TL;DR Unfamiliar to many, traveling can actually be good for your mental health and well-being. It exposes you to different cultures and perspectives, it’s an excellent stress reliever, and it can be helpful to your journey of self-development. Embrace it by appreciating your journey and destination.
We deserve time away from work, not worrying about deadlines and the stress it brings. And what better way to calm ourselves than to spend your time in new places and to meet new people?
Traveling has always been our go-to activity when we want to enjoy ourselves. We allot time, money, and energy to experience something new. But aside from seeing unique sceneries, exploring different cultures, and meeting locals; traveling benefits our well-being.
Here are how traveling can help you with your well-being:
Good Stress Reliever
Work-related and personal stress have all become a part of our lives. And having to deal with it daily can be harmful to our bodies, both physically and mentally.
Traveling is one of the best stress relievers there is. You get to spend quality time with yourself and your family away from all the hustle and bustle of everyday life while enjoying new experiences.
According to a 2013 study, links exist between travel and decreased risks of heart attack and depression, and even the promotion of brain health. The study also noted that 59% of Americans dream of traveling during retirement and that the most impactful trips are those spent with family and friends.
Helps Us Reset
When you feel that you are not making any progress at something that you are doing, one of the things that you do is give yourself a breather. This gives you the reset that your body needs in order to make progress and move forward in what you are doing. This is what traveling does to our well-being.
It gives us a break from the things we constantly think about. It also helps us reset our body, having a hard time sleeping? A good vacation might be your solution.
Strengthen Us Mentally
Growth happens when we are outside our comfort zone. That is true, and when we are traveling to places that we are not familiar with, we experience new situations that make us resilient mentally.
It is always a burden when we are traveling and we encounter a problem. We are not familiar with the place, we don’t know anybody, and if we are in a foreign country, we don’t know about the law. But situations like that will help us be resilient and self-reliant. It teaches us how to handle problems calmly and effectively solve them.
Traveling to new places is good for our mental health as we get to relax and enjoy new experiences, new views, and new cultures. But it also helps us to be mentally strong, as it helps us adapt to new experiences in a new place. It helps us to be more patient, calmer, and able to handle difficult situations more gracefully.
Boost Our Creativity and Imagination
Traveling is full of unforeseen problems, but it helps us adapt and solve problems creatively. This stimulates our brains to find a solution to a problem with the resources at our disposal. This process helps boost our creativity and solve problems under pressure. It is already hard to find a solution to a problem in our comfort zone; imagine solving a problem on unfamiliar grounds.
Traveling has also been another way of helping boost our creativity and imagination. Traveling is the best way to experience new things, and when we experience new things, it sparks our imagination and creativity. When we immerse ourselves in their culture, more often than not, it builds a connection that can open new doors for us. The exchange of ideas and information stimulates our brains.
Self-Development
Traveling will broaden your perspective and teach you lessons in life that sitting at home can’t. One of the best benefits of traveling is that it contributes to your personal development. It lets you go out of your comfort zone, but at the same time, it lets you enjoy life. Of course, there will always be unforeseen problems when we travel, and in every adversity that you get to pass through, you gain confidence in yourself.
The best way to grow is by challenging yourself. Trying new things, conversing with new people, and living a life in a different culture You can do all of these when you are traveling, especially when you are on your own. All of these are tools that will help you get to know yourself better and discover other sides of yourself.
Traveling can be stressful; not everything will go according to plan, but still, people do it because it is rewarding. It has its benefits, which can help you with your well-being, both physically and mentally. It might be the break that we need in a life where everything has become routine.
It may be very intimidating to go on an adventure into places you are unfamiliar with, not to mention that it would be costly, but the experience is priceless. As they say, one of the secrets to happiness is investing in memories.
I like to travel by myself, I love going to places and having life-changing experiences. Dr. Krysti (Lan Chi) Vo, MD, is a psychiatrist, speaker, and advisor. Visit my website for more articles on how to be a better version of yourself.
