The Weariness of Travel

Today I am leaving Portland and zipping off of LA with my friend Nancy for a photoshoot of my own that I was supposed to do back in January. When all my January stuff got rescheduled I thought it would be a good idea to cram everything together this time since I am on the West Coast - but that was past Teri behavior. While I am having a lot of fun and enjoying being with some amazing humans, I am becoming exhausted and worn down. I’ve been around people this entire time, I’ve not slept in my own bed except for 2 nights back in August, and I haven’t seen my husband since then. I used to be fine traveling, getting home, taking off, traveling around, getting home, repacking the suitcase and leaving again - but I am pretty sure that this was one of the factors that caused me to breakdown - when we think of resting, we think of vacation, but traveling and stay away from your safety, your home, is anything BUT restful.

I am using this experience and these commitments to really check in with myself and pay attention to my needs. Whether it is stopping eating when I am full (I usually will over eat when I am surrounded by other people), removing myself from the group to go get some quiet time in the bath or bedroom (because normally I don’t want to miss out on conversation), recognizing when my emotional cup is getting full and deep breathing to keep myself regulated (no matter how much you like being with people, after being around folks for a certain amount of time personalities can grate the nerves - me doing that to others as well), and keeping a wee bit of my routine from home (such as writing in the morning).

Here’s what I’ve noticed so far:

-How much I eat when I am surrounded by other people and how much I eat things that I don’t actually want to eat because everyone else is.
-How easy it is to thwart my own routine because of the FEAR of people making fun of, teasing, or interrupting.
-How much I override my sleep in order to not miss out on things.
-How much I desire comfortable pillows and sleeping alone.
-How my body feels when I am getting too over stimulated.
-How my voice goes away when I am talking to much and need to listen more.
-How my moods create a filter through which I experience the things in front of me.

This is A LOT of things that take up energy in addition to the usual energy zappers that come with traveling: fear, lack of safety, discomfort, anxiety around seating as a fat person, car sickness (or the feeling of it), flying, etc. This is the weariness of travel.

So, now as I move forward with yet another week of travel + peopling, I will try to take action on the things I can control to help me feel less depleted when I get home.

So, now let me ask you….

What are some of the things YOU experience when you travel? Does it fill your cup or deplete it? What things tend to trip you up with maintaining your routine when you are traveling regardless of how far/where you are going?