- Time of past OR future Camino
- ?
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I have not read all of these responses in detail. Of course I echo all of the encouragements, and definitely you could just go and take it one day at a time, not worrying about how you 'should' go about doing it, just do it however makes sense for you.
I didn't however, see any taking the other approach. Our guts are wise. If your gut is telling you this is not the right time, then perhaps it isn't. It isn't the end of the world if you cancel. And you needn't feel badly if you do. We all just have to do what is right for us in the moment.
Being in pain is no fun, and the camino is definitely a strain on the body so if you truly think your body is not up to it, then maybe better to wait. (Of course there are always a number of solutions to some of those things, but then I go back to supporting the other side)
A somewhat unrelated story...I had planned a two week camping trip months in advance, but as it approached, I no longer really wanted to go. But, the plans were made...expenses were paid, people knew. So I went. Spent the time and energy to pack up, drove for 8 hours, spent one night and knew that my heart just really wasn't in it. I didn't want to be there. So packed up and drove back home. Should have listened to my gut in the first place.
Thank you for sharing this! I too have been suffering with anxieties in anticipation of my first Camino....Reading this thread again I was reminded of that wonderful quote at the end of Hank Leukart's Video. (which is one of my favourite Camino videos)
He recalls how a Nun told him: The Camino is God's dream of how people should be when they are with each other.
Here's his video link:
I'm pleased and more than a little relieved to learn that you are seeking help.
I am two months from my planned departure, and my anxiety is mounting and mounting. I think I've known all along that I might not be capable physically or mentally but I was able to stave off my feelings by obsessively shopping and planning. Now I've got my gear pretty well sorted, I've made my plans for getting there and back, and I even started telling people I was going, but I'm feeling worse and worse, can't sleep, anxiousness is bleeding over into my work and family life....I just don't know what to do.
It's embarrassing to have told people, but that's not a good enough reason to try to walk 500 miles!
Physically, I've been training, and so far I'm okay, but I don't think my back and feet can actually take this type of journey. In fact, a back injury is kind of what got me going on this plan - I figured I better try before I get any older and more broken, but I don't think my back is really healed enough at this point.
Most of all, I don't know why I'm doing this, and I don't think I really want to do it. I have definitely been romanticizing and fantasizing but glossing over the downsides. There's a part of myself that thinks I should like this kind of an adventure, but I don't think I will.
I know this forum is full of kind, successful, Camino-lovers who might not relate, but i don't have anyone else to talk to about it, at least not yet.
Has anyone else felt this? What did you do?
Oh, @HikeTall! You are speaking my language. I am so mixed up right now.
This might be off-topic for a Camino board, but I am struggling with some family-of-origin issues. I think I thought I could keep coasting along, year after year, just avoiding the giant elephant in the room of how messed up certain dynamics are within my family, which includes a brother who died young, unexpectedly, and estranged from all of us. This was several years ago, and it was a complicated story, so I wouldn't say it's a causal factor of my anxiety now, but the unspoken rules in my family are still working the same way, you know? And it's not working for me anymore.
Certain things that happened over the summer, and at Christmas, and then just last weekend, are flashing huge neon NOT OK signs at me. It's dawning on me that I may have, at least in part, chosen this year for the Camino in the hope that it would give me an excuse to opt out of family expectations without incurring displeasure. But last weekend it became even more clear that there's nothing I can do to avoid incurring family displeasure (because my family is messed up!), and Camino or no Camino, I will have to take steps to change how I respond to it. This will "rock the boat", if you will, which is terrifying.
My back problems, and other stress-exacerbated problems do exist, and I'm (hopefully) not exaggerating them or minimizing them, but really, 2 months out it's too early to tell if they really will keep me from the Camino.
I've scheduled medical and shrink appointments for next week, and I feel good about that. This crisis has me shook!
I feel Camino-blessed already, no matter what happens next.
There is your answer, I think...Well then you Definitely need to go !
You said you don't know why you wanted to go .... you don't need to know ! Just Rock Up ... the why will fill itself in later ....Enough Talk .... Ready , Set , Go !!!
@MrsBath , do you think that maybe the reason that you started this thread is because you really want to be convinced to go?
When I started this thread I didn't think it would get so much attention. I feel a little sheepish about it now, to be honest. But everyone is so kind, and I'm grateful, and feeling a lot less panicky.
Once again you put your finger directly on the core issue/challenge. It sounds like you were going to use the Camino as a means of escape/avoidance. The Camino is many things, but THAT isn't one of them; actually it's quite the opposite.
I'm pleased and more than a little relieved to learn that you are seeking help.
I am two months from my planned departure, and my anxiety is mounting and mounting. I think I've known all along that I might not be capable physically or mentally but I was able to stave off my feelings by obsessively shopping and planning. Now I've got my gear pretty well sorted, I've made my plans for getting there and back, and I even started telling people I was going, but I'm feeling worse and worse, can't sleep, anxiousness is bleeding over into my work and family life....I just don't know what to do.
It's embarrassing to have told people, but that's not a good enough reason to try to walk 500 miles!
Physically, I've been training, and so far I'm okay, but I don't think my back and feet can actually take this type of journey. In fact, a back injury is kind of what got me going on this plan - I figured I better try before I get any older and more broken, but I don't think my back is really healed enough at this point.
Most of all, I don't know why I'm doing this, and I don't think I really want to do it. I have definitely been romanticizing and fantasizing but glossing over the downsides. There's a part of myself that thinks I should like this kind of an adventure, but I don't think I will.
I know this forum is full of kind, successful, Camino-lovers who might not relate, but i don't have anyone else to talk to about it, at least not yet.
Has anyone else felt this? What did you do?
I am two months from my planned departure, and my anxiety is mounting and mounting. I think I've known all along that I might not be capable physically or mentally but I was able to stave off my feelings by obsessively shopping and planning. Now I've got my gear pretty well sorted, I've made my plans for getting there and back, and I even started telling people I was going, but I'm feeling worse and worse, can't sleep, anxiousness is bleeding over into my work and family life....I just don't know what to do.
It's embarrassing to have told people, but that's not a good enough reason to try to walk 500 miles!
Physically, I've been training, and so far I'm okay, but I don't think my back and feet can actually take this type of journey. In fact, a back injury is kind of what got me going on this plan - I figured I better try before I get any older and more broken, but I don't think my back is really healed enough at this point.
Most of all, I don't know why I'm doing this, and I don't think I really want to do it. I have definitely been romanticizing and fantasizing but glossing over the downsides. There's a part of myself that thinks I should like this kind of an adventure, but I don't think I will.
I know this forum is full of kind, successful, Camino-lovers who might not relate, but i don't have anyone else to talk to about it, at least not yet.
Has anyone else felt this? What did you do?
