Good for you !

Have you ever talked with your doctors about an anti-hypertensive, like Clonidine ??

A very low-dose of Clonidine -- maybe 0.1mg -- is often prescribed for this sort of challenge.

It's a med ... which isn't always inherently good ... but ... for that rare outing, where prevention is better than a very difficult 'cure ...' maybe.

Maybe look into it, and then talk with your doc ???

Best of luck !

Whenever I go travel anywhere, I always scope out cool places to go,especially health food stores and cool restaurants that look like they have a local funky vibe. I guess I feel safe around hippie types as the vibe around that community is usually mellow.

I also look for nice parks and places that have water features, fountains and ponds, etc. because they are so peaceful and again
people there are usually calm.

Libraries and bookstores are another oasis when in a big city, as
well as museums (which you're probably planning on visiting)

I plan my visits with those places well marked out for me along
with Mapquest maps and I'm always sure to read reviews on yelp
etc. to make sure the surrounding area is safe. If I'm in a fragile
space I will often avoid the rougher neighborhoods just because
of the higher chance of some erratic encounter.

I don't know if that helps, but this is how I cope--just map an instant
network of "community"-- little safe havens that are never too far away, and make sure I know how to get to them

I take an anti-hypertensive drug called Clonidine for CPTSD and it works great for me! No side effects except for low blood pressure some times. Good luck with your trip. You sound like you have prepared well.

Good for you.

I usually scope out where the bathroom is, preferably one that is a single person use, they are larger and tend to be cleaner.
So if I need to pull out to pull myself together, it can be a good place to retreat.

Best of luck and enjoy!

about 5 years ago, i went on an overnight trip with a bunch of college students to visit museums. i bought a small ipod just to brings with me. even if you only keep one side of the head phone in, it helps me. and if i'm going anywhere that i think i might have a little too much waiting time, i bring something to read and something to crochet. there are tons of great how-to crochet and knit videos on youtube. it's how i learned. and i've even sold a few things i made. that's what works best for me....keeping my mind on something else, so the anxiety has no room to take over.
*hugs* & *peace*

Good for you, mujica!!!! I think: tapping, grounding, breathing, and a talisman (grounding piece of any sort in your pocket or on your wrist, etc). You're really thinking ahead - preparing yourself, protecting yourself. I just encourage you, that you're going to be able to pull this off! The over-stimulation, you're already onto -

I am on clonidine for hypertension, too - I couldn't tell you, for the life of me, if it is helping with anxiety . . . I could feel my blood vessels open and relax when I was first given it - it was distinct and I knew I really felt it. I've been on it ever since. But, the big life-saver for me, when anxiety wants to continually escalate is an amino acid called L-theanine. There are days i will have taken five capsules by the time I go to bed. Usually, though, my routine is one in the am and mid-day and then two before bed. However, when I feel that rumbling in my muscles, and I can't identify where it's from, I'll take another one. I can have that rumbling in my muscles and FEEL, cognitively, completely at ease - which circles me back to 'I do not know if subconsciously I've hit a trigger OR if this is the result of over stimulation' . . . .

Am not a crowds person either, but I think there are certain elements that allowed me to still be an educator for a long time despite acquiring PTSD. So I'll share them and if they are similar for you, then maybe focusing on these things will help reduce your anxiety about your upcoming trip with your students.

First was having clearly defined roles: teacher/student/colleague. It defined expected behavior, and each role clarifies the ways in which respect towards others is to be displayed.

Second, the instructor has the control (even in a less defined setting). You know it and the students know it. With PTSD having sufficient control over how things proceeds makes things less scary and more predictable. If you teach minors, consider using a behavioral contract that both students and their parent sign before this trip. (Maybe you've already done this.) Clarifying expected behaviors and the certain consequences for significant breeches can avert chaos before it even surfaces.

Am hoping this will allow you to see how the setting is secondary to how teacher and students define expectations, and that you can reinforce your sense of continuity about being the teacher you are already pretty comfortable being.

Best of luck on your trip.

Thank you guys, again! I really appreciate the advice. David, Bibiane, and dbpalm, thanks for the word on "clonipine." I thought I'd taken all the meds pertinent to PTSD over the years, but not that one. I'm limited in meds now due to chronic kidney failure, probably from too many meds over too many years. But I am seeing my doc on a different matter this week, so I can ask.

BettyBean, of your good suggestions, the one that jumped out at me was libraries and bookstores as oases when overstimulated. Ever since I was a kid, libraries and bookstores have always been places where I felt safe. I'll look on the internet for bookstores in the area and be prepared with one or two in that area on a map.

Violet19: barring being able to get outside the convention center to a bookstore, say, for immediate refuge the bathroom will be my go to. Thanks for that one.

redhotch: iPod! Of course. After what you said I found that there were actual spoken word meditations online about how to soothe yourself if feeling agoraphobic. So I dowloaded those, and some soothing music. Thanks!

dbpalm: "a grounding piece" Yes. I have a little stone heart I kept from a spiritual retreat I went on. I can put it in my pocket for courage.

letitbe: your experience about defining roles, and reassurance that the teacher-student relationship doesn't disappear when out of the classroom environment, but that it's portable. Very reassuring experience for you to share. Thanks!

You guys, we are really people together, aren't we? I really feel supported here. You guys are like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz when she told the cowardly lion (in this case, me) he actually had a brave heart the whole time after all. You're the best. I felt a little embarrassed asking for support on this, and it turns out you didn't think it was silly, had experience and help to offer, and really hit the spot. And one of you sent me a hug for my hug book, too.

You're the best, all of you!

By way of thanks, I'm logging on from my hotel room in the evening, following our day with my students at the convention. Turns out, the other teacher didn't come, so I was the sole chaperone with my group of students. It was awkward for me at times, but I got the job done. Now I've retreated to the relief and solitude of my hotel room as my reward. Thanks for the support with doing this. It doesn't come naturally, but with all the planning you guys helped me with, I was able to do it. I can't wait to get home tomorrow, job well done!