Holiday Travel Tips for Anxious Women

How to Manage Flight Anxiety Without Relying on Meds or Alcohol

I hate flying, but I love traveling more. Which means I’ve had to figure out how to get on planes—and without relying on drugs or alcohol to get through it. (No judgment, though, if that's your go-to! I just don’t want to depend on those things.)

If holiday travel is already stirring up some serious anxiety, you’re definitely not alone. For many of us, the thought of airports, long lines, and crowded planes can feel overwhelming—even if we love getting to the destination.

Over the years, I’ve found a few go-to strategies that make travel much more manageable. Here’s what’s helped me—and what might help you, too, if you’re an anxious traveler.

Don’t Ignore Your Anxiety

Anxiety doesn’t go away just because we wish it would. In fact, it usually gets louder if we ignore it, sometimes even leading to a panic attack. Pretending that everything’s fine can make your anxiety dig in deeper.

Imagine your anxiety like a fire alarm that won’t turn off. The more you ignore it, the louder it gets because it’s trying to get your attention. Acknowledging your symptoms of anxiety, without feeding into them can send the signal to your body that you are paying attention and the anxiety alarms aren’t necessary. Practice noticing and tuning into your anxiety long before you get to the airport.

Avoidance Feels Good, But It Doesn’t Help

Avoiding something that makes us anxious can feel like immediate relief with a serious catch. When we avoid, we’re telling our brain, “Yes, this is something to be feared and avoided at all costs.”

This reinforces your brain’s association between travel and panic, making it even harder to handle when you do need to travel.

Safely exposing yourself to uncomfortable activities keeps you from defaulting to avoidance. If crowds is a difficult part of travel for you, exposing yourself to them rather than avoiding crowds completely can help manage your panic and anxiety.

Connect to Your Breath

Your breath is your most powerful tool for managing anxiety. When you’re anxious, shallow breathing can kick up your stress response and make everything feel worse. Practice belly breathing well before you begin traveling to the airport. Knowing how to breathe deeply when you start feeling stressed can be the difference in managing your anxiety.

Use Positive Visualizations

Visualization is one of my favorite tricks. Imagine yourself moving through each part of your trip as calmly as possible. Picture yourself checking in, boarding the plane, and arriving at your destination anxiety-free. Creating a mental “movie” of yourself managing travel confidently can help calm your nervous system.

Identify Your Triggers

What specifically makes you anxious about flying? Is it the boarding process? For me, it’s being packed in the tunnel with everyone waiting to board, so I wait until the last 10 people are getting on before I join. Since I have my seat, there’s no harm in waiting until the crowd thins.

Maybe for you, it’s the opposite—boarding early might give you peace of mind. If it does, consider upgrading your ticket for priority boarding. Whatever your trigger, adjust your routine to work with it, not against it.

Communicate

Sometimes just chatting with someone can ground you. Reach out, even if it’s just a quick conversation with a loved one. They don’t even need to know you’re anxious—it’s about bringing your mind back to something normal and familiar.

Go Slow

Give yourself plenty of time. Plan to get to the airport a little early, and take your time finding your gate. Slowing down calms your nervous system and makes everything feel more manageable.

Don’t Skip Meals

Travel days are not the days to cut calories or skip meals. If a big meal from a fast-food chain is what works, don’t judge yourself— go for it! Making sure you’ve eaten enough will keep your body grounded and fueled.

Be Prepared with an “Emergency Kit”

An “emergency kit” can be a game-changer for travel anxiety. My kit includes wipes, gum, cinnamon Altoids, crystals, a playlist, fun magazine, journal, earphones, and a note from a loved one. I rarely need these items, but just having them with me is enough to calm me down.

Therapy to Manage your Travel Anxiety

I can’t promise you’ll suddenly love flying or that you’ll never experience another panic attack, but these strategies can make traveling much less miserable this holiday season. If anxiety has been keeping you from living the life you want for too long, therapy can absolutely help.

Therapy provides you with tools to manage anxiety by working through your specific challenges. Together, we’ll target the issues keeping you from doing what you want—so traveling (and other things) don’t feel so impossible.

Don’t let holiday anxiety keep you from enjoying this season. Therapy might be the extra support you didn’t know you needed.

I work with adult women virtually throughout California and inperson at my office in Lompoc, CA. 

Schedule your free phone consultation with me.

If you're ready to make this holiday season actually enjoyable, join me next time as we dive into boundaries—how to protect your peace, handle family dynamics, and make room for what truly brings you joy.