Anxiety and vacations

When my kids turn 16 the are required to get a job. Now this job can be anything from a few hours a week to as many hours as they want. Along with this they are allowed to choose a small amount from each paycheck to spend on themselves and then the rest has to go into their savings account. My middle child is about to turn 18 this month and has saved up enough money to take a trip to London. The 1 problem that she has to overcome is that she has anxiety. So what are we doing to try to combat her anxiety

1. The first thing we did was get her set up with a good counselor. Finding a counselor for her has always been hard because she needs somebody out going in order to bring her out of her shell to talk. It seems that most counselors we found weren't like that so they never did her any good. So make sure you find a counselor that you feel comfortable with.

2. Try to prepare yourself for what is to come on the trip. Vacations involve talking to strangers, and going to new and unknown places which can both trigger anxiety. I started making sure that she did more things on her own here. Like ordering her own food at restaurants, going some place alone and asking someone questions. Try to conquer your fears before you leave.

3. One of our biggest worries is whether or not she'll be able to get on the plane by herself. She is going to have to sit in the terminal by herself for a while until it's time to board the plane. After lots of research here are some tips that we found out about. There is a new product called Calmigo that kind of looks like an inhaler and you breathe in scents. We have not tried this because it's over $200, but the reviews look good. Another thing to try is download a calm app to listen to on their phone, you can also try things like CBD with no THC, or Herbals gummies for anxiety. If your plane is leaving in the evening try Melatonin to help you sleep through the flight, and of course noise cancelling headphones. You could also try a weighted blanket or toy just remember that they have to carry this to the plane. Some other suggestions were things like Lavender that you can rub on your skin, but then you have to worry about another passenger not liking the smell. These are the suggestions that we found the most helpful, but there are lots of other out there so find what works for you.

4. One of the other problems is once she gets there she has to figure her way around in order to visit places. This can be very overwhelming for somebody with anxiety. Trying to figure out public transportation and other things can be very confusing. So we found a tour guide that will pick her up from the airport and take her on a tour of the city before dropping her off at her hotel. This should help her get a feel for the city and hopefully the tour guide will have some tips about getting around. It might also be a good idea to have them just use something simple like a taxi service for getting around to avoid figuring out public transportation.

5. She has a few things outside of the city she wants to see as well so we found guided tours that will take her to these places and bring her back. Then we left a few days open for her to visit museums and shop and just generally enjoy herself. Hopefully she'll have feel for the city enough to feel comfortable.

6. Since London does allow drinking at 18 I made sure to have a discussion about drinking safely. You don't want them to get drunk in public and have something else happen to them because they weren't being cautious.

7. Make sure that they have a cell phone with international coverage for texting, calling, & data. You may have to pay more for the plan, but you should only need it for however they're on the vacation. Now of course if your vacationing in the United States you shouldn't have to worry about this, but some places in the US don't have very good coverage so make sure you check.

8. If you're going out of the country make sure that you have looked into everything you need to get into the country. Yes you will need a passport, but do you also need a visa from the country. Are there any shots needed before you go? Just remember some shots have to be administered months ahead so make sure you find our ahead of time. Also make sure the place is safe for traveling.

9. Setting up an itinerary for someone with anxiety is crucial. Something that they can follow so they don't have to figure out where they're going next. You can of course leave places for them to explore on their own, but having an itinerary to follow for the things you know they for sure want to see helps to keep them on track.

10. Make sure to make reservations and buy tickets ahead for anything that needs them. Figure out what they want to do while their there, check the places to see if they need reservations or tickets.

We can help you with all of these things and more. We'll plane everything while you get ready to enjoy yourself. Come journey with us! Contact us for your next journey!