The Virtue of Traveling | How Does It Affect Our Mental Health

jenesa (65)in #travel • 7 years ago (edited)

Traveling is awesome in many ways. Simply stated, it is an act of transferring from one place to another. Expectedly, this takes a penny from your pocket and even drains it in some instances. But I find it's not a thing haggle for because it's a kind of investment into oneself, which might just be underrated by a few.

Personally, traveling has opened me a wide room for great things - things which I never thought will meet most of the demands of the inner self; things which in all simplicity, are the answers to a few of the questions I have for life; and things which prominently are just gratifyingly awesome for such an ordinary and frugal outdoor enthusiast like me.

Traveling is a great thing to do. It got a lot of best and perfect offers for individuals around that's enough to make a girl quit her job, pack her backs, marvel at God's majesty in creation, and just live, laugh, love. I mean who doesn't want to accomplish what's on her bucket list and meet strangers who are completely awesome in their own ways, and just so like-minded as you, right?

But how does it really benefit one? How does it affect one's mental health? Let's talk!

The Virtue of Traveling

"The impulse to travel is one of the hopeful symptoms of life." _{- Agnes Repplier}

1. It teaches you to communicate in a more effective and acceptable manner with people who are complete strangers to you.

Communicating with people whom you've just met, especially in a language that you're not used to is kinda sweating, but it leaves you with no choice to survive in the new environment. From the simplest to the most complex things you do as you travel, communicating in a way that you're completely understood is a need - asking for directions especially for DIY trip, buying food, requesting for your room accommodation needs, and more.

In the case, the urge to learn to communicate in the most effective and pleasing manner will be triggered in the most favorable way.

I could still remember my very first out-of-the-town travel. It was around Ilocos Region. Approaching people in the place for inquiries left me sweating. I found it really awkward talking with them in a dialect I rarely utter - Filipino. I am from Cebu, and Cebuano is my native language. Sadly, I had a hard time speaking Filipino. I know the language but it just takes me quite a longer time than usual to compose my thoughts in Filipino, my tongue also feels sort of numb and tingly that I sound as if I have a lisp, thus leaving me an unpleasant feeling that's enough to shut me up and just let my travel buddies do the talking and conversation with the locals in the place. But due to some instances along my travels, I have learned to start the conversation with strangers and managed to have it in a more composed and effective way. The sweating and struggling act of communicating with the people whom I've just met and in a language which I'm not comfortable with, has diminished eventually.

2. It teaches you to make friends and let you realize that it's just that easy to make one.

Traveling has been a great opportunity for one to meet new people. They might be quite different from you in culture, orientation, and perspective, but the endless possibility might bring you to be friends. I just couldn't imagine how the realness and rawness of expressing oneself with people whom you've just known for hours along your travel can enable you to gain and make new friends in just a snap.

Just like my travel with @trydaily at Puerto Princesa, Palawan. Along our way to the Underground River, we met two young men who were into the same activity for that day. Expectedly, chitchatting was done and we ended up roaming the city of Puerto Princesa together from that moment until our last stay in the city. I've never foreseen it that I returned home carrying within the bond that I shared with the people who were complete strangers to me before, but became one of the genuine individuals who offered me friendship.

3. It teaches you to be more appreciative and make you feel that you're way more fortunate and blessed.

As we pack our backs, put on our shoes and spend time away from home especially in areas where we don't enjoy much the same luxuries and facilities with what we have back at home, we become more aware of the value of the things that we enjoy at home, and start to appreciate them. We might as well come to ponder how really fortunate and blessed are we that the basics we need everyday are just that accessible that we don't need to hike for hours just to supply us water and more. There are simple things which we take for granted when we get into a routine and stay in the same spot for a long time, but as travel comes into the picture, these pretty simple luxuries that we're enjoying in abundance mean so much that we feel like we can't live without.

I remember a time where we stayed overnight at one of the resorts here in Cebu province. The water in the place is not that abundant as with the other places like ours. There's a set schedule as to when the water pump is switched on and off, refraining me from enjoying the water in the resort as much as I want. I really wanted to take a bath again before bedtime, especially in a new place, but due to the limited supply of water, I just chose not to. As a consequence, a realization that makes me feel that I'm really fortunate to be living in an area where water is abundant was born. This is just one of the situations in my travel that teaches me to appreciate what I have back home.

4. It relaxes, refreshes and fixes you.

One of the major reasons why I travel, go out, and explore is to give me a break from the hustle and bustle of daily life. Traveling is kind of a quick fix to my stress and boredom, and I believe the same goes for others as well. I am just so amazed at how it works, but as I decided to get out for a while from the routinary living and start to wander, the "batteries" are recharged, invigorating the physical, emotional, and mental aspects of my being.

Frustrated? Depressed? Stressed? Exhausted? Log out of your email account, pack your bags, put on your shoes, and disconnect from the normal routine for days. Get recharged, relaxed, refreshed, and fixed. I believe this would help you replenish your vigor and positivity that are draining.

5. It reboots you mentally.

Escaping from your daily life for a while and dive into a new environment engages a dormant part of your brain and awakens those synapses to blaze again. Traveling has been working pretty gigantic awesome things for everyone around in ways we both can see and not. We might not really be able to clearly lay out how travel slowly changes the way we think, but it definitely affects our mental health hugely which lead us to experience what we called "Life Reset".

Let's dive in and take a look at some of the mental health benefits of traveling.

How Does Traveling Affect Our Mental Health?

“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.”

– Oliver Wendell Holmes

I got here top 3 great things which best explain how travel affects our mental health.

1. Travel allows a shift in your perspective.

Immersing in a new culture, meeting new people, experiencing new food, and seeing varied social classes enable one to greatly embrace a paradigm shift. As you travel, you may often find yourself in situations that you wouldn't be in otherwise which creates you an opportunity to transform how you see life and how you react to the number of stimuli that evokes life.

Watching firsthand or even through someone else's eyes how other people live can broaden one's horizon. The number of things that you experience from stepping back from your daily life, and facing the reality outside of your comfort zone, bring you a lot of realization which I believe are strong enough to make shifts in your perspective and allow you to come home renewed.

2. Travel Keeps your mind keen.

As you travel, your brain is exposed to a lot of novelties - culture, people, food, weather, and a lot more. This increases a cognitive stimulation, thus keeping your mind sharp. Naturally, as our brain meets new, it is challenged and required to do mental processing and filing.

Traveling is not just limited to hopping from a place to another, but in a greater sense, this means engaging in something new like trying a new food, experiencing a new means of transportation and enjoying new kind of activities like wall climbing, ziplining, and the like.

3. Travel cultivates your creativity.

Travel helps creativity. When you travel, you come across new situations which enable the brain to make new connections thus making new synapses get working. Take Adam Galinsky's research on the correlation between travel and creativity, "Foreign experiences increase both cognitive flexibility and depth and integrativeness of thought, the ability to take deep connections between disparate forms. The key, critical process is multicultural engagement, immersion, and adaptation. Someone who lives abroad and doesn’t engage with the local culture will likely get less of a creative boost than someone who travels abroad and really engages in the local environment."

As we travel and keep engaging in a new environment, the creativity that's innate in our being will be boosted and enhanced. So, travel while you may.

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So, take time out from your daily tasks, hectic schedule, and everyday pressures. Plan a tour now to a new city with an open schedule and let life present you the number of opportunities that are waiting for you. Have fun!

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