Does anxiety get in the way of your travels? For the first time in a long time I felt disconnected from the life of the hustle and truly tapped into vacation mode — and I was only 2 hrs away from home and gone only for the weekend. My travel style isn’t relaxing per se (usually hiking, scuba, etc), but I find time to relax. That’s kind of my lifestyle in general. However, in the last few years I’ve become really anxious and feel uncomfortable if situations are not fluid even while traveling to beautiful places. A lot of it stems from my mom dying and the anxiety that developed in me as a result.

I didn’t really realize how prevalent it was until I went on a trip with a friend who I wasn’t super close with at the time and he was like, “girl, you need to chill” with a sincere concern. I was offended at first because I was thinking, excuse you, you don’t know me. But I started to notice a pattern in the way I would do things and approach various situations. For example, instead of sitting down and relaxing, I’ll find an excuse to clean or organize — I’m not even a neat freak. The idea of just feeling relaxed causes me so much tension. Another example: I’ll arrive somewhere really awesome, like a sunset view, that I should totally be absorbing, but the thought of walking somewhere after dark stresses me out so much that I’ll start anticipating the moment to leave to avoid that from happening.

What Helped Me Get Passed My Anxiety 

My mind can be a stressful place. I have some friends who kind of tease me about it, but they don’t see or feel the ball of anxiety that forms in my stomach so I’m not mad about it. For sure weed has helped me deal with that by instead of letting my mind go everywhich way I don’t want to be. It helps keeps me in the moment. I’ve also started to meditate more regularly and taking classes at Brahma Kumaris to help me get more in tune with my needs.

Another thing that helped me feel good this weekend on my staycation was that even though I didn’t plan ANYTHING, there was fung shui and there was good energy. Usually if I don’t plan, coordinate and facilitate, situations don’t follow through (people flake, show up at the end, have their own personal agenda, not enough food/drinks) and that is such a sucky feeling for me and it stresses me out even though I tell myself not to care. I come from a tradition of middle eastern hospitality and it’s not because I’m a woman. Both my parents were also very much like that.

Surround Yourself with Good Vibes

I really appreciate that the people I was with this weekend were considerate of everyone’s time and enjoyment on our trip to San Diego. The people I was with were actually my new fam, my fiancés family! Three of them flew from Argentina to come to our engagement party and the others who were there live in Southern California. I assumed that because they’re visiting that I would have to plan everything and make sure that everyone was having an amazing experience, but they took initiative to make the trip fun and easy and were so go-with-the-flow. Also, if you didn’t know that I was engaged from my Instagram, Ary proposed to me while we were in Playa Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica this last December. More on that and the destination wedding planning in another article!

My Final Thought

Part of the point with this article was to show that sometimes even if you’re not planning every single detail of a trip, it can still be wonderful and memorable and not filled with anxiety … Even if it’s only a train or drive away from home. Sit back, close your eyes and try to relax! Light one up, maybe. While I’m not a huge fan of all-inclusive trips or going through a travel agency to arrange all my travels, I can absolutely relate to why some people are.  That’s also why I started a travel booking service for busy men and women who want a laid back adventure without having to deal with any of the planning. You should be able to keep yourself present and in the moment.

I know there are different levels of anxiety so I’d love to hear about your experiences with dealing with it while traveling. Feel free to shoot me an email or comment below!