Travel anxiety can affect your ability to enjoy a vacation -- before, during, and even after a trip. The good news is that there are plenty of coping mechanisms that can alter a person’s attitude about travel, from sticking to routines and eating the right food to planning ahead and managing your triggers. However, if you’ve tried all the traditional techniques (and are looking for something a little bit different), check out our list of weird and obscure tactics to combat travel anxiety.

1. Cover yourself in positive affirmation tattoo.

Coping with travel anxiety is all about altering your own mental coping facilities, and if that means covering your body in temporary tattoos, then so be it. We’re not talking about tats of anchors and skulls, but words that create positive affirmation like ‘relax’, ‘breathe’, and ‘free.’ While it might be a weird approach to solving anxiety, the subtle messages provide a reminder to focus in on your chosen trigger word.

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2. Inflate a balloon.

Deep breathing is a classic way to combat anxiety, but being able to do it the right way takes practice. To help, use a balloon to focus the mind on your breathing routine. Sure, it might look strange to inhale and exhale with a balloon while sitting on a plane, but the technique works to control your respiratory rhythm — and it’s so much cooler than the paper bag alternative.

3. Get a stress ball.

Using a stress ball is one way to ease your travel anxiety on the go no matter where you are. And while a generic stress ball isn’t such a weird thing to carry around, multicolored squishy slime balls are a bit more peculiar.

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4. Journal your way to serenity.

Keep a journal with you and jot down your thoughts and feelings to take control. Writing in a notebook is meant to draw you out from irrational interior thoughts and help you to express yourself, even if you’re not destined to be the next superstar travel writer.

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5. Dissolve your negative thoughts.

Another way to combat travel anxiety is by dissolving thought notes. If anti-anxiety coping mechanisms are about actualizing positivity, the ability to literally watch negative thoughts disappear is a gem. With Spy Paper, you’ll simply jot down your buzzkill words, submerge them in water, and watch them fade away.

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6. Embrace aromatherapy.

How do smells help combat your crippling anxiety about traveling? Surreptitiously sniffing from a handkerchief bathed in aromatherapy oils might appear strange at first, but certain scents can offer relief. Lavender, rose, and frankincense can all be great for easing anxiety, while mandarin offers an uplifting odor that can alter your overall mood.

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7. Wear travel wristbands.

As anyone who is prone to seasickness can tell you, these travel bands are a lifesaver. Whether or not you believe applying gentle pressure to the Nei Kuan acupressure points with these wristbands will alleviate motion sickness, just the act of strapping them on can be enough. Placebo or not, sometimes it’s all about taking a proactive step that you can see with your own eyes.

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8. Wear a rubber band bracelet.

While wearing a rubber band bracelet has nothing to with acupressure points, it can also help alleviate travel anxiety. Simply wear a rubber band and when you feel a buildup of anxiety, snap it three times and repeat a predetermined calming phrase to yourself. The theory is that the snap, the repetition, and your personal phrase brings you back to reality when you feel you’re beginning to crash.

9. Invest in a fidget spinner.

If a stress ball is too passé for you, jump on the bandwagon and get yourself a fidget spinner. Guaranteed to keep your mind fixed on the strangely satisfying spinning sensation, this hand-held toy is an excellent product to have on standby when you need some distraction.

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