{"id":277026,"date":"2018-05-04T09:26:53","date_gmt":"2018-05-04T09:26:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hostelworld.com\/blog\/?p=277026"},"modified":"2023-12-13T12:34:07","modified_gmt":"2023-12-13T12:34:07","slug":"how-travel-helped-me-overcome-depression-and-fall-back-in-love-with-my-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hostelworld.com\/blog\/pt\/how-travel-helped-me-overcome-depression-and-fall-back-in-love-with-my-life\/","title":{"rendered":"How travel helped me overcome depression and fall back in love with my life"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mental health problems are staggeringly common and can affect anyone at any time. Take me for instance. Eighteen months ago I was in my final semester of my undergrad degree, with good grades, a wonderful boyfriend and living by the beach with my two best friends. My life seemed perfect. Why I suddenly found living so terrifying and exhausting makes no sense at all. But mental illness doesn\u2019t make sense. Read further to learn how I overcome depression.<\/p>\n

\"Travel<\/p>\n

Most of that period of my life is now a blur in my memory. After months of pain, medication and therapy, I slowly felt my old self returning. In April last year, the girl who had previously been too anxious to go to the local shops, booked a flight to London. I\u2019d travelled before: studied in the USA and gone on holidays with family, but spending the summer in Europe after university had been a dream of mine for years. That dream finally felt once more within reach. I couldn\u2019t stop thinking about it, compiling Pinterest boards, reading blogs, imagining what was out there for me.<\/p>\n

I was taking medication and had gained so much out of courses in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy<\/a> and Dialectical Behavioural Therapy<\/a>. The doctors were satisfied with my progress and I\u2019d proven my commitment to my mental health, so they gave me their blessing to go. I promised to stay in touch via email and was told I could arrange sessions with my psychologist over Skype if necessary. I\u2019m careful to always carry enough medication and translated copies of a letter from my psychiatrist explaining my mental health history.<\/p>\n

\"overcome<\/p>\n

I knew I was still recovering, but now I was full of enthusiasm and excitement, about to see far more of the world, and feeling a lust for living that I\u2019d forgotten was even possible. The enormity of what I was doing hit me as my plane soared off the runway. The girl who was always running away from what frightened her, was flying towards the unknown. My fears had been swept aside by excitement, self-belief and the love and support of my family and friends.<\/p>\n

For anybody out there reading this and struggling with mental health, I want you to know it\u2019s worth pushing through the despair; fighting until you feel mentally strong enough to book that plane ticket of your own. Travel is the healthiest addiction you can develop. It leaves you craving more and lusting after new experiences. It is, without a doubt, the fastest way you can grow as a human being and turn your life into an inspired one. My wonderful travel tales were made possible by taking charge of my mental health.<\/p>\n

Travelling has meant not being afraid to share myself with the world. It\u2019s meant being alone in a foreign country and still thriving. It\u2019s been meeting strangers in hostel common rooms, only to leave together as friends. It\u2019s been sometimes opening up and sharing my mental health journey, seeing the surprise on so many faces that an outgoing, blonde twenty-something can have suffered from depression and anxiety; but it\u2019s also realising just how many others can relate to my story.<\/p>\n

\"Travel<\/p>\n

There\u2019s definitely no need to be ashamed. I fit within the category most susceptible to mental illness, being a girl in the 16-24 age bracket. This age group represents the highest incidence of mental health problems worldwide. Research also shows that young people like me are travelling more often and for longer periods of time than ever before. A lot of us are likely to have this overwhelming desire to travel, but also an urgent necessity to look after our mental health. I am proof you can do both, and journeying through different countries can actually be an effective antidote to anxiety and depression.<\/p>\n

