After the Malta mishaps I was well wary of another cheap package deal.  However this time we pre-booked  accommodation in a quiet location.  So cheap was the deal and likewise the local prices that we hired a car and spent much of trip exploring the western end of the island.  Like Malta, Cyprus was much more low key and less charming than the brochures would have had me believe.  However even I was impressed by the must see Roman mosaics.

The actual travel arrangements, flights and accommodation caused few concerns.  The main flashpoint was that old chestnut, continued difficulty balancing my needs in order to minimise anxiety with someone else's aspirations.  I also encountered being extremely ill while away from home.  I don't suppose that's a pleasant prospect for anyone and distress certainly dispelled anxiety over everything except whether I would last out the airport bus journey without a lavatory stop.

I'm not sure what I ate that went straight through me in such dramatic and spectacular fashion but I've never touched Halloumi cheese since and I probably never will.  The severe stomach cramps continued until I took to my bed with a hot water bottle on arriving home.  Then, miraculously, they disappeared in about half an hour.  Now, no matter what the destination, I never travel without one.  I lost half a stone in about four days and it was almost three months before my appetite returned to normal.

And so I reached my fortieth year.  Somehow it seemed like a watershed, as good a year as any to plunge into the unknown and head out west.  The desire to travel was a strong as it had ever been but, as well as rewarding all my hard work with that dream holiday, I needed to benchmark my progress.  Before I set my heart on future destinations I had to find out whether I had conquered my fears to the extent that I believed I had.

If you would like help with any difficulties of your own you may find the links page on this website a useful place to start.

If you are experiencing an immediate crisis or are in need of urgent help, please contact your family doctor service or the accident and emergency or similar department at your local hospital.  In the England and Wales NHS Direct (see below) may also be able to help you.  If you do not want to access urgent help through the health services, a listening service is provided by the Samaritans (UK) or Befrienders International (other areas, subject to availability).