Afraid to journey? Experts reveal face your irrational fears

• Many vacationers expertise irrational fears, reminiscent of dropping a passport or being a sufferer of crime, that may negatively have an effect on their journeys.
• Experts counsel that preparation and analysis can assist floor vacationers in actuality and overcome these anxieties.

The vacation journey season is true across the nook, and what higher time than now to face your journey fears – particularly your irrational ones?

Sienna Hart’s phobia is dropping her passport. She consistently – and obsessively – checks to verify her ID is in her pocket when she travels overseas. 

“I’ve even been known to pat it mid-flight, just to confirm it’s still there,” added Hart, a vp of gross sales for a social media firm in New York. “The ritual is peak irrationality.”

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She’s proper. Only about 0.2% of Americans lose their passport yearly, in response to the State Department, and along with her compulsive checking, she’s in all probability not going to be one in every of them.

“Travel is an area where people often encounter anxiety that may not have logical grounding,” mentioned Savana Howe, a scientific psychologist who focuses on treating anxiousness issues. “It affects their travel experience.”

Irrational fears are throughout us after we journey, from the worry of lacking out to the worry of not being understood. But why are these fears irrational? And how are you going to place your subsequent journey to make sure these fears do not get the higher of you?

The worst resort visitor behaviors (and the way to not develop into one)

Here are probably the most irrational fears vacationers have

There’s a protracted listing of phobias and irrational behaviors that vacationers pack for each journey. 

“Travel comes with plenty of what-ifs,” said Terry Boynton, president of Yonder Travel Insurance. “It’s normal to feel nervous about the unexpected.”

Here are a few highlights:

• Fear of missing out. “One of the most common irrational fears is the idea that if you don’t book everything six months out, you’ll be stuck in a subpar hotel or miss out entirely,” said Charlie Neville, a marketing director at JayWay Travel. He’s seen travelers panic-book flights and accommodations, only to find they missed better routes, new boutique hotel openings, or price drops just a few weeks later.
• Fear of being a crime victim. Roni Weiss sees it all the time. “There are people who refuse to get off cruise ships or go outside of their all-inclusive resorts because they are irrationally worried,” said Weiss, the executive director of Travel Unity, a nonprofit organization. “But these places possibly have less crime than the visitors have back home.”
• Fear of public transportation. Many American travelers assume mass transit is dangerous, even when it’s a perfectly safe way of getting around. “It’s an irrational fear,” said Alexis McCray, a licensed psychotherapist with Elevated Horizons Mental Health. In fact, in many cities, mass transit is the best and most cost-effective way to get around.
• Fear of your luggage being stolen. Some travelers are so worried about their luggage getting damaged or stolen during travel that they go to extreme lengths, like shrink-wrapping their bags. “While luggage mishandling does happen, the anxiety behind this behavior is often exaggerated,” said Howe, the psychologist. “Most airlines and airports have protocols in place to protect luggage. The desire to prevent theft or damage leads to unnecessary actions that don’t provide much extra protection.”
• Fear of not being understood. While it’s true that there are places where no one speaks English, they’re few and far between. “I can count on one hand the number of times that I truly was up against a language barrier,” said Kiya Thompson, a family travel coach. And there’s always Google Translate and hand gestures to get you through. “When languages clash, the human heart still connects,” she added. How true.

I’m not exempt from travel phobias

I have two irrational fears. 

First, I’m afraid I’ll leave something important behind. (Actually, this isn’t completely unjustified. I’ve left electric toothbrushes, razors, adapters and once, I even abandoned an iPad at a hotel.) And the second one is not being allowed into a country because I forgot to apply for a visa. That happened to me once, when I was flying to Australia, but it was quickly remedied by downloading the AustralianETA app and filling out the necessary paperwork. Phew, that was a close one!)

But the fears are irrational in the sense that, with a little preparation, you don’t have to worry about them. 

How to overcome your fears

Most of us, including me, have a short list of travel phobias. The question is, how do you overcome them? 

Experts say a little preparation can help allay these fears. Research will reveal that there are plenty of rooms and flights available even if you book a few weeks in advance. It will also show that taking the train from the airport into town is the most efficient and safe way to get into town. And yes, those airport vendors that wrap your checked luggage in plastic are a rip-off. 

Once you label a fear as irrational, you can explore it with curiosity rather than panic, according to Anand Mehta, a family therapist in San Diego.

“You can say, “OK, I’m feeling nervous. Let’s look at why I’m worried,” mentioned Mehta. “In doing so, you shift from being controlled by the fear to understanding it.”

He mentioned that is empowering as a result of you’ll be able to collect info about security data and statistics, reminiscent of airline security data or resort cleanliness insurance policies. 

“This helps ground you in reality,” he added. It can even assist you overcome irrational fears.

“When you know these fears are irrational, you can be more confident and take practical steps to mitigate your risks, rather than succumbing to the anxiety that may prevent you from enjoying your trip,” mentioned John Gobbels, the chief working officer of Medjet.

How to learn from frequent journey fears

But who am I kidding? People will all the time do irrational issues once they journey. The actual query is, how are you going to benefit from these phobias? 

Zigging when the gang zags is a time-honored contrarian technique. Enjoy the sooner prepare (with loads of accessible seats) whereas everybody else waits in a protracted line for an Uber. Save cash by reserving your journey nearer to your journey date. Look like a assured traveler by not shrink-wrapping your bag.

Mostly, although, you’ll be able to breathe a bit of simpler, figuring out you may have much less to fret about than you assume. For the remaining, mentioned Yonder’s Boynton, there’s all the time journey insurance coverage.

Christopher Elliott is an writer, shopper advocate, and journalist. He based Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit group that helps remedy shopper issues. He publishes Elliott Confidential, a journey e-newsletter, and the Elliott Report, a information website about customer support. If you need assistance with a shopper drawback, you’ll be able to reach him here or e mail him at chris@elliott.org.