Overlanding with Anxiety

[OverlandDeparture]

How involved is she in the trip planning? She may find some comfort in planning the route / meals / pack / etc..

she actually isnt super big on the the route planning part. Shes more like "oh well you know these trails better than me so ill let you pick one i might enjoy" but she enjoys the planning as far as prepping gear, food, and things like that. even little day drive trips.

 

[OverlandDeparture]

If you are ever in Northern Ca, let me know. We can take them out on a trail.

yes sir! definitely will do

 

[OverlandDeparture]

Honestly, I would start with teaching her wilderness survival. Not force it down her throat, but get her started learning... This can be done in the "safety" of the back yard. Knowing she can handle things will help to alleviate her fears as she learns that the things she feared can be easily handled. This includes getting first aid and CPR certifications for both of you... learning how to start a camp fire, even learning how to forage food. In this way, she runs out of things to be afraid of, thus has fewer things to be anxious over.

Find and make some friends with other couples (or even individuals) in the area who are also interested in overlanding. You are not alone if you have friends in the vehicle behind you. so even if your vehicle broke down, she would not have to worry about being stranded alone in the middle of nowhere.

Every time a fear comes out, make a mental note of it... devise a plan to overcome the cause of it. Every time she learns that a fear can be overcome, she will have less to fear.

i actually was gonna take some on sunday to show her how to set up a tent and such, also wanted to take her back up to the mountains to teach her some basic land nav with simple landmarks to start.

 

[rgallant]

@ExpeditionArizona I had a random thought, based on your comment above. You might want to have take look at the Rebelle Rally info & Website. She might find it interesting or inspiring, it is a woman only off road rally. They work hard at it and need a complete skill set.

I would suggest taking a look on Youtube

 

[OverlandDeparture]

so took her to the mountains for the day. She felt more relaxed, hung out in the hammock a little. more exposure seems to be working better. She played around with the Gaia app on the ipad. Shes slowly learning more and more.

Just gotta find more shady areas since its warming up outside.

 

[grubworm]

it is interesting to note that nobody cares when a guy has anxiety.....

i have EXTREME anxiety when the wife takes my credit card on trips and disappears into overpriced souvenir shops with it. i'm left out in the truck with heart palpitations and beads of sweat dripping down my face and i'm not even offered a cold drink or cold washcloth. or the anxiety i have when there is a noise in the middle of the night and i'm sent out with a dim flashlight and a dull kitchen knife to go see what it is only to hear the camper door lock behind me as i step out into the darkness...

just saying....

 

[MMc]

it is interesting to note that nobody cares when a guy has anxiety.....

i have EXTREME anxiety when the wife takes my credit card on trips and disappears into overpriced souvenir shops. i'm left out in the truck with heart palpitations and beads of sweat dripping down my face and i'm not even offered a cold drink or cold washcloth. or the anxiety i have when there is a noise in the middle of the night and i'm sent out with a dim flashlight and a dull kitchen knife to go see what it is.

just saying....
Just got to suck it up buttercup! LOL. I am not disparaging any real anxiety here.

 

[grubworm]

I am not disparaging any real anxiety here.

me either...
my wife has had anxiety for a long time and started taking meds for it when she was a school teacher..since there is not an actual "thing" that causes her anxiety, we joke and clown a lot and use humor to overcome it as much as possible. everyone has their own way of coping. sometimes she'll have anxiety and i'll joke about how nobody cares about anxiety i'm having, which is funny because it is true that guys generally don't get as much consideration when it comes to these type things. not disparaging and not being offensive, just pointing out the obvious with a slight sprinkle of humor thrown in.

 

[Anak]

This is very true. It is a double standard.

As with most things in life, there is a flip side. We can be assertive and no one has a problem with that. When a woman is assertive she is regarded as a bit of a female dog.

Pros and cons for everything. It all balances out in the end.

Us guys don't need any sympathy anyways.

 

[gnomonic]

I suffer from anxiety, treatment resistant depression etc... I did at one time loved driving the trail less traveled, camping and hanging out with the dog. Today not so much. I take meds, and wait till I get to my destination. It"s not easy and everyone is different. Good luck and hop it works out for you.

