Thanksgiving is always a heavy-travel time with crowded airports and highways.
But the ripple effects from the extended government shutdown and the ongoing shortage of air traffic controllers – including flight cancellations and long waiting lines – may make travel in the days leading up to the holiday particularly onerous this year.
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Earlier this month, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight cancellations at 40 airports across the country, including Philadelphia International Airport. Flights will resume at normal levels only when safety and staffing issues resolve — a process that could drag on, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said.
People "who are already battling anxiety about travel will have an exacerbation of it at this time," said psychologist Cory Newman, director of the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Cognitive Therapy.
Newman offered suggestions to help people cope with travel stress, anxiety, frustration and disappointment. The techniques can be applied to situations in everyday life, too.
Cognitive reframing
Cognitive reframing involves paying attention to thinking patterns and questioning them to shift perspective. It is a cognitive behavioral therapy technique that helps people change unhelpful and destructive ways of thinking and acting. The goal is not to deny or invalidate feelings but rather to ask if there is another way to look at a situation, according to VeryWell Mind.
For instance, people facing cancelled flights may acknowledge that it's "really a huge bummer" without spiraling into self-pity and despair, Newman said. Instead, they can reframe their thinking within the larger perspective of hardships people in the United States are facing, such as cuts to Medicaid and SNAP benefits.
"'My main problem is that I may not get to see my family for Thanksgiving,'" Newman said people might tell themselves. "'That's tough, but not as tough as the person who has to give up their health care … or the family who can't feed their kids.'"
Without invalidating their own anxiety, frustration and disappointment, people benefit from putting their personal situations into a wider perspective and recognizing things they are grateful for, Newman said.
Communicate
People being able to share how they are feeling and trying to problem solve through communication is helpful in times of stress, Newman said.
For instance, "being able to talk to my family across the country and say, 'All right. Here's my situation. I'm hoping to make it there, but I'm not sure that I have control over that,'" Newman said. "And they can say, 'Hey, Corey, don't worry. We understand that these are uncertain times. Do what you can. If you can be here, we'd love to have you, but if you but if you can't, we'll understand.'"
People who are able to tell others what they are thinking, feeling and experiencing are less likely to catastrophize.
"When you communicate, usually a lot of things that you build up in your mind can be somewhat put to rest," Newman said.
Plan ahead about how to use downtime
Knowing that it will take time for air travel to get back on track – people may experience even more flight delays and cancellations than usual – actually presents an opportunity, Newman said.
"The question is, what can you do to make good use of your time if you have to wait around?" Newman said.
People can bring extra reading materials, set aside work to finish or plan to catch up on overdue calls with friends.
Or people might say, '''You know what? I've never really explored this whole airport, from top to bottom, all the terminals. If I have 4 hours, I'm going to do that just because I'm curious,'" Newman said.
"I mean, it sounds sappy, but this is creative thinking to make good use of time, rather than bemoaning, 'Oh my god, I gotta wait 5 hours now.'"
Commit acts of kindness
People who encounter flight cancellations that alter holiday plans may be understandably sad, frustrated and stressed – especially on top of all of the "pain and suffering going on in this country," Newman said.
But focusing on community activities and giving back can help, Newman said.
Research shows that acts of kindness distract people from their own anxiety and depression and that people who are more generous with others are also more likely to give themselves grace.
"We can't control the big issues, but we can control what's in our grasp, and that is showing up, being kind, doing good works, helping other people, keeping our eye on the ball," he said.
People who may not be able to travel to see loved ones can volunteer with an outreach group or make donations to a charity. Even little gestures of generosity in the airport – letting an elderly person step ahead in line, thanking flight attendants for their hard work – can boost people's own moods and help alleviate stress, Newman said.
Those small acts of kindness accumulate, Newman said.
"Never let yourself think that your one act of kindness or contribution doesn't matter," Newman said. "It does."