How Travel Helps Your Mental Health!

Shorts & Shots
Oct 10, 2020
4 min read

Updated: Oct 11, 2020

Everyone keeps saying “travel is the best medicine", but what is it medicine for? For the mind of course! You see, going on a vacation or trip does benefit your body, but benefits your mental health even more.

We haven’t travelled in months and

Being stuck at home day in and day out, taking precautions and going outside only when required seemed plausible initially. But now? It feels like an unwanted chore!

Travelling has always been a part of our lives, enriching it and making it better. Just going outside, in fact, was a major source of comfort for us. Even though we have always been aware of how helpful travelling it is, we’ve only realised how important travelling is during this lockdown.

We were already dealing with the struggles of our personal lives before, and the pandemic just seems to make it worse. It came completely out of the blue, taking us all by surprise.

This pandemic has taken a toll on us physically and mentally. Before we only talked about mental health, but now? We have come face to face with the importance of it.

This has made us more aware of our mental health and how we are dealing with situations. Taking care of ourselves is important, whether it’s physically or mentally, and travelling definitely helps in more ways than one!

Here’s how:

1. Lowers stress levels

Aaj kal we are all like this:

Wherever the stress comes from, ignoring it can result in something bad. Travel stops that from happening though! When you’re on a trip, you are more focused on what’s happening rather than what you have to do next week. It allows you to get out of the rut and leave your worries behind. You can forget about work and the chores you have to do and relax!

When you’re out in the open getting some sunshine or just taking some rest, your brain starts to release a hormone called serotonin. Serotonin is basically the source of your happiness and positive well being. Travel helps balance out the level of serotonin in your brain, and releases the pressure in your mind!

2. Boosts your confidence

You must be thinking- boost my confidence?

But it’s true! Travelling involves more than just relaxing- you have to move around a lot to see the sights you want to. It involves paying attention to smaller but significant tasks like navigating through crowds, interacting with different people etc. The world can be overwhelming for some. When you’re on a trip though, you realise that most of the things you were worrying about are not a big deal. For example, those who are prone to feeling down or anxious might have trouble coming out of their comfort zone. This, in turn, makes them feel more troubled. Travelling helps in breaking this vicious cycle. Such tasks give you the opportunity to make your own decisions, making you feel good about yourself, hence boosting your confidence! The more you experience, the wiser you become.

3. Helps you stay fit

Exploring different destinations and immersing yourself into nature does wonder for your mental health! Something as simple as a stroll and getting some sun is more than enough.

Even walking around and sightseeing counts as exercise! Being on vacation makes exercising more fun too because it doesn’t feel like a workout. Research has found that moving our bodies, exercising and being in nature significantly reduces the symptoms of depression, stress and anxiety. Not just that, but moving your body also helps in boosting your energy levels, helping you enjoy the trip even more!

4. Gives you a new perspective

The world is huge and filled with tons of mind-blowing things!

Travelling pulls you out of your monotonous routine and exposes you to new things. It reveals a world of uncountable possibilities and ideas. Our personal travels have taught us that we are small spectators of a much larger world. That’s the beauty of travel, isn’t it? We take back something new after each trip! Seeing different lifestyles and cultures can inspire to make positive changes in your life. This in turn makes you feel good about yourself and your life. By incorporating the small things you’ve learned on your trip into your life, you allow yourself to feel happy. Arjun from Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara is the biggest example of this. When he cried after scuba diving, we all felt that! Ye khushi ke aansu nyi cheeze try karne se hi aayengi!

5. You get to be you

Not only do you get to let your hair down, but you also get to embrace who you truly are!

Stress tends to make us angry, irritable people who feel frustrated with life. In this mix, we tend to lose touch with who we actually are. We get so preoccupied with what we should do instead of what we want to do.

The biggest plus point of travelling is that it allows you to connect with yourself. You can do virtually anything you want (it has to be legal of course)! Whether it's trying out new sports, eating exotic foods or just taking naps, travelling allows you to just be.

Self-care is a major part of maintaining positive mental health, and travelling is a form of self-care. Even if you can’t go on a trip at the moment, you can always plan a future one. This is where we step in.

We at Shorts & Shots want to help you take care of yourself. We are here to help you plan the vacation of your life! Be it a workation or a trip post-COVID-19, we will do all the hard work while you do the relaxing.