Dale Vernor is this month’s guest blogger. He discusses the mental health benefits of traveling.
Get outdoors!
There are numerous mental health benefits that come from traveling. Regardless of where you choose to travel, these benefits can come with you and continue to last long after you’ve returned from your trip. Understanding these benefits may just make you book your next trip away.
Reduce Stress
Those that travel get away from the normal routine that they are in. They can remove themselves from those situations and reduce the stress that is keeping them down. By focusing on being away from home, they are bettering themselves and their overall mentality.
Strengthens Relationships
If you’re going on a trip with someone else, this relationship is one that will strengthen. Those that you are away from will also have a boost in the strength of the relationship. This is because you will have a chance to spend quality time with the ones you’re with, and be able to miss the ones you are away from. This is why married couples are encouraged to go on a trip away from their children somewhat often.
City Life
Boosts Happiness
Going somewhere you really want to go, or just doing something new is going to make you happy. It gives you something to look forward to for the future. This happiness is something that will last a long time. It is a lingering happiness, and one that even starts before you leave. Who wouldn’t want to go on a trip away from home just for this simple pleasure?
Opens Your Mind to New Experiences
Experiencing something new is always exciting. Whether you are going to a new city, town or even a far-off land, you can learn new places, new cultures, new ways of life, and more. This is an exciting time for everyone and when you soak it all in, you gain more knowledge and the ability to expand on it and your own thoughts.
It Changes Your Personality
Traveling out of your comfort zone and going to places you have never been is going to challenge you. It is going to change how you think and react to the world around you. Sure, you might have some anxiety about going somewhere new, but it can be worth it to do this. It improves your emotional stability overall, making you better control your emotions when you get back to your normal routine.
Promotes Independence
Serenity!
Being able to go somewhere away from home, especially a different country entirely, is going to boost your sense of self-worth and independence. It is going to give you more confidence than ever before. You will feel a sense of freedom while you’re out and about, making this a great trip for your overall moral.
When your mental health is not as good as it should be, remember that help is out there. Depression and other mental health illnesses can lead to drug and alcohol abuse in some. Most non 12 step drug rehab programs put great emphasis on the benefits of travel and recommend that people who are struggling with mental health and substance abuse problems take the time to travel to find peace, gain new perspective and even better understand themselves.
Who is Dale?
Dale is a writer and researcher in the fields of mental health and substance abuse. Dale is a college graduate with his Bachelor’s degree and was the first in his family to complete any level of higher education. Dale was lucky to find a job doing what he loves after school, which is writing. Dale likes to write about mental health and substance abuse to help lift the stigma associated with these problems. When not working you can look for Dale at your local basketball court.
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