How to travel when experiencing mental ill health

Travel has finally returned to the ease and flexibility we enjoyed pre-pandemic - yay! But with the rise in ads for travel deals, holidays, and group chats firing up with travel plans and ideas - some feelings of stress or anxiety could be bubbling to the surface for those of us living with mental health issues. 

This was the case recently for one of my clients who was getting ready to go overseas with his friends. He told me that he’d been experiencing anxiety and panic attacks, and was terrified of going. He was worried that his mates wouldn’t know how to help, as they had little to no knowledge about mental health. 

Now, I can definitely relate to that feeling of pure anxiety at the thought of being stuck in a situation where no one around you knows how to help - let alone being in a foreign country!

But this got me thinking, there must be so many people out there who might love travelling, or who want to travel, but don’t look forward to the extra baggage that their mental health problem or illness might bring.

So folks, as always, I’m going to share a bit of wisdom and give you some tips!

If you’re anxious about forgetting something, start packing and preparing early.

Make a checklist of everything you need and double check it’s all in your suitcase well before it’s time to go.

Pack your mental health toolkit.

Whether it’s medication, a stress ball, teddy bear, fidget ring, strategy cards, whatever you need! If it means you have to compromise on taking one outfit or pair of shoes so that it fits in your suitcase, so be it!

Don’t forget to breathe!

Click here to arm yourself with one of my favourite breathing techniques which you can add to your repertoire pre-holiday and while you’re on your adventure too. 

Do your usual self-care activities before you go.

Whether it’s going to the gym, reading, meditation, or calling a friend, your usual self-care activities will help to ease any nerves. Don’t forget that all of these strategies are accessible to you whilst you’re on holidays too!

Have a safety net buddy.

This can be someone on the trip or someone back home that you can call for help when things get a bit overwhelming or when you need a mental health check. It might even be worth having a chat with your travel buddy/buddies before you go to let them know what would be helpful for you when you start feeling unwell. Think about it, you’d want your mates to know how to help if you had anaphylaxis or an asthma attack, so why not for a panic attack or any other mental health problem?

Your holiday plans should be time for you to relax and have fun with your friends and family - I hope these tips can help ease some of the anxiety you may have around going overseas.

If you’re feeling like you could benefit from some personalised support, have a think about booking a counselling session with me to talk about how you’re feeling and receive some more targeted guidance and support to help lessen those worries.