Sofia Almeida
Anxiety on solo travel is very common and unfortunately not often spoken about. I can personally attest that I have anxiety on solo travel, as do many other solo travelers I have met. There is plenty of travel writing that tells of the wonderful feelings of liberation that come with solo travel, but this type of writing does not come close to detailing the often anxious experiences that many solo travelers experience. I myself am a huge fan of solo travel but I don’t want to give it up – with a little planning and knowledge of how to cope, the positive aspects far outweigh the anxiety. In this article I will outline some of the things that I have learned along the way about managing anxiety while traveling solo, based on my own experiences as well as those of other solo travelers that I have met along the way.
What pre-trip planning reduces anxiety
Many anxiety issues can be linked back to uncertainty. Locking down the first 3 days of a trip beforehand is a big one for me. Knowing exactly where I’m going to be every day of the trip helps to ease any uncertainty about the arrival and the first few days of a trip. This is made so much easier if you have read enough about a destination to know the basics of things such as money, airport transfers, food and some basic phrases. The first day of a trip is always going to have some kind of friction as you get used to a new place and find your way around. Knowing how to do a few basic things to get from the airport to your accommodation and get some food into your system really takes the edge off. Having a written down daily plan for the first week or so of a trip can also be really helpful. It doesn’t have to be set in stone but it gives you a kind of default mode to fall back on when you’re struggling to decide what to do with your time. Most guidebooks tell you to plan less and just go with the flow but this has not been my experience. Having a plan for the first week or so of a trip really helped me to feel more in control of my first solo trips.
What triggers anxiety on solo trips
While anxiety can crop up at any time for any reason, there are a few common triggers for anxious solo travelers. These are: 1) decision making overload (trying to decide between a bunch of restaurants or museums in a new city); 2) transit days (long bus rides, planes with many transfers, ferries); 3) evenings alone (especially in the first 3 to 5 evenings of a trip). These situations often cause the most anxiety, and they can become especially problematic when the anxious traveler is trying to deal with the uncertainty of not knowing how things will play out in a new place.
Routines that help on the road
I’ve found that a small set of daily routines to be the most effective way to treat travel anxiety while on the road. A morning routine of locking in the first 20 minutes of your day can be as simple as reading a book or journaling. The structure of a morning routine can be greatly lost in hotel rooms and between different neighborhoods. In the evening, I try to have a routine of going to the same restaurant or bar for two nights of the week. I also try to write a reflection of the day and be in bed by the same time every night. This type of routine will anchor you in unfamiliar places. I also find that having a daily movement routine of 30-60 minutes of walking or running is the best way to manage anxious symptoms over the course of a multi-month trip. Plan ahead.
When to push through and when to step back
Finally, there’s the decision of when to keep going and when to pull back. I see a lot of travel writing that tries to tell you that you should just push through your anxiety, but the reality is that this works well enough for general, low-level, resistance to a place, but that there are many points along a traveler’s journey when they hit some kind of wall and need to be able to acknowledge that wall for what it is and then either figure out a way to go through it or recognize that it would be silly to keep pushing through it and instead take a rest day or return to some familiar element of the trip (e.g. go back to eating only familiar foods, move to a quieter part of town, etc.). Also, that the worst thing you can do is to keep going on a trip while feeling ill or being otherwise unwell, because, at the end of the day, that’s not a victory and was never the point of the trip in the first place. It’s a test of endurance, and, if you’ve reached a point where you’re failing that test, it’s probably time to bring things to a close.
Tools and supports for anxious solo travelers
When it comes to medication, don’t think that because you are traveling you should cut back on taking it or stop it all together. Just bring what you would normally bring at home. This includes the packaging of the original bottle with your prescription on the label, as well as a doctor’s note that explains your situation. Just having that one item with you can greatly reduce anxiety caused by worry about your medication. Additionally, if you take medication, it’s a good idea to write down the contact information of your therapist and of your loved ones who you know can offer you support, even if you don’t end up needing it. This simple knowledge can ease a lot of anxiety and having the contact information of other solo travelers on the road can even help more. That’s why even though hostels and shared accommodations are often expensive, many anxious solo travelers swear by them.
What I would tell a first-time solo traveler
Plan less than you think you should. For a 14-day first solo trip to two cities with a buffer day or two of traveling in between each city would most likely create a much better experience than trying to pack 5 or more cities into the same amount of time. Some days will be lonely and that is a part of the experience that you are trying to have – that your solo trip teaches you what you really had and what you really want. When traveling solo less is better when it comes to photos of where you have been and more journal pages from the time spent at your destinations.
