Reluctant Explorer: Anxiety And The Fear Of Travel

Traveling is high up on most people’s to do list. It’s almost a cliche to hear someone say something like “I’d like to X, Y, Z and travel someday”. And it’s obvious why – who wouldn’t want to go see the world? Well you can count me as one of the few that doesn’t.

Now let me make clear that I would love to see the Pyramids at Giza, the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, the Great Wall of China, so on and so forth. I would love to see these places in living color and not just in a book or film. However like many people with anxiety I have a fear of traveling which restricts where I can go.

The fear of travel even has a name – Hodophobia. This is the morbid fear of all forms of travel. Now like all things fear comes in degrees and it’s source varies for all of us.

For example, I am not afraid to drive a car, but I don’t like to be a passenger. The exact opposite could be true for someone else but the bottom line is that fear of a potential disaster conjures up anxious thoughts and feelings for people with anxiety no matter the form of travel.

Let’s look at the four modes of transportation and why some of us may be afraid at even the thought of them.

Planes

Planes have to be by far the most feared mode of travel. Flying in an aluminum tube at 33,000 feet can be understandably terrifying for many people especially for people that suffer from anxiety since their imagination can get the better of them quickly. I have flown eight times in my life and every time I hated it.

There is the fear of enclosure or claustrophobia to begin with. Most people don’t like to feel trapped and an airplane just doesn’t lend itself to a feeling of freedom despite the flying in the air thing.

The second issue is the fear of machines or their failure. I think a lot of us assume that a machine that large can’t possibly get off the ground safely. And because there are so many moving parts we figure something is bound to break.

The fear of crashing is ever present. Elaboration is probably not needed, but really who wants to get barbecued?

Then my favorite is the fear of losing control and or handing over control to a total stranger. Who is this guy/lady and can I be sure that they are qualified and sober?

Truth be told flying is by far one of the safest ways to travel. Statistically you are more likely to get hit by lightening, several times, than you are of dying in a plane crash but even knowing this is not enough to settle the anxious traveler.

Despite our nagging anxiety however your odds of dying in a commercial plane crash according to the NTSB is 52.1 million to 1. Now however you interpret this information these odds are clearly in your favor.

Trains

I really can’t say that I ever considered trains to be dangerous however because of recent events you are reminded that a train can be dangerous. But how dangerous are trains? The odds of anything happening are about 5 million to 1.

Train wrecks are similar to car crashes in that a train can be rear ended, side wiped or hit head on. These are all potentially dangerous incidents but overall trains are relatively safe.

Boats

Whenever most people think about boat disasters they think Titanic. But pleasure cruising is actually a very safe way to travel. But like all other modes of travel there is always the chance of catastrophe.

The fact is a ship could sink hence many people that have anxiety disorder or some type of phobia will not board. They simply don’t want to take a chance.

Although I am not sure of the odds, today’s ocean liners are ginormous vessels that have all the life boats and life preservers the Titanic did not have. However the fear of handing over control and bouncing around on the horizon-less ocean can be scary for some.

Cars

Cars are easily the most common mode of transport. It’s also the most dangerous when compared to the other three. About 40,000 people die in the U.S. every year from car crashes. That is a lot of folks but how many cars are on the road on any given day? Millions of course so the threat is present but relative.

Cars are mainly dangerous because most of us are not professional drivers and many people just don’t use good sense while driving. But overall cars can be a safe mode of travel.

The Point

The point is that any form of travel can be dangerous. The issue is fear and anxiety and it’s ability to arrest your wish to go far far away. If you really want to ponder this issue than you quickly realize that almost anything can kill you – even too much Windex if you decided to drink some.

All risk is calculated and we have to decide if the risk out weighs the benefits. Taking a flight to see grandma is not the same as base jumping off a bridge.

Although I don’t travel as much as I would like I at least have. During my trips I of course assume I’m gonna to die because my anxiety greases up the imagination with graphic images and all. But my rational mind also informs me of the truth which is that for the most part when traveling within the U.S. and abroad you are relatively safe.

There is simply no way to erase all danger and fear of travel. The risk and imagined risk is enough to keep you on edge no matter how many statistics are thrown at you but you can travel while anxious.

To help yourself manage the anxiety during your next trip try to employ these ideas.

1. Take along a safe person. This person is ideally someone who knows all about your condition and can offer constant support and reassurance. Being in a group of people that have no clue that you have an anxiety disorder can make your trip a stressful one.

2. Talk to your doctor about medications that can be used for tranquilization. Although I don’t highly recommend it I gather that it is better to be temporarily “under the influence” than miss your trip altogether.

3. Treat your anxiety. Leaving an anxiety disorder untreated just leaves the door open to more stress and fear. Confronting the issues that keep you anxious will free you to do other things – like traveling.

There is no simple answer when it comes to understanding why anxiety keeps us home. But generally speaking it’s because we fear pretty much everything and as a result traveling just seems like an unnecessary risk to us.

Having an anxiety disorder sometimes means that you have to give up control of your senses, thoughts and feelings. Not traveling is just our feeble attempt to control something and avoid the ever present threat of the what if question.

But don’t let this stop you from seeing the things you’ve always dreamed of. Besides feeling great about being in that dream location you will also feel excited about challenging your anxiety.

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