Travel Anxiety and How to Abate it

I say "Abate" as it may never really go away.

So I'll start off with a brief personal history. I have traveled extensively with my job. I recently had to pull back as my personal life doesn't support it. I have a 26 year old disabled adult who really needs two people looking after him when he's at home. He's gone during most days at Day Program.
During my last trip to SFO, I was on a 737, packed in the back, near a window. I awoke from a light nap and felt extremely uncomfortable! I had to get out of my seat, QUICKY!. I ended up spending about an hour in the rear of the plane just standing. I had to upgrade my ticket to 1st class coming home so as to not get crazy again.
I took a flight a couple weeks later on a Regional Jet (RJ). For those of you unfamiliar, it's a small, commercial jet, seats about 100. One row of one on the left, usually one row of two seats on the other side. Known as one and two, some of newer RJ's have two and two seating configuration. I had a couple Xanax and decided to try them. I had no problems with this flight but it was a short one (DC-Memphis). Now I'm faced with a 6 hour flight to London. The good thing is it's a Wide-body B777 and we have aisle seating so I'll be able to get up and move around if needed.
Some nights now leading up to the trip have caused me to loose sleep and even feel anxious. I don't know what the hell is going on and it's frustrating me. I want to go on this trip, relax and enjoy myself. I've always wanted to go to England! Why is this happening to me? And more importantly, what are some tools I can use to thwart the on set of these anxiety sessions (not attacks and I think I can stop them)? Does anyone have any techniques they would care to share? I just read one where I'm to picture a giant Red Stop Sign each time a negative or anxious though pops up.
Any positive thoughts toward my predicament would be appreciated.

I've personally found meditative/relaxation techniques to be very beneficial in managing travel anxiety. What I do is focus on breathing (3 seconds inhale, 4 seconds hold, 3 seconds exhale, 4 seconds before next breath) trying to empty my mind while gradually relaxing my body. I start at my feet and work my way up and stop once I've reached my head. There are many methods, do some searches and experiment until you find one that best works for you. Also, while on flights I try to do something were I'm actively engaged, such as doing difficult crossword puzzles or Sudoku, etc. Reading, for me, can be too passive (unless it's a technical journal article, etc., or a really engaging novel) and my mind wanders back to anxiety mode. You may not completely eliminate the anxiety, but you can effectively manage it. It may be worth while to analyze/examine why you have suddenly began feeling this way. Anxiety typically doesn't spring up for no reason. Good luck!


*note: the meditative/relaxation techniques should be done daily, they are not a one-time fix. practice is essential.

reply to post by FatherStacks


Thanks. I've been working on this! The breathing seems to work best. Also, working towards understanding of irrational fears. Stating positive!