Van Life Diaries - Anxiety on the Road

Anxiety can be heightened, suppressed, multiplied, or straight up non-existent on the road… 

I’ve lived with anxiety WELL before I hit the road -  so are some stories and reflections from living with that anxiety while living in a van.

 The positive, negative and everything in between. 

As always, we’ll also take listener questions at the end, which include:

What do you do for internet? 

Where do I park to see the lone toilet? 

What episodes are coming up? 

Where you do record your podcasts? 

What’s the most interesting fact about Gettysburg you’ve found it your research? 

Noah and Noodles here!

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Transcript

Van Life Diaries - Anxiety on the Road 

Welcome to van life diaries! 

My name is Noah and it’s just, myself and my dog Noodles in my van today.

No edits. No script. 

Anxiety can be heightened, suppressed, multiplied, or straight up non-existent on the road… 

I’ve delt with anxiety well before I hit the road -  so are some stories and reflections living with anxiety on the road - the positive, negative and everything in between …. 

As always, we’ll also take listener questions at the end… 

I’m drinking a Coors light today - feel free to join me alcoholic or non and let’s get started: 

I’d like to start off with this: 

in my mind, their are two kinds of anxiety … 

Good Anxiety helps you complete tasks, remember birthdays, drive well in bad weather …. But it’s often temporary it surfaces when you need it and chills out when you don’t

Then theirs bad anxiety  - which prevents you from doing important tasks, taking that road trip you’ve always wanted to or generally enjoy life - it’s prolonged, intrusive …. Not helpful - 

Here are three things that increase this bad anxiety specifically while living in a van and what I do to …. Chill baby …. 

1.) Long time listeners know this - I used to have crazy panic attacks while driving … on highways specifically  - which isn’t the best place to have them …. So with me being on the road - everyday for long periods of time I needed to know how to deal with it …. 

Let me describe the sensation a bit - if you’ve not experience a panic attack - your hearts beats, you sweat a bit, for vision compresses,,, all bad things - right? 

Overtime, you can learn to identify triggers and feelings that lead to said panic attack, for me, specifically in the van it was when large gusts of wind move you while your driving - large van has so much more surface area that it’s much more common…. 

Here’s an example - I was driving through Death Valley on a particularly windy day ….

2.) Camping in Pitch Dark Places 

I love camping - you really have to if you live in a van - it’s peaceful, I’m more productive and Noodles get’s plenty of space to run around - but, on certain nights, when there’s no moon, the stars aren’t out and there’s no lights or people for miles - it’s easy to get anxious … when you’re in and out of the van …. 

Here’s what I do: 

When I leave the van to adjust my starlink or take noodles out whatever, I grab my bare spray, a flashlight, turn on some loft on my phone, and hope for the best haha! Not much you can do there … 

But back in the van, turn on comfy lights, play a comforting movie, cook some food, light a candle, treat it like a home … it’s surprising how fast your little space turns into a comforting place to be … just treat it like your home, not a van, and anxiety disappears … 

Side note - If you’ve followed everything you need to do to remain safe  - see van life safety back in the archive - you should be good to go!