Managing a panic attack while traveling

Hello friend. Welcome back! I’m glad you’re here.

Hoo boy. Okay. This is never an easy topic. Mostly because everyone’s experience with anxiety is personal. However, there are some techniques that we will go over today that will help you manage your emotions when you feel a panic attack coming during travel or while you are in the mist of one at the airport or in the middle of your trip. It’s a deep dive today but having these techniques in your back pocket will help you in the long run so you don’t turn into a sobbing mess in front of an airline’s desk agent. (Cause that’s never happened to me…noooooo not me… ahem..)

Managing Travel Anxiety

Self Awareness

Calm and Headspace

First and foremost practice emotional self-awareness prior to your trip. Learn to identify what you are feeling and why you are feeling this way. Observe your emotions and practice asking yourself why you are having that positive or negative emotion. Does it align with your internal standards and if it doesn’t, what about it is creating that dissonance? Being able to step back from the emotion and analyze what is causing your reaction in your current circumstances is important in managing travel anxiety. Ways to practice this include meditation which can be easily found through apps like Calm and Headspace. Apps like these will help beginners and experts alike find a focused time to meditate, explore mindfulness exercises, or even help you fall asleep. I found Headspace to be very helpful when I was on my therapy journey and also getting used to a new job at the same time.

Grounding Techniques

Grounding techniques are ways to actively engage in your five senses so that you stay present in the moment instead of focusing on the things that are triggering your anxiety. I’m not sure if they’re the easiest thing to do in an airport because more often than not it might be overstimulation that is contributing to your anxiety. But focusing on a sense can help you focus and block out enough of the atmosphere to reduce anxiety symptoms. Some grounding techniques including:

shaved meats at the Madrid Airport

·       Savor some kind of food or drink. If you’re still stuck before security check, try chewing a piece of that gum you’ve been saving for takeoff for your ears and focus on the taste of it (Or the fading taste in most gums I’ve had.) If you’re waiting for your gate, grab a snack and take a moment to savor that. You can play a mental game with yourself and analyze the packaging of your food. Identify colors on the package. Describe to yourself what the package feels like in your hands. How does it sound when you open that bag of chips or that salad? Really break it down and describe it all as if you were writing a blog post! Heck, send me a photo if that helps!

Photo by Syed Hussaini

·       Make a restroom break. Doing this helps in multiple ways. It’ll get you moving around which helps alleviate anxiety because you trick your body into thinking it’s doing something about your fight or flight response, going into a stall will help you take a break from the hustle and bustle of the airport and make your body feel like it’s found a safe spot. Or go and wash your hands first and focus on the feeling of water on your hands. Are your hands hot and the water is cooling them down? Is it the other way around and the water is warming your hands back up? Focus on your nails. How clean are they? Take your time if you need to. Even if it feels weird to wash your hands longer than others.

Photo by Simon Hrozian

·       Listen to music or your favorite podcast or audiobook. Get those noise-canceling headphones out before you board your flight and block out the unwanted noise pollution that is likely contributing to your stress. I usually end up streaming a show or some youtube content and propping my phone up on my suitcase to give my arms a rest. Sometimes I video chat with a loved one in the airport when I really need to see a friendly face.

Photo by Alexander Shatov

·       If you’re stuck in a line and can’t move around or get some food, another thing to try is focusing on what you’re looking forward to the most on your trip. Do you want to take photos and if so, what kinds of photos? Is there a particular event that you’re looking forward to? Are the foods you want to try? Focusing on the fun could help change your anxiety into excitement for your trip. Or you could try listing some of your favorite things to yourself. Tell yourself why those are your favorite things. Are you uncomfortable telling these things to yourself? Talk like you’re telling me about these things! Pull out your phone and start writing me a letter or an email! Tell me all about the things you love. Tell me a story! I’m here to listen just as much as I’m here to give tips.

·       The list of grounding techniques is quite long so if you want try additional techniques you can read about them here.

Photo by Brett Jordan

Medication

Perhaps your travel anxiety is of the mightier variety. First, I would like to say that I empathize with that. I also have mighty anxiety. It's not easy to deal with. So, I see you, friend, and I relate. You’re not alone with it. And since we are warriors who spar with this mightier variety, we need mightier tools. Medications can help take the edge off or get you through that flight. It is best to speak with a psychiatrist if you are considering the medication route.  They are specially educated about how different medications will help you and if they have any other drug interactions. I would recommend this partnered together with the other techniques above and also with a therapist. No one item is a cure-all just as people aren’t one-dimensional. You need to see what works best for you.

Hopefully, some information here was helpful. It's not an exhaustive list by any means but I know that fun trips should not be avoided just because your anxiety is telling you to stay home forever. There is too much goodness to see and lots of yummy things to eat. But I also know airports can suck pretty bad. (especially American ones… they’ve got a lot of work to do if they want to even compete with the rest of the world’s airports.) But at the very least you now have some tools to manage when that anxiety hits or your flight gets delayed and that internal panic button goes off.

If you would like add your two cents about what strategies work for you, leave a comment below! And if you like these posts and want to tip me, click here or on the donate button!

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See you around and take care!