Hallo!!! I believe that everyone was scared before taking the first step and that's normal and that's what happens in all new thing that we do in life.....I am two months from my planned departure, and my anxiety is mounting and mounting. I think I've known all along that I might not be capable physically or mentally but I was able to stave off my feelings by obsessively shopping and planning. Now I've got my gear pretty well sorted, I've made my plans for getting there and back, and I even started telling people I was going, but I'm feeling worse and worse, can't sleep, anxiousness is bleeding over into my work and family life....I just don't know what to do.
It's embarrassing to have told people, but that's not a good enough reason to try to walk 500 miles!
Physically, I've been training, and so far I'm okay, but I don't think my back and feet can actually take this type of journey. In fact, a back injury is kind of what got me going on this plan - I figured I better try before I get any older and more broken, but I don't think my back is really healed enough at this point.
Most of all, I don't know why I'm doing this, and I don't think I really want to do it. I have definitely been romanticizing and fantasizing but glossing over the downsides. There's a part of myself that thinks I should like this kind of an adventure, but I don't think I will.
I know this forum is full of kind, successful, Camino-lovers who might not relate, but i don't have anyone else to talk to about it, at least not yet.
Has anyone else felt this? What did you do?
How inspiring. Thanks JimMrs. Bath,
Welcome to the Camino Forum.
When I walked the Camino Frances a year ago, I became ill, badly enough that the doctors in Carion de las Condes had me transported to the hospital in Palencia. I was in a very dark state of mind, thinking that my Camino was over, I was going home, and I had failed. When I asked the admitting doctor if there was an airport close to start my journey home, she replied, "Aren't you walking the Camino de Santiago?" to which I replied, "Yes, but I'm ill and cannot continue." She then told me, "Your Camino is important. We are going to get you well so you can continue your Camino. When you walk into the cathedral in Santiago, you will understand." They did get me well and I started walking again two days later. I walked into the cathedral in Santiago and it was magnificent.
Mrs. Bath, your Camino is important. Whatever got you to plan and prepare and contemplate is an important journey. Your Camino, in whatever form it manifests is important, be it walking the whole way from Saint Jean Pied de port to Santiago or a one week, or two week stage. The anxiety before I started and what you are confronting is real, and for me was a part of the journey. As Sir Edmond Hillary has been quoted as saying, "You do not conquer the mountain, you conquer yourself."
I wish you a Buen Camino!
--jim--
I am two months from my planned departure, and my anxiety is mounting and mounting. I think I've known all along that I might not be capable physically or mentally but I was able to stave off my feelings by obsessively shopping and planning. Now I've got my gear pretty well sorted, I've made my plans for getting there and back, and I even started telling people I was going, but I'm feeling worse and worse, can't sleep, anxiousness is bleeding over into my work and family life....I just don't know what to do.
It's embarrassing to have told people, but that's not a good enough reason to try to walk 500 miles!
Physically, I've been training, and so far I'm okay, but I don't think my back and feet can actually take this type of journey. In fact, a back injury is kind of what got me going on this plan - I figured I better try before I get any older and more broken, but I don't think my back is really healed enough at this point.
Most of all, I don't know why I'm doing this, and I don't think I really want to do it. I have definitely been romanticizing and fantasizing but glossing over the downsides. There's a part of myself that thinks I should like this kind of an adventure, but I don't think I will.
I know this forum is full of kind, successful, Camino-lovers who might not relate, but i don't have anyone else to talk to about it, at least not yet.
Has anyone else felt this? What did you do?
So true, the biggest regrets of all are the things you did not do and when you arrive at Santiago the buzz you get is like nothing else! Carpe deum, and (the title of a book I read) "Tomorrow is too late"You have received some excellent advice from many different sources here, but the one line that likely rings true for many of us comes from @Mike Savage: "..... I don't recall regretting things I have done but only things that I have not done."
If you do not have anyone to talk to, come and talk to your fellow pilgrims as you walk, if after a week you dont want to carry on, just fly home, then you will not spend the rest of your life thinking "what if?" I start my 2nd Camino in April, I have Parkinsons disease, sometimes I shake so much I cant hold a spoon! but I wont let it stop me, if I cant hold a spoon - I'll have sandwiches! Carpe deum and Buen CaminoI am two months from my planned departure, and my anxiety is mounting and mounting. I think I've known all along that I might not be capable physically or mentally but I was able to stave off my feelings by obsessively shopping and planning. Now I've got my gear pretty well sorted, I've made my plans for getting there and back, and I even started telling people I was going, but I'm feeling worse and worse, can't sleep, anxiousness is bleeding over into my work and family life....I just don't know what to do.
It's embarrassing to have told people, but that's not a good enough reason to try to walk 500 miles!
Physically, I've been training, and so far I'm okay, but I don't think my back and feet can actually take this type of journey. In fact, a back injury is kind of what got me going on this plan - I figured I better try before I get any older and more broken, but I don't think my back is really healed enough at this point.
Most of all, I don't know why I'm doing this, and I don't think I really want to do it. I have definitely been romanticizing and fantasizing but glossing over the downsides. There's a part of myself that thinks I should like this kind of an adventure, but I don't think I will.
I know this forum is full of kind, successful, Camino-lovers who might not relate, but i don't have anyone else to talk to about it, at least not yet.
Has anyone else felt this? What did you do?
I just saw this posted on the Camigas group page on Facebook. (if you're on Facebook you should join it)
View attachment 32582
I was originally planning to be there the same time. I will be in SJPP on April 19 now.Hi. I arrive at SJPDP on the 11th April and will stay the night there just to gather my thoughts, eat and sleep then will start the next morning on the 12th. How about you?
I agree, the "magic" of the camino is working already and you haven't even started walking yet!!!That's good to hear.... Though be aware that many of us have nothing better to do than to spend hours everyday talking about the Camino, given the slightest encouragement
Sometimes the sheer volume of responses can be a bit overwhelming..... One of the lovely aspects of this Forum.
Don't feel awkward saying "thanks for all the encouragement, I'm off to wash my hair now"
Alternatively.......I'm sure we can keep this topic going for weeks!
It's a great topic by the way......and I think by raising it you have probably helped many others with similar worries and doubts.
Thank you! I said it in another reply, but I really am not usually like this - this level of anxiety is out of character for me, especially about something like a trip. Clearly I need to work some things out.
When I started this thread I didn't think it would get so much attention. I feel a little sheepish about it now, to be honest. But everyone is so kind, and I'm grateful, and feeling a lot less panicky.
