Soon we will depart on a holiday. We both love seeing new places or at least we did.
Since PTSD started travelling with us things are a little different.
Instead of looking forward to all that might be ahead of us as we venture off I am filled with the awful anticipation of what might happen along the way. That horrible stomach churning anxiety that turns excitement into dread.
Travel is not easy these days but we both refuse to stop doing it.
PTSD has taken much from our lives but travel won't make it to that list.
Airports create a hyper vigilance and level of anxiety that can only be calmed by medication for my husband and don't talk about delays or security!
New places once were exciting and fresh and a level of curiosity abounded until we could get out and explore for ourselves. Now there is a cautious tempered curiosity that sometimes turns into total 'get me out of here' anxiety.
The familiar is good, but the unfamiliar throws up all sorts of threats, real or otherwise, that need to be dealt with. Sometime I'm good at the 'dealing with' but other times I wonder why we leave home.
We try and travel without too many stops and plonk ourselves in one spot for a while rather than being on the go constantly. Many stops and constantly changing places doesn't work anymore.
At least this time we will have a discussion and talk about how we are both feeling before we leave and work as a team while we navigate our way to our destination. We will have a game plan of sorts and try and stick with it until it all goes to custard.
We both know we need to break. So off we will go to discover new places and gain a refreshed appreciation for what we already have on our door step.
Bring on that first cocktail I say!
Mel x
Do you have similar problems when you travel?
Any tips on getting through airports drama free?
