How to Overcome Travel Anxiety

Every year, millions of American hit the roads and the skies to travel to see loved ones, enjoy destination vacations, or both. For many people, anticipating travel is a mood booster and something to look forward to. However, for many others, travel is fraught with anxiety-inducing uncertainties.

Indeed, the realities of today’s travel—especially air travel—can cause a lot of anxiety about traveling for even those who normally enjoy taking a trip. Flight delays, the possibility of getting sick, unpredictable weather, and unanticipated expenses are just a few conditions that can increase stress levels. 

Of course, for the estimated 19.1 percent of Americans who have some type of anxiety disorder, anxious feelings can intensify around travel as well.

If you or someone you love struggles with anxiety about traveling, here are common travel anxiety symptoms to look for, as well as expert tips on how to overcome your travel-related fears.

WHAT IS TRAVEL ANXIETY?

Travel anxiety is quite simply experiencing fear or anxiousness about any aspect of traveling. For example, you might feel fear or worry about traveling to an unfamiliar or faraway place.  You may also experience anxiety while contemplating, booking, preparing for, or during your travels. 

Having some stressful and/or anxious feelings about traveling is normal—even necessary to help you to rally and get yourself to your destination. However, disruptive travel anxiety is not normal.

While not a diagnostic term, having a travel anxiety disorder (severe travel anxiety) can deter an individual from ever taking trips at all. For this type of individual, travel and anxiety are inextricably linked.

This can lead to a diminished quality of life. Travel anxiety can prevent a person from enjoying new places, experiencing different cultures, or visiting loved ones.

It’s not exactly clear how many U.S. adults suffer from travel anxiety, but it is believed to be very common. Research from 2023 shows that 2.5% to 40% suffer from a fear of flying (aviophobia) in North America and regions of Europe, depending on how aviophobia is defined.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF TRAVEL ANXIETY

For individuals who suffer from travel anxiety, simply the idea of going to a new place may bring on feelings of fear and extreme nervousness. Any of the following signs or symptoms of travel anxiety may occur:

• Problems with sleep leading up to the travel date
• Stomach upset, muscle tension, headaches
• Having overwhelming feelings of worry and concern about traveling
• Feeling generally irritable and short-fused
• Feeling restless or on edge while in airports, train stations, or cruise terminals
• Loss of appetite or increase of appetite
• Having panic attacks (symptoms include sweating, racing heart, trouble breathing, feeling out of control) or increased worry about having panic attacks
• Being easily distracted, unable to focus on the task at hand
• Unable to carry on with everyday activities due to excessive worry
• Overpreparing for travel, packing weeks in advance
• Excessive worry about leaving loved ones or pets behind

WHAT CAUSES TRAVEL ANXIETY?

There’s no single cause of travel anxiety, but typically there are several factors that lead to its development. Here are the most common causes: 

1. Anxiety Disorders

Individuals with anxiety disorders are the most likely candidates to experience increased anxiety about travel, and even phobias about common scenarios that happen while traveling.

2. Specific Phobias

Research suggests that the neurobiological cause of specific phobias occurs when fear processing in the amygdala is impaired, which leads to an exaggerated response to threat stimuli. A perceived threat usually triggers travel anxiety.

The most common type of phobia that causes travel anxiety is, as mentioned above, aviophobia or a fear of flying. Individuals with aviophobia may experience overwhelming anxiety about air turbulence, the very idea of flying thousands of feet off the ground, taking off and landing, or the possibility of crashing, to name a few.

An individual may feel overwhelmingly fearful about all these aspects of flying even knowing that air travel is one of the safest forms of travel.

Other specific phobias that can get triggered by travel are agoraphobia (fear of leaving environments that are known and safe) and claustrophobia (fear of confined spaces).

3. Social Anxiety and Panic Disorders

Social anxiety disorder and panic disorder can be at the root of travel anxiety as well. Individuals with these disorders may fear being around or engaging with other people or having a panic attack while flying. These may stem from:

• Having bad travel experiences in the past
• Seeing media reports of crashes or operational problems in planes, trains, or cruise ships, etc.
• Genetics—a family history of anxiety or other mental health conditions
• Having another mental health condition
• Being reserved or shy as a child
• Having high intake of caffeine or other substances
• Physical health conditions such as thyroid disorders, obesity, or heart health problems
• Taking certain medications
• Fear of leaving loved ones or pets at home
• All of the uncertainties of traveling to a new destination, such as fears about being in a different culture or where a different language is spoken, finding food you can eat, finding your accommodations, losing luggage, finding necessities at your destination, being mugged, getting a good exchange rate, etc.