I am no doctor and I cannot speak for your health issues but I can definitely relate with the anxiety issues. I am a somewhat seasoned hiker , 70 yrs. old and I can think of a ton of reasons to worry I fuss over some things until I say "The hell with it" and get on with it.. It was that way when I started the AT years back. I really think that prehike anxiety is a normal thing I think once you take that first couple of steps you will be glad you went. Believe me you will not be alone. There will be tons of people and tons of help should you need it. I plan on going and walk my own walk. I don't care how fast or how far I go each day. My airline ticket is for 90 days so I can basically "stroll" my way along taking my sweet time. I I happen to really like a town I will take some rest and relaxation days there. The older I get I realize there are only so many hiking seasons left and I won't be any easier next year. So, I would play it safe to a point. Ask your doctor what he/she thinks. If doc gives you the go ahead then the rest is up to you but. PLEASE don't let fear and anxiety hold you back. I guarantee you they will disapate soon and you will wonder what the hell you were so afraid of. I think that if you are healthy enough and don't go you will regret it.I am two months from my planned departure, and my anxiety is mounting and mounting. I think I've known all along that I might not be capable physically or mentally but I was able to stave off my feelings by obsessively shopping and planning. Now I've got my gear pretty well sorted, I've made my plans for getting there and back, and I even started telling people I was going, but I'm feeling worse and worse, can't sleep, anxiousness is bleeding over into my work and family life....I just don't know what to do.
It's embarrassing to have told people, but that's not a good enough reason to try to walk 500 miles!
Physically, I've been training, and so far I'm okay, but I don't think my back and feet can actually take this type of journey. In fact, a back injury is kind of what got me going on this plan - I figured I better try before I get any older and more broken, but I don't think my back is really healed enough at this point.
Most of all, I don't know why I'm doing this, and I don't think I really want to do it. I have definitely been romanticizing and fantasizing but glossing over the downsides. There's a part of myself that thinks I should like this kind of an adventure, but I don't think I will.
I know this forum is full of kind, successful, Camino-lovers who might not relate, but i don't have anyone else to talk to about it, at least not yet.
Has anyone else felt this? What did you do?
I really am feeling much better now, and I will be taking my issues up with professionals. And I still have plenty of time to decide! My travel plans are all set unless I decide to change them.
Walking alone will be one of the least of your worries.Thanks @trecile I hadn't even thought to check FB for similar groups; I'm definitely not going to pull out this close (start on Friday) but, like @MrsBath have anxieties about certain aspects of the walk, one of which is walking alone - I've already sent off my request to join the group and look forward to meeting lots of fantabulous women (and of course fellas) along the way
When I was younger I would jump off a cliff and then look down to see if there was any water there. now that I am 70 i find that fear and anxiety want to creep into almost every adventure i want to do and sabotage it before it ever really gets off the ground. i figured I can stay afraid, anxious and overly cautious and sit on the couch the rest of my life and die safe and bored to hell. I have decided to quit letting fear run my life. If I go to France and don't like the camino, they i will bum around, see some things i have never seen before and come home, no harm, no foul. A friend, to add to the fray, asked me if i wan't afraid to fly and go to a foreign country with all the terrorist stuff going and told him I almost got whacked the other day pulling out in front of a huge lumber truck about 1/8 of a mile from where i live. Thank God the truck driver was alert and locked up his brakes, swerved and pulled off the side of the road. So there you have it. let the devil be damned. go and see what happens... you may be pleasantly surprised and i seriously doubt you will be disappointed . FEAR=False Events Appearing RealHello Mrs B,
So sorry about the anxiety you are feeling. There must have been 'something' that 'called you' to plan your Camino? Lots of people hear about it, but not everyone books it, buys all the stuff, and trains for it. You Did All That. Could it be your inner child, wanting you to do something ... just for You? All these people that are 'discouraging' you, .. do they know you? the real you? Do they know themselves? I agree with Mike S, and would love Everyone to try it. It's such an 'interesting' journey, ... on so many levels. I have only done different stages of the various Ways. Each of the 4 trips were different, ... but incredible. I would love to have a job that would allow me the time off to do the full trip, ... but it's on my 'retirement bucket list' ... and I can't wait! I think, with the presence of mind you're in, the Camino would be a good option. If your doc says your back is ok, .. I mean you can't lift and carry if your back is sore, ... but if it's just the anxiety, ... I doubt there's anyone who hasn't felt anxious before the Camino. I'm doing my fist 'solo' trip next month; before I've always done groups, ... big and small. But I am soo excited, (& yeah, a bit nervous) ... because you are only 'solo' on the Camino when you choose to be. I can't explain the 'comraderie' that exists on the Camino (& yes, there'll be blisters too!) You will meet so many people, in so many different 'life scenarios' ... and you will 'share', ... if, what, and when, you want. I really do hope you go ahead. The phrase 'Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway' comes to mind. But, whatever you decide, try not to put to0 much pressure on yourself. Life is a journey, ... and you should enjoy the trip. Some people prefer to stay in one place, ... but I think it's nice to venture out a bit, ... and see who and what is out there. Home will always be there Mrs B. Buen Camino!
So there you have it. let the devil be damned. go and see what happens... you may be pleasantly surprised and i seriously doubt you will be disappointed . FEAR=False Events Appearing Real
Walking alone will be one of the least of your worries.
When I was younger I would jump off a cliff and then look down to see if there was any water there. now that I am 70 i find that fear and anxiety want to creep into almost every adventure i want to do and sabotage it before it ever really gets off the ground. i figured I can stay afraid, anxious and overly cautious and sit on the couch the rest of my life and die safe and bored to hell. I have decided to quit letting fear run my life. If I go to France and don't like the camino, they i will bum around, see some things i have never seen before and come home, no harm, no foul. A friend, to add to the fray, asked me if i wan't afraid to fly and go to a foreign country with all the terrorist stuff going and told him I almost got whacked the other day pulling out in front of a huge lumber truck about 1/8 of a mile from where i live. Thank God the truck driver was alert and locked up his brakes, swerved and pulled off the side of the road. So there you have it. let the devil be damned. go and see what happens... you may be pleasantly surprised and i seriously doubt you will be disappointed . FEAR=False Events Appearing Real
Point(s) well taken my friend. If I have done a disservice i sincerely apologize to Ms. Bath. only meant to help did not mean it as an affront.Wonderful words, Chuck -- but not in this case. MrsBath's devils (plural) are all-too-real, and to urge her to "damn the devils" is a significant disservice.
Wonderful words, Chuck -- but not in this case. MrsBath's devils (plural) are all-too-real, and to urge her to "damn the devils" is a significant disservice. Should you want to discuss this further, let's take it to a private conversation.
This is a very excellent post. Very encouraging. Tou are to be commended. i once heard that being brave is being afraid and doing it anyway.Hi Mrs Bath. My husband and I walked the Camino Frances in September 2014. I was so excited to be on this adventure until the day we were travelling to St Jean. I spent the day in tears with my stomach churning and feeling physically sick. We slept that night and started out the next morning, my husband taking it in his stride and me feeling no better. The first hill out of St Jean, I was ready to give up and go home.
But, the saying that every journey begins with a single step is so true. You put one foot in front of the other and before you know it, you've moved up the road. You walk to the next tree and rest and when the day is done you have reached a destination.
There is always the luxury of transporting your luggage to your next destination or taking a form of transport if you need or want.
We walked at my pace, that is slow and we even had to rest for 2 days as I hurt my back but we made it. We may not have done it in style or as quick as others but we finished at the same destination as everyone else that was heading to Santiago.
