Suitcase Divas: Travel Agent Tips, Tricks & Travel Tales

Travel Anxiety Toolkit: Packing Calm, Not Chaos

• Suitcase Divas • Season 3 • Episode 2

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Nervous about flying? You’re not alone. In this episode, we break down simple, proven rituals that calm your nerves so you can board with confidence instead of chaos.

Airports aren’t built for calm, but your travel routine can be. We’re opening Season Three with a practical, field-tested anxiety toolkit—pulled from years of flying, parenting through layovers, and one candid bartender’s view of what really happens in terminals. From the moment you park to the second you buckle in, we break travel into manageable steps and share the exact rituals that lower the noise in your head: breathing patterns you can do in line, scent and sound that ground you fast, and small comforts that change how your body reads stress.

We get real about safety and judgment, too. Mixing anxiety meds with alcohol can backfire quickly, and we talk through what bartenders are trained to watch for—and how they can help when you ask. You’ll learn the human trafficking hand signals posted in restrooms, why naming your needs gets faster support, and how to set smart boundaries whether you fly solo or as a group. If planning overwhelm is your kryptonite, we’ll show you how to shrink the day into bite-size moves, choose what truly matters, and build buffer time so delays don’t wreck your mood.

Tools you can use today: the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding reset to stop spirals mid-flight, box breathing to regulate your nervous system, color walks that turn terminals into a calming focus game, and TSA-friendly scent hacks (think roll-ons and lotion blends) that soothe without hassle. Add noise-canceling headphones, comfort shows, and a simple micro-itinerary, and you’ve got a carry-on for your mind that travels anywhere. Hit play, pack lighter emotionally, and tell us—what’s the one ritual that helps you board with a steadier heart?

If this helped, follow the show, share it with a friend who hates flying, and leave a quick review so others can find these tools.

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SPEAKER_01:

Hi guys, so welcome to Suitcase Divas. We are now officially in season three. So welcome, welcome, welcome, my beautiful co-host Jackie G. And I am Denise D. So today we are gonna talk about a travel anxiety toolkit. So what let's do let's just do a little check-in. How are you feeling? Like if you had to travel today, Jackie G, how are you feeling?

SPEAKER_02:

It would it would still give me some anxiety if I had to travel today. And I can't I can't even say this just because of the particular day. I think travel always gives me a slight level of anxiety. So yes, if I was traveling today, I might feel a little anxious. So what about you? What if you had to travel today?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, those of you that know me know that I am anxious every day, especially when traveling. Yeah, I am definitely one of those people that struggles to travel. Not so much a car, but there's different ways we travel, right? So let's let's kind of let's maybe kind of get into that a little bit later. But we've all been there, we've all been a little stressed, but you have a little bit more insight because you worked in an airport, right?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, so we'll talk about one of the main ways to travel by air, right? We definitely fly a lot of places for sure. So yes, I have worked in the airport. Um, I used to work in the Dallas Lovefield Airport, which is one of the smaller ones, right? That is the Southwest Hub. So not a huge, huge one, but definitely gave me just a different look, right? I've been a traveler, I've been on the other side of it and had kind of those anxieties, but working in the airport and seeing people come through, being able to watch how everyone handles it has just been really, really interesting. So one of the things I do want to touch on, just because I've seen this in so many different forms, is people who are anxious, right? And again, I was a bartender, so maybe they come in for a drink or two. Okay. So nothing wrong with that. Like so, nothing wrong with that. I'm all about a travel drink. That's definitely, you know, something that you can treat yourself with at the airport and everything. So first and foremost, make friends with your bartenders, okay? If anything's gonna go wrong, they are always there, they're always circling, and they are trained to look out for it. Okay. We do take specific training to watch for people, to have conversations with people, to kind of see how you're feeling and everything. So, no, they're not being nosy. They're just trying to help you out. Okay. So let's say you're someone who does get anxious. Maybe you took a little bit of medication before you came to the airport. Okay. And with that, you decided to go and have a drink. Okay. So just one of the cautions that I like to tell people is please be careful with mixing alcohol and medication. Okay. Those are very, very serious things. And Denise, I don't know if you've ever experienced that or I don't have anxiety medicine.

SPEAKER_01:

Not that I think that there's anything wrong with that. I'm definitely an advocate for if you take medication, you absolutely take medication. But I'm kind of one of the old self-coping methods, which is the only method. I'm probably getting a mimosa. Right. That definitely calms me. But I don't, I would never mix my medicine with alcohol.

