaths caused by violence or homicide of U.S. citizens who were traveling abroad. That number was 369. Total. To put this into perspective, if you are living in America there are about 402 violent deaths per day. If you are an American traveling abroad, there is about 1 death every three days. You are 400 times more likely to get shot in New Orleans or Houston than you are in Paris or Rome.
What if something goes wrong? Like you miss your flight or lose your luggage? If you buy trip insurance, then you have no worries. Even if you didn't, the airlines are pretty gracious and try to assist any way they can. They hand out vouchers for food and try to get you on the next flight available even if it is your fault. They also give you a per diem for every day your luggage is still not returned to you while on your trip. My motto is to prepare and organize. Keep all of your prescription meds or any meds at all in your personal item. That way if you end up having to check your carry on, you still have your essentials. Pack at least one change of clothes in your carry on so if your luggage is delayed or lost, you still have clothes to wear. Check in with your health insurance carrier. Do they cover you for medical issues over seas? Generally, medical costs in any other country are enormously cheaper than in the United States. However, it's best not to chance a week long stay in the hospital for a bad case of the flu. Trip insurance also covers you medically. My mom and I found this out when she was in the hospital in Panama (the country). I was relieved to know they would fly both of us home if necessary. Luckily, she recovered quickly and we didn't need to worry.
How will they live without you while you're gone? Our children are older now and the only reason they get mad when we travel is that we didn't take them with us. We are now in an age of such great technology that this isn't such a big deal. There are plenty of apps that allow free phone and/or video calls through wifi. If you are able to save your work notes on a cloud or drive, all you need is your phone and internet. You can purchase international phone plans for just a month or a pay per minute phone card. Most hotels now have access to wifi, some you will need to pay for. Sometimes, we have found ourselves sitting in the hotel lobby to get some work done because that is where the best signal strength is. Frontload your work schedule before you leave. Make a calendar for you, your kids and their caregivers. Again, I say preparation and organization. It's so much easier to come home knowing everything is taken care of because you planned it all right.
Once you get out of your comfort zone and start traveling, you may be surprised. Traveling will give you a sense of confidence that also helps get rid of some of the every day life anxiety. I know. I am one of the 20% of Americans who suffer from anxiety. Hasta la proxima vez, mis amigos!
No comments:
Post a Comment