Donald - my hero
<font color=blue>Aww yes. The dreaded "mouse hand"
- Joined
- Jun 11, 2006
I had a fairly bad anxiety before Covid, during the course of the pandemic I've developed a full out panic disorder and I'm not sure how well I would cope on a plane a) because I already hate flying b) being confined in a small space that close to strangers seems unfathomable.
I'm debating if we should just suck it up
Can't answer about the driving part since the last time I did that I was in high school (still have horrid memories of those trips, we did it every single year and coming home was long, boring and exhausting even as a kid). I'd like to comment on the mental portion of your post though and hope I'm not overstepping.
I'm very open about the fact that I deal with mental illness, it's even in my signature, but I have multiple diagnoses and one is GAD (generalized anxiety disorder) with extreme social anxiety to make things more exciting. You are smart to voice what you're feeling and acknowledging how that might play into your trip, from the planning stage right up to the actual holiday, and I applaud you for that! (here's where i might be overstepping, please forgive me if i am!) Had you been receiving any psychiatric treatment BC (Before Covid-19) or was the anxiety something that you were aware of? If not I would suggest that you reach out for some help before things get worse, trust me, anxiety is rarely something that will get better with time and you mentioned yourself that you've been experiencing panic attacks (my assumption by your wording) which, if they haven't already, will soon have you adapting your life to avoid things that you used to do. That's not something i would wish on anyone, it SUCKS! There are several avenues that opened up to us in Ontario in 2020 and continue to be accessible from within your home. All types of things ranging from video appointments with all kinds of professionals to online courses to work thru. Heck, there are even workbooks you can order and use to develop some practical techniques to use that will help you deal with your anxiety. This doesn't need to be a long drawn out relationship with someone but can be targeted specifically towards anxiety. Will this help in time for you to be able to fly to Florida in February? Possibly, depending on how bad things were before and what types of things caused anxiety and how bad things have actually gotten. In fact, it's a strong possibility if you are able to start working on it soon and give yourself some "tests" in situations that you've noticed panic creeping into. DO you have kids? If not, you could always resort to a small dose of something that has sedating qualities (thinking Benadryl here, just to make you sleepy and slightly more relaxed NOT promoting stronger prescription medications unless you & a doctor decide they are needed), take it before you get to the airport (gawd those TSA checkpoints freak me out!!) and then possibly another before you board the plane.
I'm going to stop here for now (almost time for my telehealth appointment with my psychiatrist ) to let you have the chance to tell me to shut up & mind my own business (i which case i will delete my post!) or ask me for some specific avenues you can use to access FREE help (The government has stepped up to the plate with this right now)
Side note - someone else mentioned weather - February is still winter and while we're used to driving in snow & ice, the further south you get the harder it will become because they don't even have the equipment to deal with it! I still remember the one year we spent 3 days stuck in Georgia because the roads were closed