Does anyone get anxious before a holiday?

[llolay]

We are going to Tenerife tonight
Well staying in the airport hotel tonight and flying in the morning.
We are only going for 5 nights and come back Tuesday .
I just feel really anxious as I've dropped my 2 cats off at my dad's.
We don't have any kids yet so these are my babies.
I just feel bad leaving them
My Dad loves them and they will be well looked after
Anyone else ?

There are drugs and organised crime wherever you go.
Tenerife is lovely, you'll have a great time.

@Abracadabra12345 that's what I have done
Boarding passes on my phone but have printed ones just incase
I have a fear of just being about to board and my phone turning off 🤣

The only time I drink a latte is before flying. It helps the butterflies. Once I'm on the plane,/train I feel fin it's just the getting there that's the problem.

I work as a travel agent, and absolutely love to travel myself; and I STILL get the pre travel anxiety!

I think its mainly worryingly about whether I've forgotten to pack something important; and worrying that my alarm won't go off when I'm catching an early flight.

I think it's normal. It doesn't stop me booking multiple trips a year 😳

Yes

I really hate the beginning of the travelling in my old age

Then I soon get over it

I only get anxious that someone will get ill or have an accident that means we can't go.
DH must be the same because last year we arrived at the airport for a dream holiday and I slipped on ice in the carpark. I was a bit shaken and bruised but ok.
DH said he was very worried when he saw me fall, how sweet I thought.
No, because apparently he was worried that if I had broken anything we wouldn't be able to go!

I print everything off too. It does help with the anxiety to be prepared.
But I actually love travelling. I just have to fight against this anxiety I now get.

No, because I travel so much for work that's it's second nature now.

My top tips -
Photo of your passport stored on your phone
Remember your glasses (if you wear them)
Contingency plan and at least one day of extra clothing - for when things don't go to plan!

These days when dd doesn't really travel with us any more I fret far too much about dying en route and leaving her an orphan. I am usually fine when I get to the other end.

I understand why organised holidays aimed at older people give the option of a taxi sent to your own front door.

Yes! Every time. There are so many things to remember and the process of travelling gets more rigid and complex every year.

But once they close the plane doors I relax totally and start to enjoy it.

@CarnivoreCam what a stupid statement.
There are plenty of lovely people and places in Tenerife that don't include
drugs.

I’ve had that. It was wonderful. The driver even carried the cases downstairs for us.
It’s the airport for me. I can’t bear the number of queues you have to join. So many people. And everything is automated now. Entering numbers into machines and pushing buttons to print luggage labels and boarding passes. So stressful.
Then I remember how fortunate I am to be going on a lovely holiday.

I toss and turn with intrusive thoughts for a couple of nights before holidays. I worry about packing, what have I forgotten, will it all fit in the car, will we arrive in time to receive the Tesco delivery etc.

It drives me mad and has made holidays a miserable experience, it takes me the full week to get over the stress!

My tolerance for stress has greatly reduced over the years, probably due to traumatic events. I find the slightest thing sets me off now. Perhaps it could be perimenopause too.

Ahh, it's funny, OP, isn't it?
I do really understand.
We had a big holiday to Bali, 11 years ago, with three pre-teens/teens. Two resorts.
I felt like you, actually, I thought, "we're not going to survive this", for one reason or another...
The reality was so different from any fears I'd had, and it will stay in all our memories with such sweetness.

That is what I try to adopt now, fears are just thoughts, thoughts aren't reality...as my Beloved Dad used to say, " All things are possible, not all things are probably ".

I hope you have the loveliest holiday with sweet, tender memories. Xx

probable

Do you mind me asking if your GP is still prescribing diazepam for you in respect of travel?

My only anxiety is around the flight itself and my GP no longer prescribes it, although I've just spent a fortune on an online 'fearless flyer' course which is helping my feelings towards it, although not put into practice yet.

Why do we get more anxious as we get older?

Yes! I went on holiday recently and it was all a bit stressful. Passports, flights, worrying about the kids drowning/falling off the balcony. The first night and day was awful, the eldest was grumpy because he was tired and everything was different, I was grumpy because we weren't having a good time.

It did all settle down, the fear of drowning lessened, the falling off the balcony was a constant fear, I had drilled into them both that they were not allowed out unsupervised and at 7 and 9 they are perfectly capable of listening but I still had it in my head that they would creep out at night and thus fall off especially when I realised there was no way of locking the doors without them being able to unlock it.

As it happened they were angels, nobody went out unsupervised, they asked every time they wanted to go out and we all had a great time. Found myself searching for another holiday after we got back despite me swearing never again.

Next year we will just do Butlins so I'll be fine, it was a combination of me not flying for years, different country and the first time taking the kids abroad as well as needing passports which just added to the general anxiety of everything needing to run smoothly.

During the week away my watch went off 3 times to tell me my heart rate was abnormally high. Been back 3 weeks or so now and it's not gone off once. So much for holidays being relaxing 🙄

I think generally our lives get more comfortable and with each year that goes by means we are one more years used to how things are and there's comfort in familiarity.

@DitheringBlidiot I do not think my life has got more comfortable. In some ways yes. But bereavements and dealing with loved ones being seriously ill is not easy. I think I would be less anxious travelling if my life was more comfortable.

Tenerife is absolutely lovely and you won't find drugs and organised crime unless you go seeking it out, there's no more than anywhere else.
Ignore PP trying to make you feel more anxious, I've been going to Tenerife yearly probably the last 20 years, love it and have never seen any crime.
Where are you staying?

@Daisy03 we are staying at royal hideaway corales suites
It looks really nice

Royal hideaway is lovely but if you do want drugs leave your hotel and walk 15 miles turn left at the roundabout walk some more turn right but if you get to the shore line you have missed it.
Enjoy your holiday Tenerife is a great place with lovely people.

I don't ever really feeling anxious before holidays I used to just look forward to them, but now I get in an awful state even if I'm returning to a place that I've been too before and really enjoyed. I don't know what causes it but it really affects me. DH is currently checking out ideas for next years holiday and I'm already feeling anxious and it's not booked! I hate leaving my dog so he has suggested getting a passport and DDog can come too but I'm anxious about that as well in case she gets ill or paperwork is out of place and she's not allowed back into the UK I honestly drive myself mad with the catastrophising