Anxiety and going on holiday

[Daisylake]

Ive had anxiety about 8 years now, constant worry about everything. I go over everything in my head all the time, every conversation, decision. Everything.

I worry about work constantly. I feel like I'm not good enough and a voice in my head tells me I don't know how to do my job. I struggle with speaking to people.

Me and DH decided to take kids on holiday this year, we haven't been away for 4 years so we have booked a week in Tunisia in the summer. I thought it would be nice but now my anxiety is very extreme, I worry about it being safe. I worry about people speaking to me, getting ill, missing flights, every possible accident that might happen. I tell myself I'm being irrational but my brain won't switch off. It's like a bully in my head constantly picking at me. We are traveling with tui as a deal. I just stay awake now worrying. It's supposed to be a week in the sun to relax, but I'm actually having nightmares about it.

Oh op you have my absolute sympathies, I can totally relate to everything you’ve said. 💐
Anxiety is a cunt isn’t it?

I’ve never been on holiday abroad and I hate that I’ve never experienced it, however a big part of why I’ve never been is the anxiety around it all.
The questioning about the right place to go, whether we’ll get ill, whether I’ll be scared on the flight, are we going to hate it, will it cost too much and won’t be worth it. It’s all so fucking exhausting it it?

Youve done an amazing thing booking a lovely holiday for your family. You will have an amazing time.

I won’t patronise you by saying you need to get help before you go cos that won’t help you. But have a virtual hug and sympathies from me x

apps.apple.com/gb/app/clarity-cbt-thought-diary/id1010391170

My son suffers with anxiety and has had a course of CBT therapy. He uses this app to challenge negative thoughts and alongside meditation it has made the world of different. If you can afford CBT I would recommend it.

What happened 8 years ago?

Anxiety is the emotion that fires up when there's something too important to ignore; that's why we study for exams, dress up for a first date or check we've got the front door key before we slam it shut.

When anxiety goes into overdrive and alerts you to absolutely everything - the daily stuff that you shouldn't worry about or events like your holiday which is supposed to be pleasurable - it's often because the was an event or a situation (8 yrs ago?) that shook you so badly you've lost confidence in doing anything without worrying about it. It's the subconscious minds way of trying to protect you.

You also see any (natural) sign of anxiety as proof that something bad is about to happen and you start scanning every word, every action and every upcoming event for the worst case scenario.

Tackling the origin is the best way of stopping this overreaction.

You have my sympathies.

please feel free to ignore my simple approach, I appreciate anxiety is different for everyone and I’m old. I’m a list writer, a to do list for every day tasks and plans

i find if I write it down it quietens my head. I’ve also found headphones with audio books help calm my most anxious state.

https://www.tui.co.uk/discover/disability-and-autism-friendly-holidays I would honestly plan any help you can get ahead of time. Don’t be embarrassed to access help that is already in place for you.

we had the lanyard for our last flight so we could access the disability passport lines and first on/off the plane.

it’s worth remembering when you get there you can celebrate with down days, sunning yourself, long walks and nice food.

that would be first on my to do list. Have a hug from me!