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I could give you all the ways that travel releases different chemicals into your brain, but that would be boring for both you and me. What really matters is that travel is good for your mental health. We’ve spent this month going over mental health, from things related to ADHD, such as RSD and dealing with people with ADHD, to tattoo therapy and mental health tattoos. Therefore, for the last week of Mental Health Awareness Month, I’ll be giving you 7 ways travel is good for your mental health.
It’s Always Good To Get Away From Work
Let’s be honest, for most work is a necessary evil. It’s a place you have to go to be able to afford to survive. There are very few people who are truly passionate about their jobs. If you’re one of them, then count yourself lucky.
However, for most, a break from work is important. Not only does time away from the stressful environment that is the workplace essential for your mental health, but studies also show that taking a break can actually boost your productivity.
Travelling Strengthens Bonds
Most people don’t travel with people they don’t already like. If you do, I’m very sorry; I feel your pain. However, when you travel with people you care about, it strengthens those bonds.
Sharing those special moments together is actually one of the reasons we recommend replacing date night with travel. Strengthening those bonds with the people you love is one of the ways that travel is good for your mental health, as fulfilling the need for love and relationships is important.
Travelling Boosts Creativity And Provides Hope
There’s something that happens to your brain the more that you become immersed in foreign cultures. It’s like a door is unlocked that changes things. Slowly at first, but then one day you look back and see how quickly everything has changed. It can bring significant hope to people. Especially those who had little in the first place.
Then, as you travel more and bathe in those new experiences and cultures, creativity can skyrocket. The more you immerse yourself in travel and foreign cultures, the broader your mind becomes. Therefore, allowing your creativity to flourish with amassed experience and integration with worldviews that are different from your own.
Travelling Can Benefit Your Outlook On Life
As you travel, you experience much of what the world has to offer. Be it different places, different beliefs, or different cultures. The experienced you gather while travelling can benefit and possibly even change the outlook you have on life. How does that not make travel good for your mental health?
The more you see, learn, and experience, the more your view of the world changes. With it, your outlook on life changes. In my experience, your heart and mind open up, and you become more generous to those around you. You come to learn how privileged you genuinely are and how little you need to have an amazing life.
However, that’s how my outlook changed. Yours may be different.
Doing New Things And Meeting New People Is A Way To Target Monotony
Almost everyone knows the battle against monotony. There’s a picture I recall seeing when I was young that depicts this perfectly. It was an example used to depict being in a rut, and it was two people pushing wheelbarrows.
One guy, who seemed to be doing it for the first time, was going at a quick pace and doing so happily. The other was clearly struggling, as the deep path he was pushing his wheelbarrow down seemed to have been gone over thousands of times. It was no longer easy and, I’m certain, it was dreadfully monotonous.
Travelling can help you get out of that rut; to battle that utter monotony. Obviously, having the new experiences that come with travel brings a renewed vigour and takes a shot at life’s monotony. Yet, it also lets you go back with a fresh mind and the possibility to tackle things from a different perspective.
Travelling Specifically For Mental Health
There are methods of travelling that are specifically focused on the betterment of your mental health. One example of this would be a wellness retreat. Wellness retreats are normally designed to focus on one’s physical and mental health through planned meals, spa sessions, and the like.
Another form of travel that targets mental health, albeit indirectly, is yoga retreats. Depending on the one that you go to, it can focus on being one with the world, living in the moment, being conscious of your surroundings, or even focusing on being comfortable with yourself and your place in the world. It varies, but these tend to either directly or indirectly focus on your mental health.
Doing The Things You Enjoy Makes You Happy
What more really needs to be said? If you enjoy it, and it makes you happy, then travel is good for your mental health.
Although this does apply to travel, it doesn’t just apply to travel. Sometimes you don’t want to or can’t travel; when that happens, there are still things you can do to improve your mental health. Do the things you enjoy.
So Travel More!
Whether it’s battling monotony, strengthening bonds, boosting your creativity and hope, or just getting away from the office for a while, travel is great for your mental health. You just have to get out in the world and do it.
We promise that even if you start to sprinkle just a bit of travel in here and there, you will notice a difference. For the last week of Mental Health Awareness Month, we advocate for you to go and book that trip you’ve always wanted. Enjoy yourself and experience what the world has to offer.
How has travelling affected your life and your mental health?
As always, we believe we should live with intention, travel with purpose, and let the world inscribe its stories upon us.
So until next time, stay authentic, stay Nomadic, and let the world inscribe its stories upon you more than you do upon it.
