You know when Brenda at work tries to show you a photo of her dog and she’s all excited because he’s wearing a little dog outfit and you literally DON’T CARE? That’s the analogy I’m going with to describe travelling with depression. You don’t appreciate anything that you would normally find amazing or funny or beautiful. It’s feeling stuck and bored and rubbish and sad all at once.
Travelling isn’t the easy option that will cure all these feelings, but it does give you a break away from ‘reality’ and the opportunity to see things differently. I’ve found it’s useful to learn that looking at an amazing view, or finding a dog in a little dog outfit cute, can be the things that make you appreciate stuff again. You don’t have to get to a point where you have the perfect career, house and family until you can be happy.
Obviously travel isn’t for everyone and for some people it’s not even an option, but the changes in lifestyle can be positive for learning coping mechanisms when struggling with mental health issues. For example:
There’s a lot of time to think
This is usually the last thing anyone with neggy thoughts wants – but it actually teaches you to just sit with the negative thoughts and accept that you’re just going to feel like a sack of shit sometimes. If you can start to bring this into your everyday life, it becomes more natural to not hate the intrusive voice in your head and hopefully it can become more positive or productive. There’s a lot to be said for meditation or yoga for controlling your thoughts – meditation still winds me up but I am now Queen of yoga, so find what works for ya.
You can actually meet new people
I think we’re all agreed that social media is terrible for our mental health – comparing ourselves to other people’s ‘perfect’ lives, being able to slide into DMs but not strike up a real conversation, all that really progressive stuff.
Travelling comes hand in hand with having loads of new mates that want to chat shit with you constantly, (still not found out how to make this stop, send help) which surprisingly can boost your mood. Talking to friends in person makes us feel good, who would have known?! Meeting people from different backgrounds can also help you learn a lot about yourself and the way you see/react to things. #findingmyself
None of this happens just by setting off on your #gapyah though, it takes time. Here’s some ways to help you keep travelling without having a full blown meltdown at an elephant sanctuary…
Consider different ways to travel
If you’re travelling with depression, hostels may seem too intense – but there’s loads of other ways you can travel. Try looking into jobs that provide accommodation, like au pair work or agricultural jobs. Another way is to look into living with a family using companies like Workaway/Wwoofing. Having a job sorted before you get out there can help ease the anxiety as well. If you still want to adventure but want to make sure you can be antisocial sometimes, it might be worth buying or hiring a van in your chosen country so you can travel on your own terms and hide from people when you want to (aka: all the time).
Try and avoid panic situations
Travelling with depression sucessfully is all about knowing your own triggers and how you can handle them. It’s important to make your own decisions on which places and people are for you – and don’t feel bad for avoiding those that aren’t. Having back up money for emergencies is always a good idea, as is planning ahead for jobs, accommodation etc. if you feel you need to.
Give yourself a break
Everyone thinks travelling IS the break, but it can be pretty full on getting up for activities when you’re constantly hungover (I know, it’s a hard life, but we’re drained here okay?). It’s also stressful because stuff goes wrong all the time and are we even equipped to deal with this??
So have a day off. Treat yourself to a day in bed watching Netflix or reading a book and don’t speak to anyone. Go for a walk or do some yoga. Do whatever makes you feel better – remember what works and what doesn’t.
Remember home will always be there
Travelling doesn’t have to be permanent and if you absolutely hate it you can always jump on a flight home with the emergency money you saved. Or just borrow off your parents, either way. Giving something new a try is always an achievement.
If you do love it, make sure you find the time to call home as often as you need. Hearing familiar voices always makes you feel better and everyone will be super proud of you for ~following your dreams~. Also, as a wise person once said, if you feel like shit write a postcard to your Grandma. Guaranteed happiness every time.
Adventure!
It can be really easy to fall into the habit of saying no to everything at home with friends you know well. If you’re travelling through multiple countries quickly, you’ll want to see and do as much as possible. You have to throw yourself into the deep end whether you like it or not, which is the perfect way to learn to cope with the anxiety of new things and people (maybe).
The trick is to just keep saying yes to things you wouldn’t normally – everyone is in the same boat here, so you go out with that nuts gal from your hostel. You might surprise yourself and enjoy it. Or meet someone else that is more your cup of tea and ditch her, you do you honay.
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