by Kathleen Heckathorn

--Buy travel sizes of tissues, personal wipes and hand lotion to keep in your carry-on.

--If you wear contacts, keep eye drops with you on the plane.

--Melatonin helps regulate your internal clock to help you adjust to the time change. It’s available over the counter.

--Leave your good jewelry at home.

--Make a list of your prescription and nonprescription medications so that you don’t forget anything. Leave all medications in their original bottles.

--Remember to pack Band-Aids (for blisters), Benadryl (for itchiness) and sun block (for healthy skin).

--Buy a cotton hat that can be scrunched into a small space.

--Put an extra set of underwear and a clean shirt into your carry-on bag just in case you get separated from your luggage.

--If you’re allergic to down, you may want to consider bringing your own pillow or check with the hotel in advance to see if they can provide a substitute.

--Some overseas hotels don’t use top sheets, just comforters. Check to see if yours does and, if not, bring your own.

7 TIPS FOR KEEPING PANIC AT BAY

1. Make sure to get enough sleep. Research shows that we all need a good night’s sleep. The frontal lobes of the brain (where we do our deductive reasoning and make important decisions between right and wrong) lose their ability to function as well as when we’ve had sufficient rest. The frontal lobes also give us the ability to follow through with the decisions we’ve made.

2. Some form of exercise can help calm you.

3. Avoid alcohol, caffeine, and illicit drugs, which can worsen panic attacks.

4. Learn some good stress management and relaxation techniques. Yoga, meditation and tai chi can all help alleviate stress.

5. Guided imagery techniques can be helpful. If you haven’t done this type of exercise before, the first time you do this, find a quiet, dark place to lie down. Close your eyes and imagine an open field. You are painting a landscape. Add whatever makes you feel safe and comfortable. For instance, imagine your favorite trees - Aspen, Willow, Eucalyptus - and add a field of fragrant flowers with bright orange, lemon yellow or rich purple blossoms. Paint your picture as daytime and feel the warmth of the sunshine or make it grey and overcast with a welcoming cool fog rolling in. Create a scene that you can revisit whenever you sense that the stress of the moment is trying to overwhelm. This is a simple tool using visualization to calm your brain activity and change the thinking that has caused the stress. It can take a mere 30 seconds to do. Visit a restroom stall for privacy or excuse yourself and step outside the office. Find any place that you can be alone and bring the field to your mind to experience the calm you feel there.

6. Take a deep breath. Inhale slowly to the count of five, and then exhale at the same slow rate to the count of five.

7. Meditate on what is right in your life. Think about your last happy moment. Remember the goodness of a kindhearted and loving God who cares for you.

Kathleen Heckathorn has loved to write ever since she was a little girl. She credits her mom, who has an inquisitive mind and a passion for looking things up, for instilling within her with a love of language and the written word. Kathleen's hobbies include reading everything about writing she can get her hands on and spending time with her family. She especially enjoys reading action-packed stories to her grand children.

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