For some people, traveling overseas can be an intimidating and anxiety-inducing experience.
Fear of traveling to the unknown, fear of unfamiliar places, and fear of meeting foreign people are just some of the reasons why many people are afraid to travel abroad.
The idea that you’re venturing out into a strange place where you don’t speak the language or know the customs can be overwhelming.
Furthermore, even those who are used to traveling may still have hesitations about going to new countries due to safety or health concerns.
Well, today Passport King I’m going to go over what those fears are and how anyone can overcome the concerns they may have about traveling abroad.
What is the fear of traveling phobia called?
“Hodophobia” is the fear of traveling overseas
For many people, the fear of traveling overseas is a major deterrent to experiencing new cultures and exploring new parts of the world.
However, overcoming this fear can be an enriching experience with some effort and a bit of courage.
The phobia manifests in a number of different ways, including hesitancy to travel to new places to a near-inability to leave the home.
People have various phobias, but hodophobia more commonly manifests as avoidance of or hesitance to use a variety of means of transportation, including cars, planes, and trains.
According to Healthline, Symptoms of Hodophobia like all phobias often provoke physical symptoms, such as an extreme fear of closed spaces as well as also a fear of traveling.
Yet Hodophobia does not cover all aspects of the fear of traveling.
Fear of traveling on a plane
What many people who are afraid of traveling via plane don’t realize is there are planes leaving and arriving in airports all over the world hundreds of thousands of times a day.
If there was an epidemic of planes crashing and shifty technology being used, you would hear about it much more, and the companies with faulty equipment would quickly be run out of business.
Air Travel is the safest way to travel long distances.
Statistically, you have an incredibly better chance of arriving safely via plane than on a car, train, or even bike!
Fear of getting Kidnapped in Foreign Countries.
What causes travel anxiety?
A lot of people’s fear of traveling comes from stories they’ve heard about tourists being kidnapped and held for ransom.
When traveling abroad, it’s natural Media can make you a little nervous.
Unfortunately, they’ve realized that negative stories sell better than positive or non-eventful stories.
After all, stories of kidnappings and people being held for ransom in foreign countries can be scary and make you want to stay put.
This is still not a valid reason to have a fear of traveling.
These tales of terror can lead to panic and an irrational fear of traveling overseas.
But the truth is that you don’t need to worry; no one wants to kidnap you while you’re abroad.
The people who live in other countries have a list of priorities that include feeding themselves and their families, becoming educated, and moving up in their job.
You know, the same priorities most of us have.
They are not quick to throw their lives away to try to con money out of a family for your safe return.
Most people are not criminals.
And many times, we travelers simply don’t have the kind of money that a potential kidnapper would be willing to risk his life for.
Fear traveling away from home (you don’t want to leave the block)
There are people who I grew up with that will proudly say that they are never leaving their neighborhood.
They will treat this as if it isn’t a fear of traveling, but a choice they made from principle.
They’ll say things like;
I know everyone around here and I don’t want to get mixed up with different cultures.
I’ve heard them say women in other countries will try to get pregnant so they can get American citizenship.
They’ll also point out the situations they’ve seen on Lock Up Abroad and 90 Day Fiance from TV and tell me it’s just not worth the risk.
I can understand the fear of being alone in another country.
These are not good excuses because everything you fear out there can also happen here.
Getting some crazy lady pregnant in your hood can lead to a disastrous lifetime.!
I know some dudes who were accused of getting some crazy lady pregnant only to find out years later that the baby was not theirs.
We have child support agencies tracking you down taking all of the assets you’ve built and throwing you in jail while dividing up the money between the women and the court system.
Some really evil chicks in America get a kick out of the Prison Industrial Complex claiming another victim.
There are over 6 Billion people on planet earth.
Do you really want to spend your entire life getting to know less than a fraction of 1%?
I don’t!
Corrupt Police Abroad
If every time you think of traveling to a foreign land, you cringe.
Maybe your fear of traveling comes from envisioning yourself being backed into a corner, surrounded by a bunch of money and blood-thirsty racist cops, you may have watched too much TV.
Or,
If your first thought is they will see to it that they throw you in some filthy, unfair, foreign jail, for a crime, you didn’t even commit!