SPEAKER_02:

Right, right. So for some people, it can be kind of like that extra level of anxiety, like, oh, the medications are kicking in, let me have a drink. So I'll just tell you guys a little story. Okay. This is sometimes what can happen. So I was bartending one evening. This is something that it's one of those stories, like, I really wish I'd seen the end of it because I'm so curious. So I was bartending one night. Towards the end, we're in like the last hour-ish of bar time, right? This lady comes in, she just has a little purse on her, like a little makeup box. That's it. Okay. She sits at the bar, she orders an old fashioned. I make her an old fashioned one of that. It's okay, an old fashioned is a bourbon-based drink. So it's about, you know, a shot and a half-ish of bourbon, some bitters, and it's the pretty one with the cherry and the orange and everything. So very classy drink, you know, not overly strong. And she spent about half an hour or so sipping on the first one. Okay, half an hour or so sipping on the first one.

SPEAKER_01:

What time of night is this at this point?

SPEAKER_02:

So this is probably about like nine, about nine o'clock. We closed around 10. So about nine o'clock at night. Had a conversation with her, because I say hi to everybody, make sure they're not drunk when they first come in. And she was fine. Just sipped on her one drink after she finished it, about 10 minutes later, asked for a second one. So she's in there about 40 minutes now. Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

And you're like, one more. What can it hurt? Right.

SPEAKER_02:

Like it's fine at the airport. I totally get it. And just for those of you who maybe aren't bartenders or maybe don't know alcohol content, right? One drink over the course of half an hour, 40 minutes is absolutely fine. I would not expect anybody to be acting out after that. Okay. So I served her her second drink in a plastic cup. We're closing, right? She had to go. And she didn't even touch it, but she just started not being able to speak comprehensively. I was trying to explain to her, like, hey, it's time to sign out and cash your check. And her eyes got real droopy and she just sat there, uh-huh. Okay. Mm-hmm. Thank you. And that's all she said for five minutes. I talked with her. I had a manager come over and talked with her. We ended up having to call two police officers up to come and speak with her. And they're like, ma'am, you know, you need to pay, you need to close your check. And she just kept smiling and nodding and say, uh-huh. Thank you. As they're handcuffing her. She's thanking the cops and everything. And the craziest thing was they searched her, no wallet, no ID, no credit card, no debit card, nothing on her. I don't know how she got on the plane. No idea. But it was one of those things, you know, that I have to, as a bartender, have to explain this is what I served her, this is the conversation we had. They did find some medication in her bag. So, like maybe she took some medication and then came and drank. And now she's completely disoriented. Okay. So she and as far as I know, she did end up missing her flight. Because you know, once that happens, they take you down to the drunk tank, etc. And I'm so curious.

SPEAKER_01:

I don't know how this lady got to the airport with no ID, but maybe she left it somewhere in the bathroom or some shit.

SPEAKER_02:

I don't know. I don't know. But see, and with that airport, she was coming from a plane and connecting to another plane. So uh anyway, we were all very, very confused. But all that to say, guys, be very, very careful in the airport. Definitely watch yourself, take your medication, let them know you're on medication. There's no embarrassment about it. We don't judge you, but we just want to be able to help you. Okay. And you know, we're happy to serve the alcohol. No problem. I totally get a travel, mimosa. Just let us know, you know. So, you know, if you pass out or something.

SPEAKER_01:

One thing I will say, and then you said she was a solo traveler. One thing I will say when when we traveled with the kids, when my when my kids were younger, I was like the mom, like I was in charge. I mean, I needed to make sure everybody had their stuff, all my kids were taken care of. So I didn't really do the mimosa or whatever. I was just more like rigid, like, okay, let's get the kids from point A to point B and we're here. Right. Now that I'm an empty nester, I'm like, I cannot wait to show up at the airport and have a mimosa. Yes. So a highlight of traveling. There's different angs for me, different anxiety times. The other thing is, I don't even remember the last time I traveled solo. So I typically travel with other people. So there's always people around me that are could be like, hey, Denise, maybe three mimosas too much. I do never say that. So quite funny. Yeah, know your limits and definitely don't mix medication with alcohol because this absolutely can be ramifications to that as you witnessed. Absolutely. Yeah. So so we're talking about the airport, but there are definitely other travel anxiety categories. So flying fears was our first one. Um another one I'm seeing is planning overwhelm. Too many choices, fear of missing out.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, yeah. I feel like that's a big one. That's a big one for me.

