cheryl
Administrator
Staff member
How I Manage My Anxiety While Traveling - Outside Online
Anxiety, hypochondria, OCD, and travel might sound like a recipe for disaster. But I've seen the world despite my mental health. Here's how I manage my mind on the road.
As a neurotic 27-year-old New Yorker with a cocktail of mental-health issues—anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and hypochondriasis—travel seemed impossible for most of my life. I grew up desperately wanting to see the world, but any time I’d get close to planning a trip, I’d chicken out before booking the flight. I soon grew tired of letting my anxiety confine me to an increasingly small comfort zone, and knew I had to make a drastic change. So at 23, I quit my job and took a two-month trip to Southeast Asia.
When I first set foot on the plane, I was convinced that everything bad that could happen to me would happen. I thought I’d get kidnapped, mugged, or trapped in a foreign country, that a single mosquito bite would mean a malaria diagnosis. Four years later, I’ve been to 21 countries and don’t plan to stop traveling any time soon. Along the way, my perspective was completely rewired to the point that anxiety no longer dictates my life at home. I’ve learned that I’m far more daring and independent than I ever thought possible.
Anxiety, hypochondria, OCD, and travel might sound like a recipe for disaster. But I've seen the world despite my mental health. Here's how I manage my mind on the road.
As a neurotic 27-year-old New Yorker with a cocktail of mental-health issues—anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and hypochondriasis—travel seemed impossible for most of my life. I grew up desperately wanting to see the world, but any time I’d get close to planning a trip, I’d chicken out before booking the flight. I soon grew tired of letting my anxiety confine me to an increasingly small comfort zone, and knew I had to make a drastic change. So at 23, I quit my job and took a two-month trip to Southeast Asia.
When I first set foot on the plane, I was convinced that everything bad that could happen to me would happen. I thought I’d get kidnapped, mugged, or trapped in a foreign country, that a single mosquito bite would mean a malaria diagnosis. Four years later, I’ve been to 21 countries and don’t plan to stop traveling any time soon. Along the way, my perspective was completely rewired to the point that anxiety no longer dictates my life at home. I’ve learned that I’m far more daring and independent than I ever thought possible.