Figure 1: Even pre-travel nerves can be eased by a homeopathic herb.
Recently I found myself thinking back to the time when my children were small and we used to drive to homeopathic events. “Are we there yet?” is a question you normally expect from children (picture the back seat of a car on a long journey). But adults can ask themselves this question too, even before the trip has begun.
Many people suffer from travel anxiety. In some sufferers, anxiety can be so severe that they don’t travel at all. Homeopathy can help relieve this particularly intense form.
But what type of travel anxiety is it specifically? Knowing all the details can be crucial for choosing the right remedy.
Figure 2: Whether aeroplane or car – almost any means of transport can trigger travel anxiety.
The “what-if” questions of travel anxiety
The person affected might think:
What if I’m stuck in a confined space and can’t get to the toilet? What if I can’t stick to my special diet? What if our holiday home doesn’t match the description? What if we have an accident during the journey? What if the airline loses our luggage? What if the aeroplane crashes? What if there is a train derailment?
All these “what-if” questions (and many more) belong to the concept of anticipatory tension or anticipatory anxiety. It refers to the fear that insurmountable obstacles may occur or that a catastrophe could happen during the upcoming trip.
Gelsemium sempervirens
I’ve already written about Gelsemium for anxiety in earlier blog posts (see also Exhaustion and Fatigue, Jetlag or Together You Are Less Alone), it is an excellent remedy that should be included in every well‑stocked homeopathic household medicine cabinet.
But if you have a nervous traveller among you, Gelsemium is a must.
For this specific condition I would normally prescribe Gelsemium C30 twice daily. “But when should I start taking it?”, you may ask. (I know my readers very well.)
For most acute complaints you would start taking the appropriate homeopathic remedy as soon as the first symptoms appear. The moment your brain starts to think too loudly about the upcoming trip, your body also physically adapts to this internal background noise, and you begin to feel excessively nervous and anxious — and that is the time you should start taking the remedy.
Gelsemium is often the appropriate remedy for the fear of an upcoming event that might become a real trial.
Figure 3: Afraid of travel chaos? Arsenicum album could be the natural answer.
Calming the chaos of travel anxiety
There is another type of travel anxiety that plagues many people: a feeling of restlessness and being disorganised that intensifies.
This type of travel anxiety can also begin before the actual journey:
Right, I need to pack the suitcases. Oh my God, did I remember to ask someone to take in the mail? What shall I do with the food in the fridge? Did I pack my charger?!?
Here everything revolves around the small details of travelling. The details drive this traveller crazy, not the fear that something might happen. It’s about the inner chaos and the feeling: “I have to have everything in perfect order before we can leave.”
Arsenicum album
The suitable homeopathic remedy for this chaotic inner voice, which produces an almost overwhelming urge for meticulous order, is Arsenicum album C30, also taken twice daily until there is a clear improvement. Here, too, we would start taking the remedy as soon as the first symptoms appear.
This type of travel anxiety can also occur immediately after setting off. You’ve already driven a few miles and suddenly the question shoots through your mind: “Did we close the garage door?” “Is the front door locked?”
Details. That’s Arsenicum.
I’ve also written other blog posts on travel. If you fly, the AAA combination is exactly what you might find useful. A few weeks ago I also addressed the not‑uncommon issue of homesickness.
Further information on dosage and potency of the remedies can be found here https://www.narayana-verlag.de/spektrum-homoeopathie/d-oder-c-potenz-das-ist-hier-die-frage.
Homeopathy helps — pass it on!
Warmly,
Yours
Recommended books:
Figure 1: Song_about_summer/shutterstock.com ; Figure 2: Lightboxx/shutterstock.com ; Figure 3: Pixel-Shot/shutterstock.com
09 October 2025