SPEAKER_01:

You do have that? Okay. So so what are you saying? Like if you want everything structured and if something goes wrong and you don't have a backup plan, you kind of spiral, or how does that work for you?

SPEAKER_02:

I don't know if it's that I spiral. I think sometimes I'm trying to fit so much into a time, or I want to make sure that I see everything. And I mean, like, even, you know, for myself and even in business, I've heard people like, okay, we're traveling to this destination. We have 10 days, we're probably never coming here again. I want to do it all. I want to see it all. And you know, and if something doesn't go wrong or doesn't go right, you know, it's like, do I have a backup plan? Can I go see something else? Did I miss this? Did I miss out on that? So it's I get it. I can kind of get those planning overwhelmed. So I wouldn't say I'd spiral or anything. I'd be concerned and worried that I was wasting time, maybe.

SPEAKER_01:

Right. Now I get that too. So for me, paranoid Patty. I'm more like mine are more like safety concerns, like if I'm traveling to another country. And my biggest concern, as y'all know, is I feel like some at some point somebody's gonna try to human traffic me. It's been a concern. I know it's probably not realistic.

SPEAKER_02:

You're just so pretty. I mean, you know.

SPEAKER_01:

Mine is just like, I don't know. Like, what if I don't know the protocols or and this is why I don't travel alone? Because I am afraid, like, what do I I would not know how to react if I was absconded by people in the airport and they're like, we're coming with us outside of kicking and screaming, I really and and the hand the hand gesture. Listen, you and I, when we were doing this, the hand gesture is important for everybody to know. So if you are in a situation where you have been taken by somebody and they're forcefully taking you and you can't scream or you feel like you're threatened and you're not in a position, the whole open, closed palm and letting people know, and then you can even do it behind your back, and so that your attacker's holding this arm, you can still do that on your back. So it I would advise, and there's one that's specifically for human trafficking, and it goes with the ASL.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, that was gonna be the H and the T. So if you don't know sign language, this is the letter H and this is the letter T. Okay, with your thumb right in between. So and it stands for literally human trafficking, okay. And if you're ever confused, I I know there might be different signs in each airport. Ladies, if you're in the bathroom, they're pretty much on every single bathroom stall. Every single bathroom stall will tell you if you need help. This is the hand signal. Here's how you let people know. So, you know, if you're walking by someone, tap their shoulder so that they turn around, do it behind your back. Or, you know, I'm not gonna lie, I would be the worst kidnap victim because I'm just gonna sit there and start screaming bloody murder, and I'm just gonna start screaming fire. I'm gonna learn the word fire in any language I need to learn because that's something that gets everyone's attention for sure. I'd be the worst person to kidnap. They would absolutely return me. Absolutely return me.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, I do think I do think it's good to know the hand gestures though. Um, and so anywhere and be on the lookout because typically it is younger, like not people that probably maybe can't be like Jackie and like I'm gonna beat you down. You're not gonna get me. Um, so I I think that that is absolutely something to be aware of. There could be other issues though, too, not just like you've been abducted or or anything like that. It could even just be social anxiety, like what if you're going to a wedding? Or what if you're like what if you're going to meet your in-laws or your future in-laws? Like, there's all kinds of anxiety. You can and if you're like traveling abroad, or if you're going, you know, being homesick or away from away from your family or loved ones. I know that I I know it's kind of lame, but I look at Riley when I'm away. I I'm looking, my kids are like, you care more about the dog than us. I'm looking at pictures of Riley when I'm away, and I'm just that puppy. He loves me so much. Oh, that's funny.

SPEAKER_02:

Your kids know you love them too. It's okay.

SPEAKER_01:

I do, and I'm gonna give a shout out to Mr. Alex, who turns 18 today. Happy birthday, Alex! Alex, you're officially an adult.

SPEAKER_02:

Three more years so we can go get wasted.

unknown:

I'm just kidding.

SPEAKER_02:

Just kidding. Just kidding, mom. He's not he's not a drinker at all. He's not interested in any of that. Thank you. That's probably for the best. Well, good, then he'll do great traveling. Excellent. But again, guys, I mean, you know, grab that drink. Absolutely nothing against that. You know, I know it helps. It definitely, you know, can help.