Pete

 

[M Rose]

I suffer from anxiety, treatment resistant depression etc... I did at one time loved driving the trail less traveled, camping and hanging out with the dog. Today not so much. I take meds, and wait till I get to my destination. It"s not easy and everyone is different. Good luck and hop it works out for you.

Pete

I’m similar to you, but opposite. The trip to the woods is my medication, the relaxation of being isolated and alone is what brings me out of the depression. Now tearing down camp for the last time, and heading on the last stretch of road back home… the anxiety returns with a big dark cloud of depression.

 

[gnomonic]

It used to be like that for me, got into mountaineer when I lived in Oregon and in the CDN rockies continued with scrambling and long hikes, at the time loved it. Did a great deal of backpacking in Ontario which at the time I loved. Ahnedonia has taken over, finding something to enjoy is extremely difficult. BTW, VA6MNT....have a bugcatcher mounted on my van for hf plus a 2m/70 cm for aprs and weather. Looking at ect a 16 month waitlist or ketamine infusions. That is the short history. Dark sky photography is something I want to do.

Pete

 

[ThundahBeagle]

it is interesting to note that nobody cares when a guy has anxiety.....

i have EXTREME anxiety when the wife takes my credit card on trips and disappears into overpriced souvenir shops with it. i'm left out in the truck with heart palpitations and beads of sweat dripping down my face and i'm not even offered a cold drink or cold washcloth. or the anxiety i have when there is a noise in the middle of the night and i'm sent out with a dim flashlight and a dull kitchen knife to go see what it is only to hear the camper door lock behind me as i step out into the darkness...

just saying....

Ma-aaarge, the door blew shut. Marge? Oh, C'MON! There's CRICKETS out here!

 

[Alanymarce]

Many younger people have no idea what it was like in the 70's and 80's when personal communication devices and trackers were only known in Star Trek.

They have no idea how to even live if they cannot monitor and be monitored, si your girl is in reasonable company by today's standards.

I'm no doctor, but maybe she doesnt suffer anxiety beyond the modern, normal "yikes, I'm disconnected from everything." I dont know the answer to that.

I would sit calmly with her and address each of her "What If's" in turn. Have her give you a "what if" and counter it with calm, factual, knowledgeable advice. And if you yourself dont know the answer, look it up together. "What if a bear...blah blah blah" might be countered with the fact "there are no bears here, but IF we were near bears, this is how we behave and this is what we do." And so on.

She might still be nervous, of course. But as other have said, take it slow. Go to a local place,. Get comfy, and expand your circle. And...as you do that, give her very specific, helpful tasks to do. At home, teach her how to pitch the tent dir example, and have her do that when you get to camp.

Teach her some tracks of the animals she fears. Have her do a quick scan around camp upon arrival.

Maybe she is good at starting the fire. Have her do that while you pitch the tent. Whatever it is. Give her the knowhow to recognize signs of those things she is afraid of and set her looking for those signs. If she doesnt find them, then get busy on task. That should give her confidence that the area is safe, and the confidence to know how to perform the task at hand.

After that, do another check of the area, have dinner, a drink, and turn in.

Keep doing that and expand your area and the tasks.

Good advice.

The key, in my view, is that you are BOTH doing the risk assessment, both management of the potential incident, and mitigation of the consequences.

All risk analysis needs data - actual information. When you look at the number of spider-bite deaths per year in Australia you realise that they are far fewer than deaths falling down stairs in the USA. When you look at the tiny number which accur you find that they are all (or nearly all) associated with actions which result in exposure to the hazard - avoid the exposure (e.g., not venturing into thee spaces in the bush where spiders may be) and the risk drops to insignificant levels.

We routinely do risk analysis for trips and it gives us all the confidence we need to make decisions on travel:

- are we concerned about bears in the Yukon? Yes but by following the advice of experts and having "bear spray" the risk is minimal.

- are we concerned about civil strife in Northern Kenya? Yes, but by getting local advice the risk is minimised.

 

[MidOH]

Well, does she trust you? If yes, roll with that, take it slow. And enjoy new confidence as she beats her fears to death.

Didn't Arizona legalize pot? Might help in a medicinal application. Just a guess.

My friend has panic attacks. He'll just glance at someone, then take off into the woods. When his brain misfires, he gets the idea that he just robbed a bank, and the other person was a cop. It's funny, until not.

Weed use as an adolescent. Coincidence?