For as long as I can remember I have always had a massive fear of public transport (Trains, tubes, buses ect) and escalators. It started when I went to Disneyland Paris and went on the euro star. I can clearly remember crying my eyes out at the top of the escalator because I was very scared to get on it, after many family members helping me I finally managed to do it but since then it has been a massive thing to my life and turned into a fear.
Years ago I used to travel to see my Father in Bristol and the way I got there was using a Coach. This is a 2 hours journey with no stops and every time I used to be so scared and cried on the coach until I came off. Its the people, being in a small space and knowing I can't just walk off that scares me the most. I used to do this journey a lot of times and each time it got worse and I am kinda glad now I don't do this anymore. Then the train/tube fear started as I had a boyfriend who lives in Essex so i used to travel up there which was one hell of a nightmare of a journey. i had to walk 20 minutes into town for a bus which dropped me off at Victoria station in London then from there it was like 3 different trains/tubes and it was a nightmare. Every second of that journey I would be shaking and having panic attacks but luckily me and this guy didn't last long so that journey was no more. Few times a year myself and my family go up to London for days out ect and each time the fear of trains gets worse and also being with family actually makes me worse as weirdly I prefer to travel alone. Now Buses isn't much of a big deal to be honest as the ones I use to go on/go on are local so I know the whole route but I still do panic a lot. Each journey I go on I have to study the route, the stops, the times and I would have to be at least 20/30 minutes early as I had it in my mind that I would always miss bus/train.
But this year I have HAD to overcome this fear and it was very hard indeed but I cannot tell you how this has changed my life. So now my Brother, Bethany and Nieces lives in Essex and I don't drive it has meant there only way to get up to Essex is via the train and tube. When I first took this journey I was bloody nervous, sick, anxious and panicked so much even though my Mother was with me for the first few trips. As I said before I feel better traveling alone and I hate people being too close to me.
I can finally say I LOVE trains and tubes now haha and I look forward to the journey alone. I don't think I would of gotten over this fear if I didn't have to go to Essex to be honest but i am so glad I have got over this. Okay I admit of course naturally I do worry and panic still but that is because I now have two chronic illnesses that need to take time and care and planning ahead when traveling but the fear has gone. The way I have got rid of this fear is simply by traveling on transport a lot which may sound stupid but it has worked. Here how I have helped this fear go and tips on what I do to get through each journey...
- Prepare/Plan Ahead. This helps a lot. I make sure I know the train times, book taxi to take me to station early and get on the train early a possible so I can sit down and relax.
- Don't forget water. This might sound stupid but a bottle of water is essential.Obviously for my medications but keep hydrated and it keeps you relax and calm.
- My little bags of essentials. So I have a make up bag which includes these items : wet wipes, tissues, mirror, my medication, powder, concealer, lipstick/lip liner, a pen, my charger and notepad. All these items do come in handy. I like to sit and write when I'm on the way to Waterloo as it is a 50 mins journey so I just write down whatever is on my mind.
- Be Comfortable. My white converse, jeans and comfy top are my travel clothes of choice all the time. Converses on the tube are NEEDED. Plus a lot of walking around to tube stops ect so if you're comfortable then it is another thing off your mind.
Those are a few things that have helped me. Obviously I still get anxious but the panic attacks are not often as they used to be on transport. Now thinking how kind of easy it was to overcome this fear it made me think why didn't I do this years ago when I was younger and used to go out more than I do now but ah well. Have any of you had similar fear or the same? Do you recommend anymore tips that you think will help me? Let me know.
Love Katie
xx
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| image from pinterest |
Years ago I used to travel to see my Father in Bristol and the way I got there was using a Coach. This is a 2 hours journey with no stops and every time I used to be so scared and cried on the coach until I came off. Its the people, being in a small space and knowing I can't just walk off that scares me the most. I used to do this journey a lot of times and each time it got worse and I am kinda glad now I don't do this anymore. Then the train/tube fear started as I had a boyfriend who lives in Essex so i used to travel up there which was one hell of a nightmare of a journey. i had to walk 20 minutes into town for a bus which dropped me off at Victoria station in London then from there it was like 3 different trains/tubes and it was a nightmare. Every second of that journey I would be shaking and having panic attacks but luckily me and this guy didn't last long so that journey was no more. Few times a year myself and my family go up to London for days out ect and each time the fear of trains gets worse and also being with family actually makes me worse as weirdly I prefer to travel alone. Now Buses isn't much of a big deal to be honest as the ones I use to go on/go on are local so I know the whole route but I still do panic a lot. Each journey I go on I have to study the route, the stops, the times and I would have to be at least 20/30 minutes early as I had it in my mind that I would always miss bus/train.
But this year I have HAD to overcome this fear and it was very hard indeed but I cannot tell you how this has changed my life. So now my Brother, Bethany and Nieces lives in Essex and I don't drive it has meant there only way to get up to Essex is via the train and tube. When I first took this journey I was bloody nervous, sick, anxious and panicked so much even though my Mother was with me for the first few trips. As I said before I feel better traveling alone and I hate people being too close to me.
I can finally say I LOVE trains and tubes now haha and I look forward to the journey alone. I don't think I would of gotten over this fear if I didn't have to go to Essex to be honest but i am so glad I have got over this. Okay I admit of course naturally I do worry and panic still but that is because I now have two chronic illnesses that need to take time and care and planning ahead when traveling but the fear has gone. The way I have got rid of this fear is simply by traveling on transport a lot which may sound stupid but it has worked. Here how I have helped this fear go and tips on what I do to get through each journey...
- Prepare/Plan Ahead. This helps a lot. I make sure I know the train times, book taxi to take me to station early and get on the train early a possible so I can sit down and relax.
- Don't forget water. This might sound stupid but a bottle of water is essential.Obviously for my medications but keep hydrated and it keeps you relax and calm.
- My little bags of essentials. So I have a make up bag which includes these items : wet wipes, tissues, mirror, my medication, powder, concealer, lipstick/lip liner, a pen, my charger and notepad. All these items do come in handy. I like to sit and write when I'm on the way to Waterloo as it is a 50 mins journey so I just write down whatever is on my mind.
- Be Comfortable. My white converse, jeans and comfy top are my travel clothes of choice all the time. Converses on the tube are NEEDED. Plus a lot of walking around to tube stops ect so if you're comfortable then it is another thing off your mind.
Those are a few things that have helped me. Obviously I still get anxious but the panic attacks are not often as they used to be on transport. Now thinking how kind of easy it was to overcome this fear it made me think why didn't I do this years ago when I was younger and used to go out more than I do now but ah well. Have any of you had similar fear or the same? Do you recommend anymore tips that you think will help me? Let me know.
Love Katie
xx
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