London - on the train!

[southernstar66]

I put this in the PA forum but wonder if I should have put it in here really!

I have been going through a bad patch with PAs recently and have been really struggling to make myself work through them trying not to avoid things like going to work and out and about as in the past this has led me to periods of agoraphobia. I have avoided the temptation to take time off work (which itself is a great source of stress). However just when I thought things couldnt get any worse there is now a possibly that I may have to attend a stressful meeting in London due to my work and worse still it is in central London which will mean getting the train! I avoid public transport and have not been on a train for over 2 years (and last time went with my partner) as it causes me great anxiety. So now I feel like not only may I need to attend a stressful meeting in London (dont like that either cos of the crowds etc) I may have to go on the train to get there - a double whammey!

I have tried to sit and think logically about how I get round this ...ie maybe a colleague can come with me ...I can get a taxi from the main station to where we are going but I am just filled with dread at the thought of having to tackle this big hurdle but at the same time I dont have much choice as it is my job:ohmy:

[hoppipolla]

yeah i've had things about trains... it's a common one and not a very nice one ._.

they have largely gone away now but i can't remember what i did to make them do that... i think i had to get a loooong coach journey (8-9 hours) and i was really nervous and on the underground to get there and we were packed in like sardines and i thought to myself (well, there is no way the coach can be worse than this...) and it wasn't! lol i just sat there listening to music and whatever for the whole journey on the coach aaaall the way to scotland and it kind of removed my travelling anxiety i guess :)

i'm not sure if any of that helps but it's my little experience! hehe oh, and looking out the window always helps too :)

Hoppi!

[southernstar66]

Thanks for the advice!

[Pennie]

Hi Southernstar,

I've had similar experiences, used to be unable to travel on trains or buses. Like Hoppi I can't really explain what made it get easier, just learning to deal with the general stress of life a bit better than i was i think. I am able to do long journeys on the train now but still have some anxiety and worries. I tend to focus on what I'll do when I get there and what I would miss out on if I didn't do it - although I can understand that's not such a great motivation when it's a conference! Also music to distract me and shut out other people's noise and a book to dissapear into really helps, stops me looking out of the window at stations and stressing about who might be getting on too.

Go for it, and make your main motivation how proud of yourself you'll be when you've achieved it. It's not always easy but it's worth it.

Take care, Pen x