topic Anxiety on my Class Trip. in Young people

Anxiety on my Class Trip.

HoneymoonErin — Wed, 29 Jul 2015 10:59:16 GMT

Here's the thing, I'm going to Cambodia with my class, a bunch of year 10's and none of them know about my anxiety not even the teachers who are going and I know I will be freaking out the whole time from the second I get on the plane to leave. I don't know how to manage it alone for the two weeks. I'm already panicking about it every night. I'm too scared to tell somebody how I feel about getting on this plane because I feel incredibly embarrassed about it. I never deal well with going overseas even with my family and I'm too scared and anxious about what this will be like without my mum with me.

I don't want to annoy anybody around me with panic attacks and just really bad anxiety about everything, the plane, the food, I get really worried about eating foreign food, I'm not sure why, I think because I'm worried about getting sick from it. I tried everything to get myself off this trip but now I have to go and I'm not ready for it.

Does anyone have an tips for getting through this trip with as little panic attacks as possible, should I tell someone going? I don't want to be judged by my classmates for freaking out over little things. How can I distract myself from grabbing the person next to me constantly or pulling my hair out and things like that?

Thanks for reading.

Anxiety on my Class Trip.

Zeal — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 03:37:07 GMT

Hi Erin,

I can definitely relate to how you’re feeling. In Year 10, I was signed up to go to Nepal with a group of people affiliated with my school. My Dad was going with me, and there were a few teachers I knew. I was also friends with a few girls going. I was getting very anxious about this proposed trip well before we were even due to leave. I talked to my Mum a lot about it, and she could tell it was really affecting me emotionally. In the end, Mum rang up the trip organiser and explained my anxiety to him (I had Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). Some teachers at the school already knew about my OCD. In the end, my doctor wrote a letter, and we were able to get our deposit money back from the travel agent, due to the school’s help and my doctor’s letter.

So, I can relate to your situation! My OCD (which I still have in a milder form) involved an intense fear of germs, contamination, and of illness. I would get very anxious if I thought I might get sick, or if others around me were unwell. I have also had a phobia of vomit for most of my life. I went to Vietnam last year, and though I take medication for my OCD and cope better with it now than I did in my teens, I still got a little anxious once or twice on the trip. The only time it badly affected my family holiday was when I didn’t eat anything when we were lunching at a small village. The food was prepared by a local woman, and included fish, a soup, and other local foods. The village area was very basic, and I was worried about the hygiene. My family of four and the couple who were on the trip with us were well the whole time, and nobody had any sickness, myself included. I was the one who took the most precautions regarding hygiene. We all didn’t drink the water, as countries like Vietnam have water that tourists are not used to. The water itself is fine for the locals, because their body is used to it. So, we drank only bottled water, which all the hotels provided for us, and which was stocked in delis and food shops.

Anxiety on my Class Trip.

Zeal — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 03:40:04 GMT

Since you are going on this trip with your school, they will be responsible for your health and wellbeing. They have a duty of care towards you, so they will ensure you and the other students have quality water and food. If someone became unwell, the teachers would take care of them, and they will have a medical kit with supplies to help. Also, I’m sure they will have contact details for a doctor in case it’s needed. Is there someone you can talk to who has been to Cambodia with your school before? Perhaps there are teachers who have supervised this trip before, or older students you could talk to you about what Cambodia is like. Regarding your anxiety, keep talking to your parents about how you’re feeling. Also, I recommend that you speak to a trusted teacher at school or the school counsellor.

It seems not going on this trip is not an option, so getting support before you leave will help. Have you been diagnosed with anxiety by your doctor? Regardless of whether a diagnosis has been made or not, make an appointment with your GP before you leave for your trip, so that you can talk to him/her about how you’re feeling, and get some tips on how to deal with your anxiety in helpful ways. I think it would be best to tell at least one person on the trip about your anxiety, such as a teacher. If you tell a teacher privately, they will keep what you tell them confidential. They will definitely not tell students, so you don’t need to worry about that. That said, it would be fine if you mentioned your anxiety to a close friend, whether they are going on the trip or not. That way, they will be aware of it and might be able to cheer you up prior to leaving and/or when you are on the trip.

You can take hand sanitiser with you on your trip, so that you can clean your hands wherever you are. On the plane, I would use it before I ate, and after using the airplane toilet. Try not to use it too much though; just when you can’t get access to a clean bathroom, or before you eat. In Cambodia, the food is quite healthy. They consume lots of rice, vegetables, and meats such as fish and chicken. Rice and cooked vegetables won’t be a problem to eat whatsoever, and so long as the fish and chicken is well-cooked, you should be fine. If the fish is fresh and well-cooked, getting sick is much more unlikely. If at a particular meal you become very anxious about the food, make sure you still eat at least the rice and vegetables.

Anxiety on my Class Trip.

Zeal — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 03:41:16 GMT

If you are worried about panic attacks, ask your doctor for some ideas of how to calm yourself down or distract yourself. You could try focusing on the rhythm of your breathing, you could listen to a song on your iPod, or you could count slowly to ten. These are just small strategies that can work for some people.

I hope you can find ways to feel content and calm about this trip. Good luck, and enjoy the experience. I have heard Cambodia is an amazing place.

Best wishes,

Anxiety on my Class Trip.

HoneymoonErin — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 08:57:16 GMT

I will definitely be trying out/ using these strategies 🙂

Anxiety on my Class Trip.

Zeal — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 09:24:39 GMT

Hi again Erin,

I'm glad I could help 🙂