Treatment for travel anxiety in Vancouver, B.C.?
October 7, 2015 9:04 AM   Subscribe

Hi everyone. I've had travel anxiety for the last 10 or so years, but it's recently gotten really bad. I've completely dumped my responsibilities for the entire week in favour of just generally being anxious and depressed.

I've long been scared of flying. I flew around Europe last summer and would take Ativan before each flight -- knowing that I would have the Ativan seemed to be enough to calm me down in the days leading up to the flight itself.

However, I'm taking a medium-length (~6 hours) flight tomorrow, and even though I have Ativan that I'll be taking, I've been really suffering this week. I've failed to turn in 3 school assignments (undergrad) that were all due between Monday and today, and I can't stop fidgeting or worrying. I've been feeling extremely anxious and depressed. I am beyond sick of this and I want it to stop ruling my life. I'm not at all opposed to therapy. I'm sick of relying on Ativan. Can anybody share your methods of success with me? If they're located in or near Vancouver, B.C., that'd be great too.

Incidentally, if anyone has any tips about how to communicate my apologies for failing to to my professors, that'd also be greatly appreciated.
posted by Cpt. The Mango to Health & Fitness (4 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: At this point, you're pretty much in phobia territory. CBT is generally the leading field in phobia reduction, but unfortunately really hard to get to in less than a day. I constantly recommend The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook, which you can get in a Kindle version right now, but I don't know how far you're going to get in that before tomorrow. Still, it's something you can do right now and take with you on the plane.

Tell your professors you are having a mental health issue, you're pursuing help right now, and try to offer dates when you think you could have the work completed and turned in. Just say something, anything, even if it's "I've got some stuff going on, more later."
posted by Lyn Never at 10:25 AM on October 7, 2015 [1 favorite]


Best answer: I recommend the Changeways clinic in Vancouver for CBT approaches to anxiety.

Seconding what Lyn Never says above re: communication with professors.
posted by bibliotropic at 11:53 AM on October 7, 2015


Best answer: Right now email your professors and let them know that you are having difficulties and will be in contact regarding assignments as soon as you are able. I'm a faculty adjunct. Please trust me reaching out today is your best approach.

Next, reach out to your university's Disability Services organization. In many universities this will be a department under the Dean of Student Affairs. They will help you create a plan to complete and submit the work.
posted by 26.2 at 4:06 PM on October 7, 2015 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Thanks for the help everyone. Lyn, I just downloaded that book and I'll be sure to look it over. And just to clear up some miscommunication, I'm not looking to sort this out before tomorrow. I've accepted that tomorrow will be tough. I'm just looking ahead.
posted by Cpt. The Mango at 10:21 PM on October 7, 2015


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