Or, for some petty crime like Britney Griner’s 0.7 ounces of CBD, you may just be paranoid.
If you shudder at the thought that this foreign land won’t let you free until you come up with some UNGODLY amount of money…
And to top it off you probably won’t be able to speak the native language and you won’t be able to communicate with anyone while going through that fiasco
But yo, let me explain a term to you called “unwarranted propaganda.”
It’s the tendency to make huge predictions about the future on the basis of a few small facts!
Now, this is a common fallacy! Now most Americans would tell you that the United States is the safest place on the globe.
They’ll tell you that it’s the “BESTEST” the RICHEST and the FAIREST land of them all.
But you know what?
In my opinion, in a lot of cases, they will actually be right…
Let’s not go overboard.
Switzerland actually has the lowest crime rate recorded but more importantly, the safest country for tourists is Norway!
- New Zealand
- Austria
- Netherlands
- Singapore
- Iceland
- Hong Kong
- and Finland
I’ll be honest that’s hardly a list of places that I can’t wait to visit.
Noticeably, the USA is not even on the list of the safest places to travel!
I’ve lived in America all of my life.
Street crime is bad, but it rarely happens to the average resident or tourist.
Acts of violence are usually drug-related, political, or religion related.
When you are in a foreign country but are not involved in the country’s hot-button issues, crime will usually miss you.
Of course, things can always happen but if you’re minding your business while on Vacation, chances are, no one is thinking about you.
This is in sharp contrast to the fear I get when a cop turns on his headlights behind me while I’m driving in America.
I’m a black man in America.
US cops have been known to plant illegal things in innocent people’s cars.
Worse are the times they are more nervous than me at a traffic stop.
Even though they have the weapon, badge, and trust of the United States if this encounter was to go terribly wrong, I almost have to be their therapist to make sure everything goes smoothly.
Cops in the US have also been known to instigate confrontations so they get a chance to wield the power that the badge affords them.
Lastly, sometimes they are in a panic to fill their daily arrest quotas and collect money from citizens that little corrupt towns need to survive financially!
I know of some towns in Georgia (That start with a D) that would go bankrupt in a week if there were no arrests or probation payments.
I’m in no way saying that police in other countries are automatically better and less corrupt, but if corrupt police are your main concern, you are literally not safe anywhere.
There’s no need to make your travel life suffer because of this fear.
Scenic view in Cabo San Lucas
Fear that you will spend too much money overseas
Passport Kings is here to make sure your trip is the right price.
Little short getaways should be cheap.
That’s why I like to stay in an Airbnb when I’m only doing a short stay.
When I know I will be staying in a different country for an extended period of time, I want to make sure my hotel/resort is as comfortable as possible.
Comfort may come with a higher price tag but the services always eliminate this fear of traveling the minute I lay my head on the pillow.
If you buy your tours and excursions beforehand, many times you can save a fortune instead of waiting until you get there.
For help about which activities to do, search pages like TripAdvisor and Passport kings.
Conclusion
How to overcome your fear of traveling
Be rational!
There is truly no need to have a fear of traveling.
When you travel it’s like you are a guest in other people’s homes.
Imagine if someone were a guest in your home.
Would you really treat them awful?
Nope.
If you are silly you may be thinking “oh, that’s because I’m an American”
But guess what?
Americans are not the nicest people on this planet!
Visual Capitalists Chart shows Americans are seriously not winning on most metrics
Honestly, prejudiced eyes have no way to tell if someone is going to be civil to you or not.
Most encounters abroad are no more than 2 or 3 sentences.
Learn the Language on your way there using software like DuoLingo
It’s usually an ask for directions, a polite conversation about both people’s country of origin, or an invite to get to know one another better.
Traveling Abroad is the crossroads between new people and new experiences.
Let them take you around and show you places that you may not have known about since you’re not from there.
Be safe of course, but enjoy the experience.
If the person you meet has time, they’ll usually be down to educate you about their country.
Humans are humans and regardless of which country came from, we all want the same things.
We want to be able to take care of our children.
We want to be able to have a nice place to live.
We want to be able to travel back to forth to where we need to go and enjoy our lives while doing it.
And the VAST Majority of us don’t want any trouble.
The fear of traveling is highly unreasonable.
Travel to new exotic places on this planet boldly, like a king.
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