How To Deal With Anxiety Or Fear Related To Unknown Places?

How To Deal With Anxiety Or Fear Related To New Places?

A Brief Introduction to Anxiety

Anxiety is a condition in which a person feels restless or uncomfortable because of certain reasons. It is a natural response of the human body against any stress or fear. A person may stress about anything coming up like the first day at school, starting a new job, going to unknown places, even in certain cases leaving home can cause stress which will lead to anxiety. Anxiety can of different types. Some people fear high places, some fear visiting unknown places; some have social anxieties, and so on. 

It is normal to feel fear for anything, but if it lasts for a long time and doesn’t wear off, one must need to take care of it.

Anxiety to unknown places

When a person fears certain places or going to any unknown places, it refers to the “Anxiety of unknown places” or “Fear of unknown places”. In scientific terms, this kind of fear or anxiety is sometimes known as “Neophobia” where “Neo” means ‘New’ and “Phobia” explains the meaning of ‘Fear’.

In this context, if anyone retreats from any unfamiliar places or hesitates to an unknown thing is exactly the definition of anxiety to new things or places. Any person who hesitates to leave his/her comfort zone and go to a new, unfamiliar place would suffer from such anxiety disorders. There can be panic attacks for some people or can be timely or periodic for many others. However, the case may be, these anxieties need to be taken care of before they become worse.

Symptoms

There are no exact symptoms, only related to the anxiety of any kind. People may feel chest pain, which is also linked to heart issues, but most of the time, it’s actually not. The most common symptoms are:

Physical Symptoms

  • Tremors
  • Dizziness or feeling faint
  • Racing heartbeat
  • Excessive sweating 
  • Shortness of breath
  • Trembling
  • Nausea or vomiting 

Mental Symptoms

  • Restlessness
  • Insomnia in severe cases
  • Loss of peace of mind
  • Not able to enjoy doing anything
  • Become social freak

How Does This Affect? 

Anxiety affects your entire life badly. You cannot enjoy the things which you had loved doing once. You lose interest in everything. You distance yourself from people around you, results in social fear. As for the fear of unknown places, a person would fear leaving home even. Even if one is out, he would be uncomfortable in his mind. Restlessness would make him do silly things. It may affect:

  • Health
  • Peace of mind
  • Social life
  • Communication skills
  • Confidence level
  • Credibility
  • Competency

Ways to Cope With Such Fear 

Make you prepared

Once you know that you are going out to some new place, make your mind, and prepare yourself for this happening. Make yourself realize that everything is going to be alright. Only in this way, you will manage those symptoms.

Never fight back panic signs

If you have anxiety about unknown places, you are going to get the symptoms of anxiety or even panic attacks in severe cases. Do not ignore them, neither try to suppress them. Embrace your feelings and treat them with care despite fighting back.

Use Distractions

Once you are aware of your symptoms and you know they are natural. You cannot fight them back, but you can manage them by using some healthy distractions. Such as taking a book along the way, or listening to your favorite songs, or playing any games. Even a scientific study has proved that playing a chess game while traveling reduces anxiety to a greater extent. 

Use meditation

One of the best ways to get rid of anxiety and related issues, you need to relax your body, and to do so, you must do meditation or yoga of any kind which provides relaxation to your muscles and brain.

Consult physician 

Anxiety-related issues cannot be ignored if they exceed the time limit of six months. A person needs to be properly checked by a physician. The anxiety of unknown places can be cured by talking to a physician, getting proper sessions, and taking medicines if needed. Taking a specific kind of psychotherapy known as “cognitive-behavioral therapy” can be effective. Because of this therapy, you will know your target points and learn how to calm yourself. 

Take care of yourself

All you can do is to help yourself if you are a victim or help the person who is facing this disorder. It may seem a negligible thing, but it ruins one’s peace of mind. Try to avoid taking caffeine, alcohol, or any other drugs to get rid of the anxiety. Rather embrace your symptoms and deal with them. Get a healthy diet, do exercise regularly, and keep your mind creative with positive thoughts. It would bring a positive change in you. And last but not the least, try doing relaxation techniques such as meditation and enjoy your life.

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