The most wonderful thing is the people you meet, they understand what you are going through, they get what you are doing and are so supportive. It is this that is calling us again. We are walking the Portuguese Camino this September and while I have no illusions that it will be any physically easier for me, it will be emotionally and mentally.
Try and put your anxieties in perspective and take that first step, you'll be so glad you did.
Buen Camino.
I am two months from my planned departure, and my anxiety is mounting and mounting. I think I've known all along that I might not be capable physically or mentally but I was able to stave off my feelings by obsessively shopping and planning. Now I've got my gear pretty well sorted, I've made my plans for getting there and back, and I even started telling people I was going, but I'm feeling worse and worse, can't sleep, anxiousness is bleeding over into my work and family life....I just don't know what to do.
It's embarrassing to have told people, but that's not a good enough reason to try to walk 500 miles!
Physically, I've been training, and so far I'm okay, but I don't think my back and feet can actually take this type of journey. In fact, a back injury is kind of what got me going on this plan - I figured I better try before I get any older and more broken, but I don't think my back is really healed enough at this point.
Most of all, I don't know why I'm doing this, and I don't think I really want to do it. I have definitely been romanticizing and fantasizing but glossing over the downsides. There's a part of myself that thinks I should like this kind of an adventure, but I don't think I will.
I know this forum is full of kind, successful, Camino-lovers who might not relate, but i don't have anyone else to talk to about it, at least not yet.
Has anyone else felt this? What did you do?
I am two months from my planned departure, and my anxiety is mounting and mounting. I think I've known all along that I might not be capable physically or mentally but I was able to stave off my feelings by obsessively shopping and planning. Now I've got my gear pretty well sorted, I've made my plans for getting there and back, and I even started telling people I was going, but I'm feeling worse and worse, can't sleep, anxiousness is bleeding over into my work and family life....I just don't know what to do.
It's embarrassing to have told people, but that's not a good enough reason to try to walk 500 miles!
Physically, I've been training, and so far I'm okay, but I don't think my back and feet can actually take this type of journey. In fact, a back injury is kind of what got me going on this plan - I figured I better try before I get any older and more broken, but I don't think my back is really healed enough at this point.
Most of all, I don't know why I'm doing this, and I don't think I really want to do it. I have definitely been romanticizing and fantasizing but glossing over the downsides. There's a part of myself that thinks I should like this kind of an adventure, but I don't think I will.
I know this forum is full of kind, successful, Camino-lovers who might not relate, but i don't have anyone else to talk to about it, at least not yet.
Has anyone else felt this? What did you do?
This is good man. ThanksAt SJPP, at Orrison, I met a man named Jim. He was older than me-- In his 60's, and we talked for a little while-- I ended up telling him some of the problems in my life and my families. -- He had been a fireman in Boston most of his life and had damaged his lungs with smoke inhalation. He was having his pack taken by taxi to Roncevalles, but was determined to get over the Napolean Pass. -- I met him the following day at Roncevalles. He was sitting a chair in the small sitting room of my floor (the new albergue there.) I had arrived at about 12;30 that day, he had just arrived at 8pm or so. We sat together and talked for a while. The climb had been harder than he had thought it would be, and he was thinking of renting a car. He had stopped at my floor (he had a bed on the floor above), because he could not catch his breath. He said that he would remember his camino for all his life, and that even that one day was fulfilling. He said too that he had been praying for me and my family while he walked. That fact has come back to me again and again. Just yesterday while I was driving, I had the image of him stopping out of breath and praying for me. I am so humbled. -- I never saw Jim again. I don't know if he rented a car, or walked some more. But his walking just that one day touched my life more deeply than others I met who walked the whole way.
I am two months from my planned departure, and my anxiety is mounting and mounting. I think I've known all along that I might not be capable physically or mentally but I was able to stave off my feelings by obsessively shopping and planning. Now I've got my gear pretty well sorted, I've made my plans for getting there and back, and I even started telling people I was going, but I'm feeling worse and worse, can't sleep, anxiousness is bleeding over into my work and family life....I just don't know what to do.
It's embarrassing to have told people, but that's not a good enough reason to try to walk 500 miles!
Physically, I've been training, and so far I'm okay, but I don't think my back and feet can actually take this type of journey. In fact, a back injury is kind of what got me going on this plan - I figured I better try before I get any older and more broken, but I don't think my back is really healed enough at this point.
Most of all, I don't know why I'm doing this, and I don't think I really want to do it. I have definitely been romanticizing and fantasizing but glossing over the downsides. There's a part of myself that thinks I should like this kind of an adventure, but I don't think I will.
I know this forum is full of kind, successful, Camino-lovers who might not relate, but i don't have anyone else to talk to about it, at least not yet.
Has anyone else felt this? What did you do?
I am two months from my planned departure, and my anxiety is mounting and mounting. I think I've known all along that I might not be capable physically or mentally but I was able to stave off my feelings by obsessively shopping and planning. Now I've got my gear pretty well sorted, I've made my plans for getting there and back, and I even started telling people I was going, but I'm feeling worse and worse, can't sleep, anxiousness is bleeding over into my work and family life....I just don't know what to do.
It's embarrassing to have told people, but that's not a good enough reason to try to walk 500 miles!
Physically, I've been training, and so far I'm okay, but I don't think my back and feet can actually take this type of journey. In fact, a back injury is kind of what got me going on this plan - I figured I better try before I get any older and more broken, but I don't think my back is really healed enough at this point.
Most of all, I don't know why I'm doing this, and I don't think I really want to do it. I have definitely been romanticizing and fantasizing but glossing over the downsides. There's a part of myself that thinks I should like this kind of an adventure, but I don't think I will.
I know this forum is full of kind, successful, Camino-lovers who might not relate, but i don't have anyone else to talk to about it, at least not yet.
Has anyone else felt this? What did you do?
I am two months from my planned departure, and my anxiety is mounting and mounting. I think I've known all along that I might not be capable physically or mentally but I was able to stave off my feelings by obsessively shopping and planning. Now I've got my gear pretty well sorted, I've made my plans for getting there and back, and I even started telling people I was going, but I'm feeling worse and worse, can't sleep, anxiousness is bleeding over into my work and family life....I just don't know what to do.
It's embarrassing to have told people, but that's not a good enough reason to try to walk 500 miles!
Physically, I've been training, and so far I'm okay, but I don't think my back and feet can actually take this type of journey. In fact, a back injury is kind of what got me going on this plan - I figured I better try before I get any older and more broken, but I don't think my back is really healed enough at this point.
Most of all, I don't know why I'm doing this, and I don't think I really want to do it. I have definitely been romanticizing and fantasizing but glossing over the downsides. There's a part of myself that thinks I should like this kind of an adventure, but I don't think I will.
I know this forum is full of kind, successful, Camino-lovers who might not relate, but i don't have anyone else to talk to about it, at least not yet.
Has anyone else felt this? What did you do?
