I had a ton of pre-trip anxiety, and now that my vacation is over with, so is my anxiety.
One of the things I was really anxious about was taking my medicine through airport security. So I decided to mail my meds to my sister so that I wouldn't have to take them through security. Even though you are allowed to take medicine through airport security (even unmarked, such as in a pill organizer), I was still nervous that they would cause a problem for me.
So I mailed them to my sister, and I asked her to bring them to the airport when she picked me up. That worked out fine. I was also nervous that she was going to say something to me about all of these meds I take.... I was having plenty of irrational thoughts.
Irrational thought: She would think bad of me for taking all of these meds.
I tried to replace it with the rational thought: She would be glad to see me and happy that the medicine works for me.
One thing I did not plan for was that my airplane was late and I missed my connecting flight, so I was at the airport for 5 hours. So I didn't have my morning meds to take on time, but as soon as I did arrive, I took my lithium and I felt fine. So, in retrospect, it may have been better to have the meds with me... but I did the best thing for my nerves.
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| Sunrise, as seen from airplane, during red-eye flight. |
On the way home, I still had some of the meds that I mailed her, and I brought them through airport security without any problem. They did rescan one of my bags when the X-ray machine beeped, and the TSA agent thought something was funny (I don't know what.. I didn't have anything funny in my bag!), but it was fine. The TSA agents were actually quite nice and relaxed.
By the way, I had a terrific vacation! My mood was good the whole time! I got to see my family and it was so wonderful. I just wish I didn't have so much pre-trip anxiety.
I totally understand the anxiety about family members' judgment about medication.
ReplyDeleteMy father and grandmother are both pretty anti-medication, and when I was visiting her last she remarked that I was taking way too many meds for someone my age. The only upside to her memory loss, for me, was the fact that she would forget to mention the fact to my father. My family doesn't know exactly how bad my illness is, and I don't want to get into the issue with them because I live far away, there's nothing they can do about it, and it would worry them unnecessarily -- and thus worry me.
I'm glad your family is understanding, and I'm glad you had a good visit with them!