When Travel Becomes Frightening…
It’s summer time and, all over the world, people are excitedly preparing to travel for their holidays. Some will be flying off to warmer climes, others will head off to parts of their own country. Maybe others will drive through the U.S or Europe to city breaks or seaside and mountain retreats.
For some people, though, the excitement of holiday is replaced with fear. For them, there is a chasm between home and destination, a chasm that seems impossible to cross because it means stepping on an aeroplane or climbing aboard a train.
Why does Travel Make People Feel Afraid?
Clients have come to me full of frustration and emotion because their conscious minds are telling them, “This is ridiculous! I know I will be safe! Why am I feeling like this??”
And yet, when faced with even just the thought of getting on a plane or travelling by train, their unconscious and protective minds flood them with intrusive thoughts, feelings of fear, anxiety and panic. And for some, it’s not just going on holiday that fills them with fear. Their anxiety extends to every day – just going to work can feel like a trial by fire.
In the past, clients have described their feelings to me, “My heart beats out of my chest and I can’t breathe. I just feel so sick and I’m terrified that I will actually be sick everywhere, in front of people. It’s just so horrible not being able to get out. I’m trapped…”
“I get really sweaty and breathless and I just know that everyone is looking at me thinking I’m some sort of weirdo. What’s wrong with me?”
Others feel that they are letting their friends and family down… “It’s such a special holiday, but I just don’t think I can go. I’m so close to cancelling because I just can’t face having to get on that plane. How can I let my kids down? I’m such a failure to be so pathetic, but it’s so real. I’m so scared. I don’t want them to see me like that…”
We Don’t Have to Feel Afraid
It’s horrible to have those two sides pulling in different directions. The part that knows this feeling is irrational, and the part that will do anything to avoid being in the situation that triggers those awful feelings and beliefs. Sometimes we can see where the feeling has come from and other times it’s a mystery.
I hate to think of how many people are feeling this way right now when they could replace those fears with excitement, with calm and with a deep feeling of being in control, safe.
Help for Fear of Travel
The good news is – it’s not a rule written in stone that we have to feel this way. There are simple, easy ways of re-framing and replacing those behaviours and beliefs. Cognitive Hypnotherapy gently finds a way to help the mind understand that it has made a mistake. Our Unconscious Minds are there to help and protect us, but sometimes they work on outdated and misguided information. Once we can ‘reboot’ those belief systems there is no reason to feel the fear. We no longer need to avoid or endure.
As one of my clients wrote to me, “I was able to have the most amazing weekend without a single wobble!”
There are various simple and easy to use techniques that can help us really take back control from anxiety. I am here to help today.
Sarah