I am two months from my planned departure, and my anxiety is mounting and mounting. I think I've known all along that I might not be capable physically or mentally but I was able to stave off my feelings by obsessively shopping and planning. Now I've got my gear pretty well sorted, I've made my plans for getting there and back, and I even started telling people I was going, but I'm feeling worse and worse, can't sleep, anxiousness is bleeding over into my work and family life....I just don't know what to do.
It's embarrassing to have told people, but that's not a good enough reason to try to walk 500 miles!
Physically, I've been training, and so far I'm okay, but I don't think my back and feet can actually take this type of journey. In fact, a back injury is kind of what got me going on this plan - I figured I better try before I get any older and more broken, but I don't think my back is really healed enough at this point.
Most of all, I don't know why I'm doing this, and I don't think I really want to do it. I have definitely been romanticizing and fantasizing but glossing over the downsides. There's a part of myself that thinks I should like this kind of an adventure, but I don't think I will.
I know this forum is full of kind, successful, Camino-lovers who might not relate, but i don't have anyone else to talk to about it, at least not yet.
Has anyone else felt this? What did you do?
I am two months from my planned departure, and my anxiety is mounting and mounting. I think I've known all along that I might not be capable physically or mentally but I was able to stave off my feelings by obsessively shopping and planning. Now I've got my gear pretty well sorted, I've made my plans for getting there and back, and I even started telling people I was going, but I'm feeling worse and worse, can't sleep, anxiousness is bleeding over into my work and family life....I just don't know what to do.
It's embarrassing to have told people, but that's not a good enough reason to try to walk 500 miles!
Physically, I've been training, and so far I'm okay, but I don't think my back and feet can actually take this type of journey. In fact, a back injury is kind of what got me going on this plan - I figured I better try before I get any older and more broken, but I don't think my back is really healed enough at this point.
Most of all, I don't know why I'm doing this, and I don't think I really want to do it. I have definitely been romanticizing and fantasizing but glossing over the downsides. There's a part of myself that thinks I should like this kind of an adventure, but I don't think I will.
I know this forum is full of kind, successful, Camino-lovers who might not relate, but i don't have anyone else to talk to about it, at least not yet.
Has anyone else felt this? What did you do?
So let's talk reality! Every person for the most part has the same feelings as you. Can I do this! The answer is yes because each Camino is unique and personal. If you reach a stage that you see as too difficult then hop a bus or taxi and bypass it. You will still get your credencial when you arrive in Santiago. There is no asterisk on the document that says you didn't travel all the way by foot.I am two months from my planned departure, and my anxiety is mounting and mounting. I think I've known all along that I might not be capable physically or mentally but I was able to stave off my feelings by obsessively shopping and planning. Now I've got my gear pretty well sorted, I've made my plans for getting there and back, and I even started telling people I was going, but I'm feeling worse and worse, can't sleep, anxiousness is bleeding over into my work and family life....I just don't know what to do.
It's embarrassing to have told people, but that's not a good enough reason to try to walk 500 miles!
Physically, I've been training, and so far I'm okay, but I don't think my back and feet can actually take this type of journey. In fact, a back injury is kind of what got me going on this plan - I figured I better try before I get any older and more broken, but I don't think my back is really healed enough at this point.
Most of all, I don't know why I'm doing this, and I don't think I really want to do it. I have definitely been romanticizing and fantasizing but glossing over the downsides. There's a part of myself that thinks I should like this kind of an adventure, but I don't think I will.
I know this forum is full of kind, successful, Camino-lovers who might not relate, but i don't have anyone else to talk to about it, at least not yet.
Has anyone else felt this? What did you do?
I am two months from my planned departure, and my anxiety is mounting and mounting. I think I've known all along that I might not be capable physically or mentally but I was able to stave off my feelings by obsessively shopping and planning. Now I've got my gear pretty well sorted, I've made my plans for getting there and back, and I even started telling people I was going, but I'm feeling worse and worse, can't sleep, anxiousness is bleeding over into my work and family life....I just don't know what to do.
It's embarrassing to have told people, but that's not a good enough reason to try to walk 500 miles!
Physically, I've been training, and so far I'm okay, but I don't think my back and feet can actually take this type of journey. In fact, a back injury is kind of what got me going on this plan - I figured I better try before I get any older and more broken, but I don't think my back is really healed enough at this point.
Most of all, I don't know why I'm doing this, and I don't think I really want to do it. I have definitely been romanticizing and fantasizing but glossing over the downsides. There's a part of myself that thinks I should like this kind of an adventure, but I don't think I will.
I know this forum is full of kind, successful, Camino-lovers who might not relate, but i don't have anyone else to talk to about it, at least not yet.
Has anyone else felt this? What did you do?
My wife and I walked the Camino Frances last fall. We caught up with someone who had started about a week before us but had been forced to take some time off due to tendonitis. She walked when she could and took buses when necessary, and was ultimately obliged to take a train all the way from Leon to Sarria. Still, she would tell you she had a wonderful Camino experience. To be a pilgrim, it is not necessary to carry your pack every day and walk every step.Go. If you can't run, walk. If you can't walk, bus. If no bus, taxi. If no taxi, train. On the CF, there is so much infrastructure it is possible to walk a few steps, well maybe, a few kilometres, tire and find aid. I met a 69 year-old woman who walked so slowly, I could have walked backwards and kept up with her. She said, if it took her two months to finish, she would. On Camino 2014, I badly sprained ankle; stupidly walked about two weeks before resting. Yet, I rested for eight days then set off again. In 2002, a 72 year-old from UK averaged 10-12 kilometers daily. Examine your fears, identify, then make non-emotion based decision. To go or not to go that is the question.
Check out Gaudi's El Capricho in Comillas. It is a restaurant but was closed when I visited last. Also check out Feve. a narrow gauge railroad that travlels parallel with the coast of Cantabria and Asturias.My wife and I walked the Camino Frances last fall. We caught up with someone who had started about a week before us but had been forced to take some time off due to tendonitis. She walked when she could and took buses when necessary, and was ultimately obliged to take a train all the way from Leon to Sarria. Still, she would tell you she had a wonderful Camino experience. To be a pilgrim, it is not necessary to carry your pack every day and walk every step.
I am two months from my planned departure, and my anxiety is mounting and mounting. I think I've known all along that I might not be capable physically or mentally but I was able to stave off my feelings by obsessively shopping and planning. Now I've got my gear pretty well sorted, I've made my plans for getting there and back, and I even started telling people I was going, but I'm feeling worse and worse, can't sleep, anxiousness is bleeding over into my work and family life....I just don't know what to do.
It's embarrassing to have told people, but that's not a good enough reason to try to walk 500 miles!
Physically, I've been training, and so far I'm okay, but I don't think my back and feet can actually take this type of journey. In fact, a back injury is kind of what got me going on this plan - I figured I better try before I get any older and more broken, but I don't think my back is really healed enough at this point.
