Anxious Travels: A Guide to Napa Valley
What is there to be stressed about in wine country? It’s remote, beautiful, food is great, and wine is a flowing. Shockingly, this environment can be stressful for the anxious - if you’re with me on the anxiety train, can I get a resounding Amen! Anybody?
Anxious Travels: Top Places to Eat and Drink in Napa Valley
My anxiety triggers begin on the trip out. First of all, flying into San Francisco is the worst. The worst, I tell you. It’s pretty standard for there to be delays due to weather, and landing there is always so stressful given the runway is actually in the middle of the ocean. Ok, I’m perhaps being dramatic, but you probably know that’s par for the course by now. Even with the amount of traveling I’ve been doing lately, and my strict flight routine, I was feeling a tad anxious for this flight.
What is typically a 4.5 hour flight turned to into 6 hours due to sitting on the tarmac in Chicago, and being delayed with air traffic control in San Francisco. The flight was turbulent AF. The landing took forever. Naturally, I noticed every turn we were doing around the airport - I can only do so much to avoid paying attention to it! My saving grace was that the plane had TV’s with Game of Thrones on it, but I wasn’t about to watch (spoiler alert) Ned Stark die twice.
Finally, we land. Great, vacation mode is on.
Not so fast when traveling to Napa, anxiety says! Under normal circumstances, the drive from SFO to Napa is a little over an hour. Under my circumstances, the drive from SFO to Napa was 2.5 hours. So, that’s 6 hours in the tin tube, followed by 2.5 hours in a car. I mean, it’s laughable how much of a nightmare all of those things have become for me ever since my panic disorder joined the party. Feeling trapped, and unable to get out are pretty much my biggest anxiety triggers.
After the longest car ride of all time, we arrived at the hotel. Smooth sailing from here on out? Think again! Ah, wine is such a double edged sword for me. I love it, but it’s far and away the worst anxiety trigger for me. It makes sense since both alcohol and sugar are anxiety triggers - both of which are in high supply in good ole vino. That being said, I wasn’t not going to enjoy some wine in Napa. Enjoy is an understatement, as I pretty much convinced myself I was a sommelier by the end and I’m thoroughly concerned for the amount of wine shipments I will be receiving in the next few weeks.
I had the best trip. And this is how.
I would say the top tools that helped me keep my anxiety at a minimum was mindfulness techniques and self-care (which can be overlooked on a boozing vacation). I mean, Xanax for the flights (obviously), but I didn’t have to take any anti-anxiety medications otherwise, and that’s a W for me. Prior to leaving, I had to be really conscious about not getting worked up or anxious over the flight or the trip in general, even knowing that it may be a bit of a challenging environment for me. So, when the standard thoughts started racing as soon as I went to bed, I had to be really conscious of stopping the thoughts and letting them go (over and over...and over).
Consistent meditation helps me with this.
On the plane, it was important that I was prepared with shows, books and good music. On the long drive from SFO to Napa, I held gratitude in the beautiful Northern California surroundings. While in Napa and consuming copious amounts of wine, I made sure to stay hydrated. I drank a big bottle of water before leaving for the day and in between wineries. And had consistent meals to keep my blood sugar leveled. I took 10mg of CBD oil before bed and when I woke up. I called it early at night and got decent sleep (for a hotel - which I rarely do). The wood burning fireplace in the room helped, I won’t lie. Dreamy and cozy AF.
Well if you’ve even a tiny bit anxious I’ve likely convinced you to never make a trip to Napa by this point, but if you’re still with me, it’s absolutely worth the discomfort. Napa Valley is magical. It’s a small place that’s mostly run by locals who really know their shiz and are incredibly passionate about wine. Here’s my self-made Napa Valley guide based on my experiences:
This was actually my third trip to Napa, but the first with my panic disorder, which was a bit scary.
However, I try to never let my anxiety and panic deter me from things that I enjoy, even though there may be some obstacles and challenges. We are taking our power back, remember? Avoidance coping is no bueno, because it can cause further anxiety triggers. Facing your fears head on isn’t easy, and maybe you have a panic attack, but I promise you will get through.
At the end of the day, consistent self care and mindfulness in every single situation is the new norm for me, even when it’s really easy to let that all go while on vacation. It’s imperative that I don’t for my mental health, and I’m telling you, it works. And once you do make it through, it’s literally like a dramatic slow-mo run through the finish line of a race with some inspiring music playing in the background. I mean, at least what I’d imagine, since I never intend on running a marathon