The road stretches for miles; the same cars fly by; the navigation still says there’s another 4 hours to go; your body aches from sitting in the same position; and you feel like opening the door to jump out at full speed on the freeway. Just to escape the monotony of another second in the car.
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When Long-Drive Dementia strikes, no one is safe.
Yelling at my boyfriend over canned soup, tears streaming down my face, resembling some sort of monster you wouldn’t want to find under your bed. Somewhere in Illinois, I had a meltdown.
Lost on the Road © CIA DE FOTO
It’s all too easy to go crazy on long car trips. This is a major problem when you decide to pack yourself in like sardines for forty days to drive cross-country. We’ll be driving the same amount of time we’ll be exploring, so we needed to think of ways to entertain ourselves to avoid dementia.
First, you must recognize the symptoms:
- Over-reacting
- Crying without reason
- Sudden mood swings
- Bouts of uncontrollable anger
- Road rage
- Scream-singing to annoy other passengers
- Boredom
- Numbness of legs and/or butt
Here, a few brief suggestions to help you stay sane on long road trips:
- Sing-a-long to your favorite song. Jam. Rock out. It’ll wake you up a little.
- Work on stuff. Finish that book. Learn that language. Write that grocery list.
- Sleep. As long as the driver isn’t the one asleep, it’s a great way to alleviate grumpiness.
- Get out and stretch every couple hours. Your body will not feel like a terrible pretzel if this is done properly.
- Take pictures and video of your surroundings.
- Dream. Write down your goals and the necessary steps to achieve them.
- Play DJ. Bring lots of all your favorite music.
- Plan. Take out the map and plan your next stop.
- Reminisce about old times. Laugh. Joke. Cry.
- Sketch, draw and write. Bring a notebook and try to fill a certain number of pages every state.
- Pull over when something piques your interest. It’s all about the journey and that’s why you decided to drive instead of fly, right?
- Call people. Chat with your mom, your second cousin twice removed, and your best friends.
- Take smaller highways. Get off the super freeways and toll roads. You’re going to get a real feel for what a place is all about driving through little towns that you’d otherwise bypass
- Read a book if you don’t get carsick. (And, please: don’t get carsick)
- ABC Game. Find a sign on the road that corresponds to every letter in the alphabet in order.
- Tell scary stories. Ghosts, monsters, and horror can have the same effect as coffee when driving through weird areas.
At the end of the day, just relax and remember why you’re driving to begin with: it’s all about the journey, man.