How to make it through this trip?

[Anxiousmess6]

My world has become so small since Covid - I work from home and absolutely love our quiet life at home with the kids.

Unfortunately it means that anything outside of that now is extremely anxiety-inducing.

I still occasionally have to travel for work and it is a total ordeal. I am travelling for work this week and am absolutely exhausted from the mental load of the anxiety. It means I can't be on top of my game at work as trying to control my anxiety is a full time job, taking every thought and ounce of energy.

Some trips have been OK, some trips I have been up all night having panic attacks thinking of contamination in hotel rooms or of not making it back home to my kids.

I don't know what to do anymore. I'm not deemed bad enough for a referral so whenever I've sought help I've been placed on multi-months long waiting lists.

I can't really blame them, I'm functioning well all things considered, my children are doing well, I have a really good job. I'm just suffering silently and it's exhausting me.

Amy tips or words of wisdom to make it through the week would be appreciated.

It sounds like agoraphobia. Generally speaking, the less you push yourself, the worse it gets. I would see your GP about medication for your anxiety and do CBT for agoraphobia. You can find therapists on BACP.

Not sure how true this is but I saw a video on Instagram which suggested sucking sour sweets when you're feeling very anxious offers short term relief.. might be worth a try in the short term whilst you look into longer term options.

Firstly, have a look at this video, how to stop feeling anxious about anxiety;

Secondly, take the anxiety out of your head. By that I mean write down your anxious thoughts, preferably with pen and paper. This means you have to engage your logical mind to analyse what your emotional mind is telling you. If your emotional mind is telling you the hotel is contaminated write down the evidence for and against that 'fact' and then make a rational decision - this thought record is really useful;

https://www.getselfhelp.co.uk/docs/ThoughtRecordSheet7.pdf

Thirdly, this trick is great for getting you back under control quickly. Grab a small water bottle or something of a similar size and throw it from hand to hand, watching it as it goes through the air. Again it forces the two hemispheres of your brain to work together to stop you dropping it.

Finally please don't rely on the internet for diagnosis. That's what your GP is for.