Yeah, not many people write about the stress in their glossy ride reports hey

Everyone here is still human, some people have a higher tolerance than others...

Here are my tips for dealing with stress and anxiety.

Youtube hypnotherapy - don't laugh, seriously, read below.

I have had a couple of anxiety attacks on my trip which really shook me. I have a health problem called hashimotos disease - hypothyroid - tests later at the doctor showed my blood levels for thyroid hormone were too high which was causing the anxiety. That and isolation was getting to me. Anyway, I found this awesome self-hypnosis thing on youtube.
That calmed me the f-ck down and I was really skeptical but having and anxiety attack in the complete darkness on a mountain, in the middle of the night on a horse ranch, being the only person on the ranch and with only an internet connection (plus everyone back home at work on the other side of the world) I gave it a try. Worked a treat, so I have it downloaded now and saved on my laptop. Only used it twice but the fact that it worked so well has given me a bit of confidence that if I get another anxiety attack in the future I can use it again. Anxiety is like that too, if you know you can deal with it, you tend not to get it, as it is a self-fulfilling thing.

Eat a really healthy meal
Eating well on the road can be hard, when was the last time you had a really healthy meal. Most places in the world you can go to a market and get vegetables - boil up a whole heap - the rule of thumb is the more different colours the better. Eat them up, don't worry about the taste, they are good for you dammit!

The other thing is Salmon, if you can get your hands on it, the omega3s will do you a world of good. Fry it up and woof it down!

Finally vitamin B, get plenty of it, consider carrying a multivitamin like Berocca for times like this.

If your body is healthy your mind will work better.

Do a good hard, CARDIO Exercise session

Whatever you do, easiest on the road will be to go for a run, stretch both before and after as the loosening of muscles will also help to get rid of tension and help you relax. You have to get your heart rate up for at least 25 minutes. This releases all sorts of endorphins and I like to say it Smooths out the emotions. So when you get stressed you won't experience it in such erratic thoughts.

The other benefit of the cardio is that it will help you sleep at night, a good nights rest is important in dealing with stress and reducing anxiety which brings me to the next point.

I second the get some sleep and would also add to take a rest day if you can, surround yourself with home comforts. I carry my laptop and watch cheesy american comedy sitcoms to zone out.

I found Chamomile tea worked well for me too, it was a hot drink without any stimulants and would signal to my brain that it is time to go to sleep. The worst thing that can happen, it happened to me the day before an 800k ride is that you can't sleep, you get to 1am and you are thinking, if I go to sleep now I am only going to get 5 hours sleep and how am I going to ride 800ks on 500k's sleep. That thought keeps you awake and the more you think the less you can get to sleep. I ended up with 3 hours sleep that night and had to nap every 3 hours on the trip, luckily I had a really good week before that night in terms of sleep and my body coped okay. HOWEVER, from now on I discussed with my girlfriend that I will have back up plans for these things, i.e. communicate with a person that I might not make it the next day, have a back up plan in place already for a halfway point in case I need to sleep in and can't leave early. That way I will be more likely to get to sleep knowing that I don't absolutely have to do the 800ks the next day, as such it then becomes easier to sleep. Accepting alternative outcomes and having alternative plans can help you get over the stress I guess.


Happy riding!


Oh and edit because I forgot to mention Avoid alcohol and caffeine until the problem causing the stress/anxiety goes away. Stimulants will only make it worse.