SPEAKER_01:

It takes the edge off for me.

SPEAKER_02:

It does, absolutely. And I've seen it. The only thing I tell people, you know, I've I definitely had this guy come in one time early, early morning, right? Most places start serving usually around 7 a.m. So it was like maybe 7.15. He was taking a morning flight. Came in, stood at the bar, ordered a double shot of tequila. I was like, okay, good morning. You know, let's get the day started. So gave him this double shot, slammed it down, said, okay, I need another one. Now, typically the rule is if they're having a double, it needs to be at least, you know, like 20 minutes. Let them have some food, have a conversation. So, you know, immediately I'm like, hey, where are we flying to? Where are we going?

SPEAKER_01:

So you're trying to engage him in a conversation.

SPEAKER_02:

I kind of want to know a little bit. Well, he's about to hop on this plane for this really big meeting with all these bosses, and he was super, super nervous about it. I made him talk to me for like, you know, about five, six minutes or so. He seemed okay. I did serve him. You know, it's one of those things, bartender's judgment. I stand behind everything I pour. I served him and he put down the second double. He's like, Can I have another one? And I said, We're gonna have to talk for about 15, 20 minutes before I give you anything. And I'm only gonna give you a single at that. So sat for a little bit, he ate some toast. After a little while, I gave him one more shot, very briefly after some food, and he was on his way. Perfectly fine. And at that point, you know, being in the airport, I definitely have that minute of, am I gonna see the cops walking back with this guy who's wasted or anything?

SPEAKER_01:

But everyone has a different type of alcohol to drinking, you know.

SPEAKER_02:

Everyone also has a different tolerance. I I have a very, very high tolerance.

SPEAKER_01:

I I would be on the floor if he heard me that. I I wouldn't even have been able to finish the first double shot.

SPEAKER_02:

That's just no, see, and like that's how I drink. Like you mean is double shot, no ice, no mixer, no whatever. I'll take it, no problem. We're moving on. Like, that's fine. So I get it, but that's also why, you know, if you're at the bar and you're just like, I just want to sit here quietly. Why are these bartenders bothering me?

SPEAKER_01:

It's kind of our job.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, we do, we do. I mean, we we should be being nice as well.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, so those are things that you're talking about pre-travel, but then okay, so now we're like, let's just go back to the airport because that to me, I think that's the biggest fear of anybody is flying and getting up and flying. So there's things that you can absolutely pack that are kind of like your little security blankets, your creature comforts, right? If you will. So standard ones that are just off the top of my head, I know a lot of people do the beats or the noise canceling headphones. I think that could be beneficial. Some people do eye masks, although I'm so afraid of being pickpocketed. I mean, but that is some people just like to block out the light, and the the then I cannot get over how many people can fall asleep on a plane. Like, literally, I've seen somebody get into the seat and sit next to me, and they were snoring within five minutes. And I'm just like, Oh, yeah, that's a superpower that I do not possess, by the way. I cannot do daytime napping, and I especially cannot do it on a plane. But some of the other things are like, you know, the pillows, the the whole pillows, the neck pillows, yeah. So that or the weighted blankets so that you feel like you're in this little cushy nest. I know some of the apps, some of the apps, I don't have the apps, but I've heard some of the apps are really good to just listen to, and then they just help you get into your zen spot. Do you have apps on your phone?

SPEAKER_02:

I do. I have one that's called the White Noise app, which I highly recommend. It has a whole library of all different types of sounds that are relaxing, a good mix of sounds. So if you're someone who likes just that background noise, it's an excellent app and it's free as far as I know. The only other one that I've heard of, and I think we've talked about this, was that Calm app, which I'm not a huge advocate of. I know that there's a cost to it.

SPEAKER_01:

But nothing spicy. I think it's like$7.99 a month if you want to, if you want to get access to all of the meditations, right?

SPEAKER_02:

So maybe like just for the trip, you want to look at something like that, or even comfort movies and TV shows, you know, make sure that you just download them. I'm all I'm always that person who forgets, and I'm like inline boarding, like, oh crap, I'm supposed to download my episode. So maybe just set a reminder and download it in the airport. But yeah, those are definitely some really good comforts for you guys.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I like all about comfort and familiarity, definitely. Another thing I heard about is earseeds. Have you heard of this?

SPEAKER_02:

I haven't heard of those. What exactly are those?