Most of all, I don't know why I'm doing this, and I don't think I really want to do it. I have definitely been romanticizing and fantasizing but glossing over the downsides. There's a part of myself that thinks I should like this kind of an adventure, but I don't think I will.
I know this forum is full of kind, successful, Camino-lovers who might not relate, but i don't have anyone else to talk to about it, at least not yet.
Has anyone else felt this? What did you do?
Thank you for sharing this Mick. We will think of you and your commemoration of our soldiers when we walk in France in May/June.I have had two back operations in the last three weeks and I will be attempting the Camino de Santiago, I died on the operating table and if I die on the Camino......so what nothing ventured nothing gain hasta la vista baby
...Certain things that happened over the summer, and at Christmas, and then just last weekend, are flashing huge neon NOT OK signs at me. It's dawning on me that I may have, at least in part, chosen this year for the Camino in the hope that it would give me an excuse to opt out of family expectations without incurring displeasure. But last weekend it became even more clear that there's nothing I can do to avoid incurring family displeasure (because my family is messed up!), and Camino or no Camino, I will have to take steps to change how I respond to it. This will "rock the boat", if you will, which is terrifying.
My back problems, and other stress-exacerbated problems do exist, and I'm (hopefully) not exaggerating them or minimizing them, but really, 2 months out it's too early to tell if they really will keep me from the Camino.
I know this forum is full of kind, successful, Camino-lovers who might not relate, but i don't have anyone else to talk to about it, at least not yet.
Has anyone else felt this? What did you do?
"Mrs Bath, post: 494150, member: 67682"I am two months from my planned departure, and my anxiety is mounting and mounting. I think I've known all along that I might not be capable physically or mentally but I was able to stave off my feelings by obsessively shopping and planning. Now I've got my gear pretty well sorted, I've made my plans for getting there and back, and I even started telling people I was going, but I'm feeling worse and worse, can't sleep, anxiousness is bleeding over into my work and family life....I just don't know what to do.
It's embarrassing to have told people, but that's not a good enough reason to try to walk 500 miles!
Physically, I've been training, and so far I'm okay, but I don't think my back and feet can actually take this type of journey. In fact, a back injury is kind of what got me going on this plan - I figured I better try before I get any older and more broken, but I don't think my back is really healed enough at this point.
Most of all, I don't know why I'm doing this, and I don't think I really want to do it. I have definitely been romanticizing and fantasizing but glossing over the downsides. There's a part of myself that thinks I should like this kind of an adventure, but I don't think I will.
I know this forum is full of kind, successful, Camino-lovers who might not relate, but i don't have anyone else to talk to about it, at least not yet.
Has anyone else felt this? What did you do?
I am two months from my planned departure, and my anxiety is mounting and mounting. I think I've known all along that I might not be capable physically or mentally but I was able to stave off my feelings by obsessively shopping and planning. Now I've got my gear pretty well sorted, I've made my plans for getting there and back, and I even started telling people I was going, but I'm feeling worse and worse, can't sleep, anxiousness is bleeding over into my work and family life....I just don't know what to do.
It's embarrassing to have told people, but that's not a good enough reason to try to walk 500 miles!
Physically, I've been training, and so far I'm okay, but I don't think my back and feet can actually take this type of journey. In fact, a back injury is kind of what got me going on this plan - I figured I better try before I get any older and more broken, but I don't think my back is really healed enough at this point.
Most of all, I don't know why I'm doing this, and I don't think I really want to do it. I have definitely been romanticizing and fantasizing but glossing over the downsides. There's a part of myself that thinks I should like this kind of an adventure, but I don't think I will.
I know this forum is full of kind, successful, Camino-lovers who might not relate, but i don't have anyone else to talk to about it, at least not yet.
Has anyone else felt this? What did you do?
I am two months from my planned departure, and my anxiety is mounting and mounting. I think I've known all along that I might not be capable physically or mentally but I was able to stave off my feelings by obsessively shopping and planning. Now I've got my gear pretty well sorted, I've made my plans for getting there and back, and I even started telling people I was going, but I'm feeling worse and worse, can't sleep, anxiousness is bleeding over into my work and family life....I just don't know what to do.
It's embarrassing to have told people, but that's not a good enough reason to try to walk 500 miles!
Physically, I've been training, and so far I'm okay, but I don't think my back and feet can actually take this type of journey. In fact, a back injury is kind of what got me going on this plan - I figured I better try before I get any older and more broken, but I don't think my back is really healed enough at this point.
Most of all, I don't know why I'm doing this, and I don't think I really want to do it. I have definitely been romanticizing and fantasizing but glossing over the downsides. There's a part of myself that thinks I should like this kind of an adventure, but I don't think I will.
I know this forum is full of kind, successful, Camino-lovers who might not relate, but i don't have anyone else to talk to about it, at least not yet.
Has anyone else felt this? What did you do?
I am two months from my planned departure, and my anxiety is mounting and mounting. I think I've known all along that I might not be capable physically or mentally but I was able to stave off my feelings by obsessively shopping and planning. Now I've got my gear pretty well sorted, I've made my plans for getting there and back, and I even started telling people I was going, but I'm feeling worse and worse, can't sleep, anxiousness is bleeding over into my work and family life....I just don't know what to do.
It's embarrassing to have told people, but that's not a good enough reason to try to walk 500 miles!
Physically, I've been training, and so far I'm okay, but I don't think my back and feet can actually take this type of journey. In fact, a back injury is kind of what got me going on this plan - I figured I better try before I get any older and more broken, but I don't think my back is really healed enough at this point.
Most of all, I don't know why I'm doing this, and I don't think I really want to do it. I have definitely been romanticizing and fantasizing but glossing over the downsides. There's a part of myself that thinks I should like this kind of an adventure, but I don't think I will.
I know this forum is full of kind, successful, Camino-lovers who might not relate, but i don't have anyone else to talk to about it, at least not yet.
Has anyone else felt this? What did you do?
It is a great journey to be sure, but it is simply comprised of steps. One step after another one moment at a time. I too have/had a bad back and was stuck on the floor for two weeks when I decided to walk the Camino. I was scared and had fear but the thrill of the adventure, though I had no idea what I was getting into, even after much research made me get on the plane. Day after day, week after week I could literally feel myself walking through my back issues which started 30 years ago after an accident. I had to send my pack ahead almost everyday, I had to taxi a few days, and I cried like a baby as I walked into the plaza and realized I had completed the Camino in my way. It was hard. This is my greatest accomplishment apart from my marriage and my children. My degree or any work I have done does not compare. Yes fear and anxiety is paralyzing, but one step at a time can get you through it. Please remember, "inch by inch it's a cinch, mile by mile takes awhile." I don't know who said it, but it is your Camino! The worst it can be is time spent in Spain where wine is cheaper than water in some places. Break it down into halfday segments and do what you can. You can walk and taxi each day if needed. I strongly urge you to go to Spain and walk a bit everyday. Get past the first week even if you've only walked 5k a day. Getting past the anxiety and excitement of actually walking and being there you will start to settle into a routine that works for you, but please give yourself at least a week. Then you will be stronger mentally and physically to continue. You will meet the most lovely people who will be a bit of strength and certainly encouragement as you do what you can. I hope you go and if you do, you will surprise yourself.I am two months from my planned departure, and my anxiety is mounting and mounting. I think I've known all along that I might not be capable physically or mentally but I was able to stave off my feelings by obsessively shopping and planning. Now I've got my gear pretty well sorted, I've made my plans for getting there and back, and I even started telling people I was going, but I'm feeling worse and worse, can't sleep, anxiousness is bleeding over into my work and family life....I just don't know what to do.
