Severe anxiety triggered by vacation.

[[Mi...]]

Sounds weird, right? I am going on vacation in a week to the Caribbean and my natural anxiety response is through the roof and it's entirely involuntary. I feel awful and my health anxiety is getting the best of me. What can I do to recalibrate? Usually I would take medicine to calm down but that's not an option anymore. I'm a little scared by the intensity of what i'm feeling. Any suggestions?

[[He...]]

What are your thoughts

[[je...]]

Hi.  I believe you wrote about a past vacation a few weeks back.  Could some of those memories be carrying over right now?

 

Sometimes I think we can get a little agoraphobic and leaving our comfort shell can be scary.  I was like that a few months ago before we went to Hawaii.  Fortunately I didn't experience anything major and it was a good time.  If you are in the UK, might you be more "upset" because you are going so far from home?

 

I'd like to have an answer to help you but I can only offer that what you are feeling is normal for a lot of us.  I did take a lavender essential oil stick and did use that most often during the middle of the night when I was up (the time zone change was hell). 

 

In retrospect I did a lot of worrying and was anxious for nothing - we had a great vacation!

[[Mi...]]

I have terrible health anxiety and have a hard time making plans for vacation. I also like to be home and have an entirely involuntary reaction to leaving. My husband always tells me to stop "thinking" anxious thoughts and I have to explain that I'm NOT, it's literally my subconscious at work and it won't rest. I try to distract myself and push the intrusive thoughts out of my mind but it's such hard work without valium. I just want to relax. I want to go on vacation and be a normal person. I want to have a drink but that's not happening. (

[Guest [ch...]]

The Caribbean is so nice. Once you get there you will relax and have a great vacation.

 

What island are you going to?

[[Mi...]]

We're going to St. John.

[Guest [ch...]]

Never been to St John. Let us know how it goes!

 

I've been to Jamaica many times. Planning to retire there at some point.

 

Also been to St Lucia, Guadeloupe, Trinidad, Tobago, Bonaire, Bahamas.

All have been lovely.

[[pu...]]

You don't need a drink to enjoy the islands!

 

Let the anxiety come and go, going on a trip in this state will of course be stressful, but when all is said and done it can be a positive memory and fill the negative space in your brain with positive memories.

 

I went on two vacations in withdrawal, both during tough spots. Now looking back I don't focus on or can't feel the memory of the anxiety, I more so remember the positive things about the trips. I am glad I went, I never regret it. I know I would regret not going.

 

I think the occasional change up in scenery and routine is good for us. Reminds us that there is a world outside of our withdrawal pain and that we can still be a part of it.

[[Gr...]]

It's normal to get nervous before any kind of travelling.  I went on a vacation a few months ago and I had severe DP.  I had a hard time enjoying myself, however, seeing the ocean and being at the beach, was really cool.  Even when I feeling crappy, there were definitely some pretty awesome thing going on.  Anxiety and excitement are  such similar emotions.  I just kept telling myself that I was excited and that is why I felt some anxiety.  It helped that my sister also had some anxiety right before our trip and we talked about it and that made me feel much more normal. 

[[Mi...]]

Oh I know that I don't need a drink to enjoy myself it's just a symptom of my desire to be a normal person with normal choices. I love to travel with my family. We go somewhere special every year and I treasure the time with my children, getting to see and do new things thru their eyes. I just wish for normalcy, that's all. I used to tame the anxiety with valium and I don't have anything to replace it with.  It's daunting, this amount of anxiety and not knowing what to do with it. It's severe.