SPEAKER_01:

So, earseeds, it's a small little adhesive pellets that you put on your ear and different, like so, like one would go different pressure points. It all comes down to like a Chinese medicine of acupuncture. I've not used them, but I heard they are pretty good to help calm people. And you know, if you do acupuncture or you do any of that, same with the tapping. I've heard like tapping can be something. Breathing techniques, that's definitely another one. So I don't really have any. We were talking about this earlier. I don't have any specific breathing techniques, but for me, I typically breathe in through my nose, like four upbeats and out through my mouth. But that's just like my personal, that does tend to calm me. Do you have any breathing techniques or anything that you know of that is your go-to?

SPEAKER_02:

I don't know that I personally use them. So the one you were talking about, you know, just kind of counting in, counting out. Slow breathing is definitely helpful. There are some, I mean, they have names, so there's what they call the box technique, which is breathing in for four counts, holding it for four counts, breathe out for four counts, and no breath for four counts, right? So it's like a box: four, four, four, and four. Okay, so you're just kind of very slowly breathing in controlled. And then there's also one that's called the triangle, which is just three in, three, hold, breathe in for three, hold for three, breathe out for three. So really it's just calming and controlling yourself. So whether you're counting to four, five, six. I mean, maybe try not counting to like 15 or 20, but you know, pick a number, a few in, maybe hold it for a few seconds.

SPEAKER_01:

Don't don't don't even go for 15. Like your goal should be like three or four. Let's just start simple people. Don't we're not trying to hold our breath in the pool, we're not going for Olympic medals.

SPEAKER_02:

You said I had to hold my breath. Everyone passing on the airport.

SPEAKER_01:

No, that's not what we said.

SPEAKER_02:

Like, I promise that's not what we said. So please, please, please breathe, guys. Okay, breathe. Few seconds in, few seconds out, okay?

SPEAKER_01:

Breathe. Be like Drew Barrymore in Cinderella. So, yes, breathing techniques can be fabulous. Now, if you are literally in a panic state, this is a new technique to reset that I hadn't heard before before now. It's the five four three two one. Have you heard of this method?

SPEAKER_02:

I hadn't before we discussed it. So yeah, let's talk about it.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, so do you know what the five is? Five things you can see. So if you're like if you're so let's just say I'm kind of hyperventilating. I'm like I'm in a state where I'm I'm not okay. I'm definitely on the verge of a panic attack. So these are things that I'm gonna try to do.

SPEAKER_02:

Hold on, I'm gonna pause you because our whole video just stopped for a minute. Hold on.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, it didn't stop on my end.

SPEAKER_02:

It stopped on my end, so just in case, uh we're just gonna back up to the beginning of you talking about the 54321. Okay. Give it a second. Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. So the other thing is we talked about like so the breathing is good, the breathing is good, but if you actually are in a state of or on the verge of an actual panic attack or anxiety attack, there is a method called the 54321 that is supposed to ground you, um, emergency grounding. Have you heard of this?

SPEAKER_02:

I haven't before we talked about it, so tell me more.

SPEAKER_01:

I think it's definitely beneficial. So I I I hope to not have to implement this, but at least I know and I can help somebody else if need be. So five, the first is five. So five things that you can see immediately. You just need to be looking for five things that you can see outside your window. Whether I hope you're not at like 3,000 feet because it's mostly going to be clouds in the skies. Then it's like outside your window, and then it's gonna be let's look for somebody with a hat, let's look with somebody for glasses. Like you're just resetting your button to see five things that I can see. Let's move on to number four. Number four is four things that you can feel. So now we're looking we're looking for tactile sensory, we're moving through the sensory, so now we're paying attention to the cloth the texture of your clothing. If I have if I have my bling, which I always will have, then maybe I'm tech talking about feeling my necklace or feeling my bling or something like that. So you're gonna touch four different things. You can touch your boobs if you want to, yeah, and maybe not other people.

SPEAKER_02:

I will just say that. Please don't go around touching everybody in the airport.

SPEAKER_01:

Touch your own boobs.

SPEAKER_02:

They said I had to touch stuff.

SPEAKER_01:

Miss D said that I could go for the double D's. No, only touch stuff and whatever, and let's just move on from there.

