When Your Partner Has Travel Anxiety

Travel anxiety and panic-related issues have grounded many a hopeful traveler. If you’re a person who suffers from these issues, you can be held back from a lifetime of adventure.

If you’re the romantic partner of someone who suffers from these issues, you can be held back, too.

Imagine looking forward to a trip for months, planning it out in every detail, packing, and arriving at the airport–only to discover that your significant other can’t bring themselves to get onto the airplane.

This is a drastic example, but it does happen. With that in mind, here are some tips to help you if you love to travel but find yourself romantically involved with someone with travel anxiety.

Don’t Give Up

Depending on how long you’ve been involved with this person, it might be tempting to immediately say, “Well, this isn’t going to work.” You may want to bail out on the relationship and look for someone who finds it easier to travel.

Truthfully, only you can know whether breaking up the relationship would be the right decision for you. However, first ask yourself what drew you to this person. Why did you become romantically involved with them? Does that foundation of love mean enough to you to try to work through the anxiety?

You may not realize it, but there are adventurous people who suffer from panic disorders. There are people who love to travel and, in fact, travelled just fine until one day they suddenly had an issue; since then, that experience has stopped them from living their best life.

These people don’t want to give up on travelling, they don’t want to give up on adventures, and they certainly don’t want to lose a relationship with someone they love.

They may just be unsure of how to get back to where they can travel without anxiety. If you love this person, perhaps this is a journey you can join them for.

Start with Small Trips

There’s a good chance that someone with travel anxiety might benefit from taking small trips first, such as an overnight camping trip, before taking the plunge for three weeks in Spain or a month in Egypt.

Just like setting small goals helps us accomplish larger goals, so may these smaller tips help your partner build up to larger trips. 

Be Careful How You Respond

There’s a good chance that a partner with travel anxiety may experience as much anxiety or panic–or they may experience none at all–when they travel with a “safe person.”

A safe person is one who is not judgmental, but is instead supportive, compassionate, and encouraging.

For some panic sufferers, falling in love with someone can turn their relationship with anxiety around, causing them to no longer suffer from issues. 

Encourage Them to Research

Therapy can cost a lot of money for those who aren’t lucky enough to have it covered by their insurance, and it may not always even resolve the travel anxiety.

However, there have been a number of books written on the subject of panic; one such book is Panic Free by Tom Bunn.

Mr. Bunn was an airline pilot; part of his job was trying to help calm down airline passengers who experienced panic attacks while the plane was in flight.

He became interested in helping people with travel anxiety and devoted his life’s work to it. He wrote another book called SOAR, Conquer the Fear of Flying.

Look Into Natural Solutions

Some individuals with travel anxiety look into natural therapies, such as mindfulness practice, exercise, and a healthy diet. Changing one’s relationship to stress and anxiety can be useful, and each of those wellness practices are said to help.