For me, visiting 18 countries in the past year has meant talking in broken Spanish to a sweet Peruvian lady selling fruit on the street, and to a taxi driver who saw the rise and fall of Nazi Germany. It\u2019s been journeying to places I could have never imagined; finding the beauty in a near-abandoned Brazilian town; asking an Andean highlander what brings him the most happiness. It\u2019s been horse-riding beneath a towering volcano in Ecuador, sharing secrets with new friends, drinking wine by a bonfire in Argentina and hand-standing under the Eiffel Tower. It\u2019s been devouring pasta in Rome, topless sunbathing in Spain, and being one of millions dancing in the streets during Rio\u2019s Carnival.<\/p>\n

But more than anything, it\u2019s been looking around, be it somewhere magical like Machu Picchu, or this tiny caf\u00e9 in Colombia where I\u2019m writing this, and being grateful for the second chance I have to embrace it all. It\u2019s to keep exploring, to keep learning, to keep reading, to keep believing. It\u2019s not letting mental illness run my life. It\u2019s deciding to write all that I can to inspire other strugglers of the world. It\u2019s allowing myself to feel real emotions: letting myself cry, or laugh until I cry. It\u2019s being thankful for every person who has helped me get to where I am, but especially myself, for never giving up.<\/p>\n

\"Travel<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not na\u00efve enough to think that from now on everything will be easy. Whilst Instagram depicts travellers\u2019 carefree lifestyles of sunsets and waterfalls, sometimes, even with your best intentions, you still have bad days and you aren\u2019t immune to your brain misbehaving while abroad. Occasionally nasty thoughts try to sabotage me, from something as simple as \u201cyou\u2019re on the wrong bus\u201d to \u201cthis taxi driver is a murderous lunatic\u201d. That\u2019s the nonsensical nature of our minds, and I know mine is a more fragile one at that. So I have to pay attention to how I feel \u2013 I have to be honest with myself, constantly assessing whether I am really coping. Sometimes bad things really do happen \u2013 I\u2019ve had bags lost, phones stolen, boys treat me horribly and much worse \u2013 but that\u2019s when I use all the skills I\u2019ve learnt, like challenging my unhelpful thoughts and tolerating distress through various self-soothing techniques. Travel is character-building: you are thrown into strange situations and have to quickly adapt to new environments.<\/p>\n

Despite being thousands of kilometres away from my support system, I never really feel that far, thanks to Facebook, WhatsApp, Skype and email. Travelling hasn\u2019t meant abandoning my mental health. I avoid binging on alcohol or junk food; I take my medication; I keep a journal every day. I keep my brain busy \u2013 learning and trying new things, so I keep feeling the thrill of small achievements. I put a lot of effort into choosing the perfect places to stay \u2013 I always look at hostel reviews and judge if it will be possible to get a proper sleep, have some time to myself, but equally meet cool people. I\u2019m drawn to pretty surroundings, rooftop terraces and yoga classes.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve come to accept that travel can be exhausting \u2013 constantly adventuring, dancing, sightseeing. I\u2019ve learnt not to expect my energy levels to always run at 100%, and I know I need the freedom to nap, to relax, to recharge. I try not to get overly attached to plans, because sometimes they won\u2019t work out, or sometimes my mind changes at the last minute. I tell people when I\u2019m not feeling okay, because that, in itself, is okay. I\u2019ve come to appreciate how most travellers are kind and open-minded. Chances are you\u2019re not alone in how you feel, and people can be grateful for you opening up the conversation about mental health, making space for the truth that often gets ignored, and providing them with an opportunity to share their own feelings.<\/p>\n

\"Travelling<\/p>\n

On my travels, I\u2019ve met extraordinary people living even more extraordinary lives. They\u2019ve shown me possibilities for my future and urged me to seek more from everywhere I go. I\u2019ve fallen back in love with living, thanks to falling in love with the world.<\/p>\n

About the author
\n<\/b>Emily Mulligan is an Australian Masters student currently living in South America and doing an internship. Follow her occasionally neurotic, but mostly optimistic adventures around the world on Instagram @happily.travelling<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We\u2019d <\/i>love to hear your experiences of travelling and coping with mental health problems, so leave us a comment below. Who knows, it might just help somebody else out there struggling <\/i>??\u2764\ufe0f<\/p>\n

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What to read next?<\/b><\/p>\n