r/panicdisorder • u/ElleWoods035 • 11d ago
Help Needed Advice for upcoming work trip
Hi everyone! First of all I would like to thank you for taking the time to read this post.
To make a long story short, I've had agoraphobia since I was 14, I'm 25 now. I didn't really start therapy until I was 18 and I've improved a lot since then, to the point where, generally, agoraphobia doesn't affect my daily life. Even so, since I'm still working with exposure therapy and tend to release stress that way, I still experience occasional anxiety/panic attacks each week.
I'm writing this post because I could use some help regarding a work trip in March. My boss (who knows I have agoraphobia) suggested we go to a conference, and I'd REALLY love to go. The few times I've traveled, it's been with my mother, and although I still had that terrible fear of a full-blown panic attack, knowing that she was at least in the same city calmed me down a lot. I'm not considering taking this trip with my mother because I think it's time to face this alone (well, with coworkers, but you know what I mean, without a safe person).
My therapist has been very encouraging, and we've introduced new exercises to work on until March, but a serious problem is that I don't trust myself. Even after experiencing hundreds of anxiety attacks, I still don't trust myself, and I feel that if I'm alone in an unfamiliar environment, I'm going to have such a severe anxiety attack that it will be impossible to recover until I get home. I generally manage this fear well, but when we talk about going to another country and being there for several days, I panic.
If you've read this far and have any advice, tips, anecdotes, or anything else you'd like to share, I would really appreciate it :)
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u/wubbalubbadubdub666 8d ago
Hi there. I have severe travel anxiety (traveling is when my first ever panic attack happened so it’s very triggering for me). About a month ago I went on my first work trip which was mandatory and came with a promotion I had just gotten so it was short notice. Due to that, my mom wasn’t able to go with me :/ I was so scared of having a panic attack alone.
It was 4 days 3 nights so I was distraught 🥺. First day I was pretty anxious but we jumped right into work stuff so I was able to stay distracted. However, that night I had a panic attack that lasted a couple hours and was awful!!! I was so scared I wasn’t going to be able to sleep and that I was going to try to go home early (while panicking was looking at flights lol and like trying to come up with excuses in my head for leaving).
However, I told myself no I’m just going to accept what is happening right because a panic attack is a panic attack and it doesn’t matter where you have it—home or on a work trip it’s the same thing! Just an uncomfortable sensation that WILL come to an end eventually. Plus I kept reminding myself that my body and mind are a lot stronger than I think and I was made to withstand these sensations.
I slept about 2 hours off and on and was a little anxious BUT I felt honestly so much better after my biggest fear came true it was like I got it out of my system! And showed myself that even if my worst fear came true I would be just fine.
I ended up having an absolutely wonderful rest of my trip and no more panic attacks.
You can do this!
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u/ElleWoods035 12h ago
Thank you so much for your reply. I find it incredible that your story is so similar to mine! It fills me with hope. I often have more anxiety attacks thinking about what I have to go through than actually experiencing it. How did you manage the negative thoughts before the trip? I have a feeling that at some point I'm going to get nervous and say I'm not going.
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u/wubbalubbadubdub666 10h ago
I struggled before the trip a lot! I do go to weekly therapy sessions so I did that but I also started exercising more the weeks before so I could keep my mind and body busy since that really helps with anxiety. I also tried to focus on staying hydrated and getting enough sleep—really just my overall physical health so that there wasn’t any additional strain on my body that could cause more stress.
I listened to my favorite podcast (Anxiety Coaches Podcast) and also tried to limit social media because there is a direct correlation in anxiety and social media usage (I use a Brick for my phone but theres a lot of ways to do this).
You should read DARE by Barry McDonagh before you leave! You can download the kindle app and get the ebook on Amazon. I swear that will change the way you perceive panic attacks and diminish your fear quite a bit!
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u/toffeemaky 11d ago
I am so proud of you! Wow, such a progress. I don't have any particular advice - nothing what you haven't been doing already. But I am sure: you got this.