Travel Tip Tuesdays: Dealing with Stress

Sometimes I wonder if I should keep up the persona of a strong travel woman who fearlessly ventures into any situation with absolute confidence. On days like yesterday, when I’m curled up on my bedroom floor crying, I don’t feel especially intrepid. I get stressed. I get overwhelmed. If I have too many details to handle, too many logistics to work out, I completely shut down.

Stress occurs when hiking with your sister, too.
Here we are hopelessly lost in the wilds of Washington.
Maybe.

So today, as someone who has struggled with this myself, I will ask (and attempt to answer) the question,

How do you deal with travel-planning stress?

Here are my best tips.

Know what makes you stressed. The more you know about your enemy, the better you’ll be able to fight it. If too much planning gets you crazy, take a break and force yourself to rest or do something else. If planning makes you less stressed because you’re getting something done, concentrate on that.

Focus on one thing at a time— or many. No, I’m not giving conflicting advice. Lists, schedules, and itineraries help prevent stress for most people, but other people stress out about trying to complete every item on their to-do chart. If you do best working on one thing at a time, don’t try to diversify. If you bog down on one thing, try starting several projects at once. Pick what works for you.

Do something physical to help your mental state. For me, taking a walk, listening to music or getting a backrub re-set my mind, helping me to breathe again and stop stressing. Try some yoga. Take a bubble bath. Get a friend to shake you out of your trip-planning world. Sometimes crying helps, too. Just saying.

Put things in perspective. The question, “So what?” is massively useful. If you take things out to their conclusion, they don’t sound as bad as they do at first. “My credit card might be stolen— so what?” Then I go learn about credit card liability, backup options, and anti-thievery methods. Name your fears, address them, plan for them, and don’t let them rule you. Also, the number one thing I have to remind myself is that a trip is to be enjoyed. Even if I’m stressed, I’m stressed over something good, which is so much better than worrying about something bad. Relax, keep planning, enjoy the good moments, and don’t keep too rigidly to schedule. In no time at all you’ll forget about stress and be smooth-sailing to your next destination!

(Now I’m going to go take my own advice.)

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