SPEAKER_02:

Okay, yes, just to clarify.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes. So now we're listening for sounds of you know, children crying, or like, or a cock, a beverage pouring, or this is now three things you can hear. Okay. We've already done the five things we can see, the four things that we can feel, the three things that we can hear. So now we're listening, we're so we're getting lower and lower, and we're trying to contain ourselves. Then we're looking for two things that we can smell. Because smells do take you some places, you know what I mean? Hopefully, in a good way, if you're in this situation, I would maybe, I mean, if you have like I actually have in my purse, I have a little, I have like a little, it looks like a big vapor rub, but it smells like bergam bergamot and something calming, like vanilla. And and I bust it out, and it really is like it really does give me a reset. Some people like peppermint. Some people think peppermint is like if you're feeling uh headache when people put on their temples. Right, right, right. So then you think of two things that you can smell, and then it comes down to one thing you can taste. So that might be trickier on a plane if you have a stick of gum, if you have, you know, something like that, it or or you know, if you really like the little biscottis, whatever tums, an altoid. Again, that mint. I think alttoid, some people really go for that mint flavor. Yeah. It kind of is like a just makes you feel more relaxed or you've gotten so the 54321 method. I really have not had to use it, but it's supposed to be quite effective. And I think it's worth having everybody know that that is something that you could try.

SPEAKER_02:

Absolutely. Yeah, no, I really like that. And you're right, it is kind of a definitely a grounding thing. If you're starting to pay attention to your surroundings, you're kind of getting more and more into yourself with it. And I love that. The only other thing that I would love to add is when we talk about the smell, and you were talking about, you know, you do carry essential oils sometimes with you. That was something that I thought about when we were talking about the neck pillow. I know sometimes they have those calming sprays or like the aerosol ones. I've seen people spray their pillow. So when they're sleeping, you know, they're smelling it, it's a little more natural. I've definitely seen, you know, when you're talking about the roll-on, rolling it on your wrists, rolling it on your neck. They weren't talking about people putting peppermint on and stuff. So if you're into oils or you carry anything like that, they always have little travel sizes that you guys are.

SPEAKER_01:

Like if you have the small, small quantities, you absolutely can take that with you on your and in your bags, in your purse.

SPEAKER_02:

Or a little travel hack or a little travel tip. I've seen ladies take like those empty little circle containers, they'll put a little bit of unscented lotion in it, and then they'll squeeze either their perfume, their essential oil over it or whatever, and it becomes a little container of lotion. If you're worried about taking the actual liquid, mix with some unscented lotion, then you can rub it anywhere and you still get that smell without having the actual spray. So it's all that on Facebook. I was like, that's genius. I the hack was mostly used for like taking your favorite perfumes. You know, if you have a big bottle of perfume, expensive, right? Yes, and they'll just throw it away through TSA. So unscented lotion ladies can take you very, very far. So yeah, just wanted to add.

SPEAKER_01:

So even when we're so just going back through the so we've talked a lot about like different travel anxiety hacks for um today, but just also I will say another one if you're walking through the airport, or it's not like if you're not in a panic, but you just feel anxiety, we're not at the 54321, but you're just feeling a little like okay. I feel the nerves. Yeah, I'm feeling a little like I feel like okay. Another thing that I recently learned about is a color walk. Do you know what a color walk is?

SPEAKER_02:

I didn't know. I'd never heard of a color walk before.

SPEAKER_01:

This has become popular, and I think I think that what happened when 2020, when COVID shut everything down, people started going out more and they started walking more and they started looking into nature more, just doing things that so I will say a color walk is designed to just help your body focus on things that are not anxiety. So if I uh if my color walk, if I was to pick yellow, like say my color, so I would look through the airport and I would look for anybody wearing a yellow jacket or a yellow hat or buggage that has yellow on it. Same thing with if you're out in nature too, a simple walk can reset you and you're just looking for a color that means something to you. My mom's favorite color is purple. I love purple, so I might choose purple and I might just go out and look for everything purple that I could find in the airport, in nature, wherever I am, just to kind of be more grounded and refocus my shift to finding something rather than worrying about something. So I think that could be a very color walks, it are become really popular in the last few years. And I I've been doing it a little more, and I really enjoy color walks. I do think that it they're definitely something to get your mind focused on something else, other than worrying about what your current worry is, whatever that means.

