Anxiety about holiday

[PrincessPanic89]

Sorry if this isn't in the right place. I suffer quite badly from health anxiety and also anxiety in general. I've been on holiday, specifically on a plane, a lot of times before and I used to love flying and going on holiday then my anxiety got worse and I found that it affected it. About 4 years ago, I went to Cyprus and on the plane I suddenly felt extremely anxious to the point where it was knocking me sick. Whilst on holiday, I was nauseous the entire time and didn't eat well. I've been abroad 4 times since then and each time has been the same. Feeling very panicky and anxious about flying to the point where I'm spending the duration of the flight trying to convince myself not to vomit (I suffer badly with emetophobia) and then when I'm on holiday, I feel nauseous pretty much the entire time. The last couple of times, I've taken buscopan and Rennies with me that kind of act as a placebo for my nausea about 60% of the time. I've just booked another holiday with my partner and I'm already starting to feel anxious. I've got this image in my head of the plane crashing and me leaving my daughter behind (she is not coming as she's away with her dad) I'm trying to convince myself that there are millions of flights around the world every day and you only hear about plane crashes on the news because they're so rare but I'm beginning to get more and more paranoid about dying.

My main issue though is the anxiety making me feel so sick. I don't know if it's because it's not a familiar environment (although I've opted to go back to the same place I've been for the last 2 years in the hopes that might help the familiarity) but whatever it is, it does ruin the holiday for me as I avoid going too far from the apartment or out on trips etc. Does anyone else get like this? If so, do you have any advice on how I can stop it? I would love to be able to enjoy this holiday without feeling ready to vomit 24/7 :(

[Sunflower2]

Hello,

I also have emetophobia and it has affected my holidays in the past. I still sometimes feel on edge for the first night but as the holiday goes on I start to relax. As for flying, I also enjoy it, although not as much as when I was a child! I think it is natural to feel a bit anxious about holidays for anyone, as you're out of your comfort zone in a new place.

You're right that there are millions of flights every day, but you only ever hear about the horror stories. They are the tiniest minority, but they are very scary. But, everything has a risk, driving to the airport is much more dangerous.

As for anxious while on holiday, I make sure to do as much as possible to make myself feel safe and comfortable. I have a little routine for flying now to keep me occupied - magazine, book, music, puzzles. Keep on doing things! When I fly on my own this is even more important for me as I worry that the people sitting next to me will get sick! I was on one flight where the woman next to me looked anxious, so I focused on doing a super had sudoku puzzle for the whole flight! While on holiday, I have all my home comforts with me - water, mints, Rennies, emergency snacks. My last holiday was brilliant fun and my anxiety was still there, but didn't stop me from enjoying my holiday - it is possible to have fun and be still anxious!

Good luck and enjoy your holiday :)

[PrincessPanic89]

Thank you for your reply :) I have a tendency to get anxiety/nausea when I'm not on holiday too. I avoid going anywhere too far from home really. About a 30 minute drive is the most I'm comfortable with and even then sometimes I still get anxious. I try to force myself to do things and not think about it too much and often it works but I'll let my guard down for a second and it starts again! With being on a plane, I think it is the idea of being stuck in a confined space that there is no way out of and my biggest fear as an emetophobe is being sick outside of my own home. It terrifies me so I get very anxious which makes me feel worse! On my last holiday I downloaded a film I knew would last the majority of the flight which kind of helped a tiny bit but every movement of the plane reminds me I'm on one and the nausea comes back. Are there any OTC meds that you've ever taken that work? Like travel sickness tablets or Kalms or anything? I know they don't necessarily work but might have a placebo effect!

[Sunflower2]

I am the same! At one point I was barely going 10 minutes away from home but I'm much better now. :)

Have you done any cbt? That helped a lot as it made me realise that the nausea and fear of sickness is really pretty irrational and there's not really any reason to feel like that in only some situations. Try and also remember how often you were fine in the past and didn't feel sick!

I don't take any otc meds (scared they will make me feel sick hahah) but I'm on sertraline which has helped me massively. When I first started taking it I was so scared in case it made me feel sick that I bought sea sickness bands and wore them constantly for about a week. Don't know if they made any difference but I never felt sick! I also make sure to buy a bottle of water after security in the airport, so I've got it with me before the plane even takes off. :)