It's embarrassing to have told people, but that's not a good enough reason to try to walk 500 miles!
Physically, I've been training, and so far I'm okay, but I don't think my back and feet can actually take this type of journey. In fact, a back injury is kind of what got me going on this plan - I figured I better try before I get any older and more broken, but I don't think my back is really healed enough at this point.
Most of all, I don't know why I'm doing this, and I don't think I really want to do it. I have definitely been romanticizing and fantasizing but glossing over the downsides. There's a part of myself that thinks I should like this kind of an adventure, but I don't think I will.
I know this forum is full of kind, successful, Camino-lovers who might not relate, but i don't have anyone else to talk to about it, at least not yet.
Has anyone else felt this? What did you do?
Mrs Bath, three years ago I had to cut off my relationship with my mother. It was a LONG time in coming and a difficult decision to make, but the relationship was not safe for me on many levels. Many people don't understand why I did what I did. I miss not having a "mother" to call when I need to talk or want to share something important, but I have many friends and other family members who are happy to get my call, and me their's. The Camino was instrumental in my reconciling my family dynamic and giving me the strength to stand my ground and know the decisions I made were the best for me and my family(husband and kids). Please know the power of the Camino is strong and is invaluable in helping answer questions or coming to an understanding or decision. The Camino is the perfect place to walk physically, emotionally, spiritually, and mentally through the craziness of life. It is a gift every pilgrim gives themselves whether they know when they start or not. They certainly know it when they finish. Please give yourself the gift of the Camino if not now at some point in your life. It is one of the few things anyone would not say they regret having tried. Simply by trying, one is walking the Camino in their own way. Hugs, Prayers, and Blessings!Oh, @HikeTall! You are speaking my language. I am so mixed up right now.
This might be off-topic for a Camino board, but I am struggling with some family-of-origin issues. I think I thought I could keep coasting along, year after year, just avoiding the giant elephant in the room of how messed up certain dynamics are within my family, which includes a brother who died young, unexpectedly, and estranged from all of us. This was several years ago, and it was a complicated story, so I wouldn't say it's a causal factor of my anxiety now, but the unspoken rules in my family are still working the same way, you know? And it's not working for me anymore.
Certain things that happened over the summer, and at Christmas, and then just last weekend, are flashing huge neon NOT OK signs at me. It's dawning on me that I may have, at least in part, chosen this year for the Camino in the hope that it would give me an excuse to opt out of family expectations without incurring displeasure. But last weekend it became even more clear that there's nothing I can do to avoid incurring family displeasure (because my family is messed up!), and Camino or no Camino, I will have to take steps to change how I respond to it. This will "rock the boat", if you will, which is terrifying.
My back problems, and other stress-exacerbated problems do exist, and I'm (hopefully) not exaggerating them or minimizing them, but really, 2 months out it's too early to tell if they really will keep me from the Camino.
I've scheduled medical and shrink appointments for next week, and I feel good about that. This crisis has me shook!
I feel Camino-blessed already, no matter what happens next.
You are overthinking this. I first attempted the Camino in 2011 and made it 2.5 days and the blisters and foot issues I had with my boots just made it horrible for me to walk. However, I didn't feel like a failure. Before beginning, I had specifically asked for a gift of the Camino (I knew what I wanted out of the trip) and I had received it in that 2.5 days.I am two months from my planned departure, and my anxiety is mounting and mounting. I think I've known all along that I might not be capable physically or mentally but I was able to stave off my feelings by obsessively shopping and planning. Now I've got my gear pretty well sorted, I've made my plans for getting there and back, and I even started telling people I was going, but I'm feeling worse and worse, can't sleep, anxiousness is bleeding over into my work and family life....I just don't know what to do.
It's embarrassing to have told people, but that's not a good enough reason to try to walk 500 miles!
Physically, I've been training, and so far I'm okay, but I don't think my back and feet can actually take this type of journey. In fact, a back injury is kind of what got me going on this plan - I figured I better try before I get any older and more broken, but I don't think my back is really healed enough at this point.
Most of all, I don't know why I'm doing this, and I don't think I really want to do it. I have definitely been romanticizing and fantasizing but glossing over the downsides. There's a part of myself that thinks I should like this kind of an adventure, but I don't think I will.
I know this forum is full of kind, successful, Camino-lovers who might not relate, but i don't have anyone else to talk to about it, at least not yet.
Has anyone else felt this? What did you do?
If you don't do it. . . for the rest of your life, you will remember it. . . you will wonder what you missed.
Do whatever it takes. . . . do however long it takes. . . give it a chance, give you a chance. If not now. . .when??
I have done three Caminos. I have 2 artificial knees. I am starting the Portuguese Camino April 19, 2017. I am 84 years old. I never want to die and find out I never lived! Buen Camino!!
Mrs. Bath,
Welcome to the Camino Forum.
When I walked the Camino Frances a year ago, I became ill, badly enough that the doctors in Carion de las Condes had me transported to the hospital in Palencia. I was in a very dark state of mind, thinking that my Camino was over, I was going home, and I had failed. When I asked the admitting doctor if there was an airport close to start my journey home, she replied, "Aren't you walking the Camino de Santiago?" to which I replied, "Yes, but I'm ill and cannot continue." She then told me, "Your Camino is important. We are going to get you well so you can continue your Camino. When you walk into the cathedral in Santiago, you will understand." They did get me well and I started walking again two days later. I walked into the cathedral in Santiago and it was magnificent.
Mrs. Bath, your Camino is important. Whatever got you to plan and prepare and contemplate is an important journey. Your Camino, in whatever form it manifests is important, be it walking the whole way from Saint Jean Pied de port to Santiago or a one week, or two week stage. The anxiety before I started and what you are confronting is real, and for me was a part of the journey. As Sir Edmond Hillary has been quoted as saying, "You do not conquer the mountain, you conquer yourself."
I wish you a Buen Camino!
--jim--
I am two months from my planned departure, and my anxiety is mounting and mounting. I think I've known all along that I might not be capable physically or mentally but I was able to stave off my feelings by obsessively shopping and planning. Now I've got my gear pretty well sorted, I've made my plans for getting there and back, and I even started telling people I was going, but I'm feeling worse and worse, can't sleep, anxiousness is bleeding over into my work and family life....I just don't know what to do.
