Travel can benefit your mental health immensely. It breaks you away from the daily grind and opens your mind to new possibilities. However, in the COVID-19 era, you might feel understandable anxiety about boarding planes and meeting strangers. The heightened tension can exacerbate symptoms of mental illness.
Fortunately, you’re already in an ideal location to do a little self-healing. How can you take care of your mental health while traveling? Follow these 10 tips to return feeling reborn:
1. Set an Intention
It doesn’t matter if you are headed to Dubai on business or taking some well-deserved R&R in the Caribbean. Setting an intention for your journey can help you make the most of every moment while away. It also protects your mental health by establishing a clear purpose for your actions.
According to psychiatrist Victor Frankl, the desire to find meaning in life supersedes even the lust for pleasure. Making a difference can improve your mental well-being more so than all the medication in the world. Reflecting on the reason for your trek will serve as an anchor to keep you grounded.
2. Get Active
Experts have long recognized exercise as one of the most effective ways to lessen depression symptoms because of its abilities to boost your mood and increase your energy levels. Even when traveling for business purposes, schedule time for working out, preferably while having an adventure.
If you're headed to the tropics, book an afternoon for swimming with the dolphins or taking a surfing lesson. Are you off to the mountains? Bring along sturdy boots and lose yourself on a breathtaking hike. Even 15 minutes of movement can provide mental health benefits, so if nothing else, pack some resistance bands in your luggage if your hotel lacks a spa.
3. Give Yourself Time to Roam
Think of your brain as a computer. What happens to your device when you have too many tabs open and processes going at once? If you said, “Things freeze up,” you win a bingo. The same phenomenon happens to your brain — it becomes overloaded by nonstop decision-making and work. When this happens, your productivity takes a nosedive, and you create the ideal environment for depression and anxiety to flourish.
Try to give yourself one extra day to do nothing. If that proves impossible, provide yourself with one to two unscheduled hours each day to wander through a fascinating art gallery or patronize local vendors for souvenirs.
4. Upgrade Your Accommodations
If you stay in a dingy hotel room with inadequate lighting, you may feel your mood sink like the Titanic. Research indicates that your environment can influence your mood, and spending time in areas with bright light can benefit health outcomes for depression.
Self-care isn’t selfish, so book an upgraded room if possible to surround yourself with luxury and comfort.
5. Practice Meditation
Meditation is a fabulous technique for interrupting racing thoughts of possible fears and grounding you in the present. If you haven’t practiced before, you don’t need to invest in a crash course before your departure. You can find tons of guided videos on YouTube to help you do everything from overcoming anxiety to gaining motivation to maximize your potential. You could also find a studio, retreat or a quiet place in your destination to practice soothing meditation.
6. Bring a Journal
Journaling is a beautiful way to preserve your mental health while traveling — and the memories of your trip. If you have the means, invest in a book exclusively for the purpose. Moleskins are a timeless choice, but you can find floral notebooks at nearly any dollar store.
Take 10 to 15 minutes each day to reflect. You can use writing to identify negative thoughts and behaviors and reframe them to make them more positive. Does the neighborhood your hotel occupies seem more rundown than described in the brochure? Maybe you can find hidden treasure in a hole-in-the-wall restaurant with the best food in town.
7. Fuel Your Body Right
Certain nutritional deficiencies can exacerbate mental health problems. If you don’t get enough magnesium, you run a higher risk of depression, but eating foods rich in this mineral can correct it. Nuts and seeds, like almonds and pepitas, contain ample amounts — pack trail mix with you as a snack, whether flying or hiking.
Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, likewise, benefit brain health. They also keep your blood vessels healthy, which is critical for preventing deep vein thrombosis. You can find these in fatty fish. Why not order the salmon for dinner?
8. Pass on the Second Drink
Alcohol depresses the central nervous system, and too much of it can do the same to your mental state. While you might feel temporary happiness from having a bit too much, the effects wear off quickly and leave you miserable. Dealing with the headache and upset stomach that a hangover causes further darkens your mood.
The problem with excess drinking is that it messes with your brain’s dopamine levels, a neurotransmitter associated with reward. When you come down off a bender, you feel depressed as levels of this substance drop. This melancholy cries out for a cure — which all too often takes the form of another drink. Try to stick to one only.
9. Keep In Touch With Family
You might already feel isolated from your family due to the shutdown, and travel can increase anxiety. After all, you may have legitimate fears that a new wave of restrictions could impede your return trip. To combat separation anxiety, schedule video check-in calls before departure to feel close to those you love while away.
10. Give Thanks
Maybe you feel reluctant about traveling, but other people are champing at the bit to get away. Take the time each day to give thanks for all the blessings you have. You might start and end each day with a brief gratitude meditation to set your mindset for adventures to come or express appreciation for another day on Earth.
Traveling Can Help You Care for Your Mental Health
Traveling can benefit your mental health, but it can also create anxiety if you don’t approach it with care. Stay connected to mental health resources and stay connected to yourself — take care of your emotional well-being while on the road with the 10 tips above.
About the Author
Alyssa Abel is an education and study abroad blogger with a passion for travel. Follow her @alyssaabelblog on Twitter and catch up on her blog, Syllabusy.