7 TIPS FOR OVERCOMING TRAVEL ANXIETY

1. Meditate

Research has found that mindfulness-based interventions or meditation exercises aimed at calming worry and rumination may be especially effective protectors against anxiety. Download some anxiety-calming guided meditations from apps to listen to before or during your travel.

2. Practice deep breathing

A 2023 study  showed that deep breathing or diaphragmatic breathing diagnostically improves symptoms of anxiety and fewer panic attacks. Taking a few minutes for deep breathing at any point during your travels may almost instantly calm your nervous system and reduce anxiety levels.

3. Exercise

Animal studies strongly suggest that regular exercise can do wonders for calming anxiety. Also, yoga and tai chi have been shown to reduce anxiety levels too, according to research. Simply taking a walk can make a difference!

4. Eat anti-anxiety foods

A 2021 scoping review of more than 400 studies found that a dietary pattern with a higher intake of fermented foods, vegetables, fruit, whole grains, fish, legumes, and unprocessed meats was associated with decreased anxiety.

Additionally, increased consumption of culinary herbs and herbal teas; flavonoid-rich foods like dark chocolate and cocoa; phytoestrogenic foods such as soy and nut and seed extracts; and healthy fats such as omega-3s were all associated with lowered anxiety levels.

Do your best to keep anxiety-stoking foods such as alcohol, coffee, refined carbohydrates, saturated fats, artificial sweeteners, and sugar to a minimum and find healthier alternatives.

5. Supplement with nutraceuticals

GABA, l-theanine, magnesium, and vitamin B6 supplements are all known for their calming properties. GABA can be particularly helpful in countering overactivity in your brain’s amygdala, research shows, helping to reduce anxiety. These are great go-to supplements to take when you plan to travel.

6. Kill your automatic negative thoughts (ANTs)

Use Dr. Amen’s Kill the ANTs exercise, inspired by author Byron Katie, to counter your negative thoughts. When you have a worrisome or anxious thought, ask yourself several questions.

First, ask “Is it true?” Second, “Am I absolutely certain that it’s true?” Third “What would it feel like to think another thought?” Then meditate or focus on an opposite thought to the one that is torturing you.

For example, if the ANT is “The plane is going to hit turbulence and possibly fall out of the sky,” counter it with “Flying is one of the safest forms of travel. I’m safer flying in the sky than I am driving down on the ground.”

7. Be prepared

There’s wisdom to the Boys and Girls Scouts’ motto “Be prepared.” There’s even some scientific evidence showing it to be true. Studies show that both informational preparation and psychological preparedness can reduce anxiety before a stressful exam or medical procedure.

Prepare yourself for your upcoming travel by taking actions to help alleviate your anxieties. Here are several examples of actions you can take:

• Consider travel insurance. A comprehensive policy will typically cover expenses related to delays, lost luggage, lost or stolen electronics, cancellations due to illness or death, and specified emergency medical costs—as well as provide 24/7 travel assistance.
• Take photos of important information such as your passport, driver’s license, accommodation reservations/instructions, etc. Send them to a trusted family member or friend at home so that you can access them if they get lost or stolen.
• Do travel “reconnaissance” on your destination. Get information about the weather, culture, customs, convenience stores, hospital locations, political climate, safety, areas of interest, etc.
• Bring comforting “distractions” to occupy your attention while traveling. This could be novels, music, online games, movies, etc.
• Pack healthy snacks ahead of time so that you have nourishment if your flight has limited food options or restaurants/markets are closed when you arrive at your destination. Include some herbal tea bags so that you have a non-caffeinated hot beverage option.
• If you are afraid of getting sick, bring an N95 mask to wear if you will be traveling with large groups of people in confined spaces. Pack immune-boosting supplements such as vitamins D, C, selenium, and zinc. Visit the website Sitata, which features topics such as diseases to be aware of, recommended vaccinations, and emergency numbers.

WHEN TO SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP

If your anxiety is more than mild and interferes with your ability or desire to travel, reach out to a qualified mental health professional.

Cognitive behavioral therapy, exposure therapy, and virtual reality-based gradual exposure methods have all been shown to be effective in reducing travel anxiety. Learning about your triggers related to travel and how to deal with them can be an important aspect in helping you to overcome travel anxiety.

Getting professional help for other underlying anxiety disorders is critical too. When necessary, some forms of medications may also be helpful.

Reviewed by Amen Clinics Inc. Clinicians