How to Stay Sober When Flying Abroad

Being in recovery while on the move can be the most testing experience one could endure. The stresses of planning, arrangements, communicating with others, flight complications, and constantly being surrounded by junk foods and alcohol can easily push someone over the edge. However, while difficult, it’s a battle you can win with the right mindset and tools.

What Makes Staying Sober So Hard?

We touched on it briefly, but it’s worth exploring the processes of why this experience can be so triggering for some. In general, addiction preys on vulnerability. If you struggle to cope with something, or open up to an idea just enough, this can be all that’s necessary to get that addiction flowing.

The chemical process for addiction is easy enough to understand. Consuming anything, food, water, or any other necessary daily processes, you get a small dose of dopamine. Think of it like a small sense of accomplishment for completing a task. However, if you were to suddenly introduce an addictive substance into the mix, this process immediately spirals out of control. Rather than the usual appropriate amounts of dopamine that engage the receptors, you’re suddenly overrun with a rush of dopamine, leading to a much greater positive reaction. This sounds all well and good, but it builds an anticipation for that sort of rush again in the future, making the smaller dopamine rewards seem insignificant in comparison. These are the building blocks of dependency.

Now, take this process and that building dependency, then insert negative side effects often associated with alcohol or drug use into the equation. Loss of sleep, anxiety, irritability, high temper – these factors only multiply in likelihood as ones dependence grows and their tolerance drops. So, how does one cope with these newfound issues? Resorting to their comfort habit, that addiction.

All of this is grounded in the idea of coping and vulnerability. Now – let’s look at this relative to the original scenario: airports. Over 90 percent of Americans find airports stressful, either due to factors such as getting stuck on the way there, losing baggage, delays, connecting flights, and various others. On top of that, and the most notable aspect of modern culture, is that in a poll of more than one thousand five hundred participants, when asked what part of the  airport relaxes them most, over a third of the respondents said drinking or shopping. Two actions that are easily ranked in some of the most addictive in the world. We all need our destressors, and airports unfortunately provide some of the worst options.

What can I do to stay sober while traveling?

There are plenty of options one can opt for when it comes to coping with unpleasant feelings at an airport. Buying a cushion for more comfortable seating, staying active, breathing exercises – and some more powerful options for those who want a stronger safety net in these moments.

A sober companion is an individual professionally trained and licensed to keep clients sober and accountable while out and about, and they can be the perfect travel companion. Sober companions are experts in identifying possible triggers and soothing the client or helping them avoid these substances altogether. Not only that, but sober companions can be taken anywhere. Work trips, vacations, even at home if needed. It may seem excessive to some, but companions are also taught to handle the situation in a way that doesn’t feel like constant hovering or like they’re babying the person. In fact, there are some services like Sober on Demand that fit you with the perfect sober companion. Through an innovative personality matching test and an in-depth process in which you can get to know each other, these trips will feel less like a battle against vices and more like a vacation with a friend.

For more information on sober companions, Sober on Demand is a fantastic service, among others such as The Addictions Coach for similar or other inquiries. You can never be too safe with your health, so don’t be afraid to invest in it when you’d need it most!