Why going on holiday can be a real pain!
Now we all love a holiday, don’t we? Have you ever noticed however, that you experience more pain or flare ups prior to your hols? The timing couldn’t be worse, could it? So why might this be happening?
Did you know that your personality traits, beliefs and learned behaviours can lead on to creating self-induced stress, this partnered with an impending holiday can result in your brain innocently trying to protect you from the perceived dangers ahead and creating your symptoms as a protective mechanism.
So, what do I mean by this?
If like me, you are prone to perfectionism, you might have started planning your “perfect” holiday months ago. You have lists upon lists for your holiday. You cannot live with the thought that you might forget to pack the kids’ snorkels. Or you are checking minute by minute the local weather report for your destination. Have you packed enough clothes; are they warm enough? Cool enough? Not to mention passports, travel documents, will the plane be delayed? The worries, ruminating and fears are mounting, your mind is racing, and worst-case holiday scenarios have all been played out, several times!
These perceived threats along with a melting pot of emotions are enough to trigger a reaction in your brain and autonomic nervous system and can result in overwhelm and subsequent pain.
The last time I experienced a relapse of severe pain was 3 days before I was due to go on a family holiday. Luckily, I had already started upon my journey of self-healing and using my new acquired skills was able to recover quickly, 4 days later I was swimming in the sea with my kids and haven’t had a back spasm since.
What did I learn that helped me though this and prevent another episode?
I was able to reassure myself that the pain I was experiencing was not long lasting, I was not damaged in any way, it was a manifestation of the stress that I was experiencing. I learned that “perfect” simply doesn’t exist. In time, I was able to lower my expectations and be ready for circumstances that I hadn’t planned for. I could let go of trying to control every outcome and eventuality. I was able to reframe my negative beliefs. So instead of dreading the journey with my kids, I could flip my mindset. “Travel is fun, it is an opportunity to see and experience new things, I am spending quality time with my loved ones”. If the plane is delayed, what can I do about it? Realistically, what can I do? Ask yourself in the moment, can I change this situation? If you can, then absolutely do something that will make your life easier but if you can’t, can you let it go? Can you whip out your favourite novel with a cuppa and distract yourself until your flight is boarding. Okay, so it wasn’t what you were expecting but can you make the most of this extra time that you now have and do something fun.
It is about taking the pressure off yourself, lowering expectations and being open and flexible to change. It is about noticing how you are reacting to stressful situations that arise and learning from this.
Letting go certainly helped me lighten the load (but not the suitcase!) and reduce my pain.
Anyone planning on going away, I hope that you have a perfectly imperfect trip!
If you would like help to embrace your own imperfect, drop me line.