SPEAKER_02:

Right, right, right. No, I absolutely love that, and even with that, something using a technique like that is obviously really great for you and yourself. If part of your anxiety is because you're traveling with little ones or traveling with kids, and maybe you're concerned about how they're going to be handling it all, you know, maybe that's the anxiety. Something like a color walk could be a fun game. Um, you can modify it, right? How many yellow shoes can we find? Any type of suitcases, right? It can be any object, anything like that. So whether you're playing a game, you know, to distract your mind or distract your kids' minds or something, it's just a great little thing to play, right?

SPEAKER_01:

So I love that. Any type, any type of anti-anxiety method that we can throw out there and help you going forward, we absolutely would love to do that. So we'd also like to hear like if you've had like a horrible or a really good experience and what you did to overcome that anxiety and that worked for you. That maybe we have not mentioned. We're always up to hear more from our listeners as to what we could do to improve. And absolutely, we'd love to hear from our listeners about that. If you have suggestions.

SPEAKER_02:

Absolutely. Yeah. And always, guys, you know, with travel, I know we mentioned this earlier when they asked about, you know, how I feel about travel planning or if I'm someone who kind of gets anxious. And I am. So I'm definitely someone who's like, you know, I know we know park and what I know, right? I know. It's just it's a thing. But you know, I know where to park. I know if I walk through security, I gotta figure out where the gate is and find where I'm at and just take it one step at a time. Okay. You don't have to think from everything, right? Right now, drive to the airport, find a parking spot, get inside, find security, right? Take it step by step. Go get your drink. Because that's a very important part of the list that we do before we get on a flight. Okay. Very important. If you drink, right? Um don't go around saying Jackie made me drink. I promise. Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

That's not what we're advocating. But you know, however, you do you in whatever way that you keep it. But I would say also give yourself extra time. If you're an anxious person, you don't know if you find the parking right away. Maybe you have to circle back around and that takes an extra five minutes. And now you're already like, oh shit, I'm behind. I'm gonna miss my flight. I'm gonna miss my flight. So always give yourself extra time. I would say that is definitely a hack for if you're an anxious traveler, whether it's whether it's going to an airport, which can be also because those planes will not wait for you, people. You might think you're important, but you're not. You're not when they take off, they take off, and you're gonna be fine if you did not have adequate timing.

SPEAKER_02:

Not care.

SPEAKER_01:

You can be a CEO, you can be whoever. You can they will leave without trends. So I'm just saying, give yourself extra time and and and same with driving. If you know you've got a long day, wake up a little earlier, get you a cup of coffee, get that little bit of food, and whether you need to do a meditation or a little bit of breathing, just make sure you're giving yourself the time and you're not setting yourself up for a disaster. Because once you're in that anxious moment, it's definitely harder to bring yourself back than if you don't let yourself spiral in the first place. So today we're trying to set you up with these just really helpful tips on how to travel and be less anxious. So I mean, I think I think for me, my next anxious thing is gonna be solo traveling. I'm not ready to do that, but I think that would probably be my most anxious is to do a solo trip. But I'm to not have to do a solo trip. But what would you what do you think yours is?

SPEAKER_02:

I'm a little on the opposite of that for you, and probably because I've done a lot of traveling by myself, honestly. I think I get I get a little bit more anxious when I'm traveling with people because you know, for me, when I'm by myself, I can just do things my way, you know, I can do whatever I want, pack however I want. Right. It's all kind of like on my own timing and everything. When I travel with other people, I'm a very empathetic person too. So I'm like, what are they doing? Are they on schedule? Do they have what they need? Is everyone good? Are they happy? Do I need to move this? And it makes me a little bit more anxious, especially if I'm you know sharing a room with them or something, you know, like was that weird? Should I move that out of their way? Like it it actually raises the bar a little bit for me.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, so that's so interesting.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, that's very which is also why you can't travel with everybody. I do feel like traveling is a big determination on relationships, friendship, whatever it is. If you can travel with them, that's a good thing.

SPEAKER_01:

That is a those are facts. Those are facts.

SPEAKER_02:

Absolutely. But I definitely hope this helped everybody. I definitely hope there are some techniques that we were able to talk about. And coming from two somewhat anxious travelers, you know, we might know a thing or two. So please, please let us know your anxieties too, because I know we're not the only ones, right? It can't just be us two. Not just us.

SPEAKER_01:

More people than we think. But yeah, right. I think that'll wrap up today. So thanks for hanging with us, and we'll see you next episode. Safe travels as always. Bye guys.

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Cheryl

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Denise

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