Travel Hack: Managing Anxiety on the Road
If you're anything like me travel can make you very anxious and sometimes that anxiety can be debilitating. What's frustrating is I love to travel, but sometimes my anxiety has other plans for me. Managing stress and anxiety while traveling can be a challenge because you don't always have the same flexibility you are used to having at home.
When traveling you can't necessarily take a bath or go get a massage or even see a therapist. You really have to learn to develop skills to manage it all on your own. That said, I have developed a few key tips and tricks for managing anxiety while on the road. Things that you can do pretty much anywhere and everywhere...
Opposite Nostril Breathing
This is a very discreet breathing technique that many people see good results by doing. I love it because you can do it anywhere and you can usually do it without too many people noticing. I have an instruction video on my YouTube channel, which you can view here.
Stretch
Stretching and yoga have been known to lower resting heart rates and promote proper breathing as they force you to breathe continuously and mindfully. If you are staying anywhere with a large bathroom or decent amount of floor space, you can do a quick stretch right where you are without disturbing other people.
Stay on Routine
As much as you can, keep to your usual morning and night routines. If that means you journal and stretch in the morning, journal and stretch in the morning. If that means you do a face mask every night, bring those masks with you and do them before bed. Anything you can do to keep your mind in your routine with help it stay at ease. If you are short on time, try shortening your routine. For example, if you journal every morning for 15-20 minutes, try journaling for 10.
Get in a HIIT Circuit or Run
If your pressed for time this can be difficult, but try to prioritize it if you can. Part of anxiety is just pent up adrenaline in your body and a 10-30 minute cardio session can really help to burn through some of that. I have some sample HIIT circuits on a past blog if you want an idea of what you can do.
Eat & Drink Well
Eating micronutrient dense foods and drinking water will change your life, especially when traveling. Your immune system is likely to be compromised and not functioning at its best when you're on the road, so give it as much help as you can. I usually take extra vitamins when I'm on vacation and I've noticed that really helps because I'm not worried about getting sick and I don't usually start to feel sick. On the inverse, when I start to feel sick on vacation, that leads to heightened anxiety and creates stress.
If you have any questions or would like any tips specific to issues that come up for you contact me via the contact page in the about me section of this website.