It's embarrassing to have told people, but that's not a good enough reason to try to walk 500 miles!
Physically, I've been training, and so far I'm okay, but I don't think my back and feet can actually take this type of journey. In fact, a back injury is kind of what got me going on this plan - I figured I better try before I get any older and more broken, but I don't think my back is really healed enough at this point.
Most of all, I don't know why I'm doing this, and I don't think I really want to do it. I have definitely been romanticizing and fantasizing but glossing over the downsides. There's a part of myself that thinks I should like this kind of an adventure, but I don't think I will.
I know this forum is full of kind, successful, Camino-lovers who might not relate, but i don't have anyone else to talk to about it, at least not yet.
Has anyone else felt this? What did you do?
I am two months from my planned departure, and my anxiety is mounting and mounting. I think I've known all along that I might not be capable physically or mentally but I was able to stave off my feelings by obsessively shopping and planning. Now I've got my gear pretty well sorted, I've made my plans for getting there and back, and I even started telling people I was going, but I'm feeling worse and worse, can't sleep, anxiousness is bleeding over into my work and family life....I just don't know what to do.
It's embarrassing to have told people, but that's not a good enough reason to try to walk 500 miles!
Physically, I've been training, and so far I'm okay, but I don't think my back and feet can actually take this type of journey. In fact, a back injury is kind of what got me going on this plan - I figured I better try before I get any older and more broken, but I don't think my back is really healed enough at this point.
Most of all, I don't know why I'm doing this, and I don't think I really want to do it. I have definitely been romanticizing and fantasizing but glossing over the downsides. There's a part of myself that thinks I should like this kind of an adventure, but I don't think I will.
I know this forum is full of kind, successful, Camino-lovers who might not relate, but i don't have anyone else to talk to about it, at least not yet.
Has anyone else felt this? What did you do?
This is absolutely nothing to worry about. There was a vote, and the resolution that was passed in non binding and does not have the force of law. It was discussed in this recent thread.I know all of these feelings. My current pressing concern is over the visa crap going on between the EU and USA right now with plans to have a 2 month enforcing timeframe. I have no clue about what's really going on and my anxiety is crazy about it because I'm afraid I'm going to lose out on money over it.
I am two months from my planned departure, and my anxiety is mounting and mounting. I think I've known all along that I might not be capable physically or mentally but I was able to stave off my feelings by obsessively shopping and planning. Now I've got my gear pretty well sorted, I've made my plans for getting there and back, and I even started telling people I was going, but I'm feeling worse and worse, can't sleep, anxiousness is bleeding over into my work and family life....I just don't know what to do.
It's embarrassing to have told people, but that's not a good enough reason to try to walk 500 miles!
Physically, I've been training, and so far I'm okay, but I don't think my back and feet can actually take this type of journey. In fact, a back injury is kind of what got me going on this plan - I figured I better try before I get any older and more broken, but I don't think my back is really healed enough at this point.
Most of all, I don't know why I'm doing this, and I don't think I really want to do it. I have definitely been romanticizing and fantasizing but glossing over the downsides. There's a part of myself that thinks I should like this kind of an adventure, but I don't think I will.
I know this forum is full of kind, successful, Camino-lovers who might not relate, but i don't have anyone else to talk to about it, at least not yet.
Has anyone else felt this? What did you do?
wow such a power story, thank you for sharing.MrsBath, I felt compelled to tell you my short story. I broke my pinky toe when I arrived in Paris in preparation to begin my pilgrimage. I tried to continue walking, but against the advice of many pilgrims on this forum, and those I met on the trail, I gave up. My right foot so swollen & painful I could hardly get my boot on. While my fellow hikers were exploring in the evening & going to dinner, I was down with my foot up. When I got to Pamplona, I went straight to the train station to Madrid for a flight home. After much reflection, I can honestly say it has been the biggest & most painful regret of my life. Even now, 6+ months later, it continues to haunt me. I don't know if I will ever have the opportunity to go again. Please try to embrace your fear & accept the opportunity as a true blessing. I wish I had. The mental component is what limits us, not the physical.
Much love & prayer sent your way.
Shelly
Hello Friend - you must listen to Carrie Newcomer's CD "Gather of Spirits" tract #11. ... "It's not the things I've gone and done I regret or be ashamed. But the things I did not say or do just because I was afraid"..... I'm a 61 yr old with really bad feet and even worse neck/shoulders. I WILL do the camino in 2018 in part and in 2021 in full. I'm scared. But at the same time I can't wait. Don't be afraid, I'm not. If I come back hone after only a few days, so be it. Just to set foot on the path.... I'm so excited. Just do it. No guts, no glory.I am two months from my planned departure, and my anxiety is mounting and mounting. I think I've known all along that I might not be capable physically or mentally but I was able to stave off my feelings by obsessively shopping and planning. Now I've got my gear pretty well sorted, I've made my plans for getting there and back, and I even started telling people I was going, but I'm feeling worse and worse, can't sleep, anxiousness is bleeding over into my work and family life....I just don't know what to do.
It's embarrassing to have told people, but that's not a good enough reason to try to walk 500 miles!
Physically, I've been training, and so far I'm okay, but I don't think my back and feet can actually take this type of journey. In fact, a back injury is kind of what got me going on this plan - I figured I better try before I get any older and more broken, but I don't think my back is really healed enough at this point.
Most of all, I don't know why I'm doing this, and I don't think I really want to do it. I have definitely been romanticizing and fantasizing but glossing over the downsides. There's a part of myself that thinks I should like this kind of an adventure, but I don't think I will.
I know this forum is full of kind, successful, Camino-lovers who might not relate, but i don't have anyone else to talk to about it, at least not yet.
Has anyone else felt this? What did you do?
Thanks for your post. I dont feel alone. There is shorter routes. Good luck.I am two months from my planned departure, and my anxiety is mounting and mounting. I think I've known all along that I might not be capable physically or mentally but I was able to stave off my feelings by obsessively shopping and planning. Now I've got my gear pretty well sorted, I've made my plans for getting there and back, and I even started telling people I was going, but I'm feeling worse and worse, can't sleep, anxiousness is bleeding over into my work and family life....I just don't know what to do.
It's embarrassing to have told people, but that's not a good enough reason to try to walk 500 miles!
Physically, I've been training, and so far I'm okay, but I don't think my back and feet can actually take this type of journey. In fact, a back injury is kind of what got me going on this plan - I figured I better try before I get any older and more broken, but I don't think my back is really healed enough at this point.
Most of all, I don't know why I'm doing this, and I don't think I really want to do it. I have definitely been romanticizing and fantasizing but glossing over the downsides. There's a part of myself that thinks I should like this kind of an adventure, but I don't think I will.
I know this forum is full of kind, successful, Camino-lovers who might not relate, but i don't have anyone else to talk to about it, at least not yet.
Has anyone else felt this? What did you do?
...
He recalls how a Nun told him: The Camino is God's dream of how people should be when they are with each other.
Here's his video link:
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