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People often think of self-care as bubble baths and face masks, but self-care is so much more. Agnes Wainman, a clinical psychologist, stated that self-care is “something that refuels us, rather than takes from us.”
Self-care lies in the actions we deliberately take to improve our mental, physical, and emotional state. During the pandemic lockdowns, the conversation of mental health and self-care was frequently discussed as many people endured quarantine alone.
While everyone has to find activities that will fuel their self-care routine, travel is one that would be the perfect response to months of lockdown. Here is why you should consider incorporating travel into your self-care routine.
With self-imposed pressures as well as those from work, professionals are finding themselves burning out at an alarming rate. In 2017, The New York Times wrote an article about a Japanese woman who worked 159 overtime hours a month before she died.
Traveling is an excellent way to self-care when working a demanding job. It helps to unplug and reset from the vicious stress cycle. Travel somewhere and do nothing for a few days and see how much impact it makes to your work life when you return.
Broadens Your Mind and Self Awareness
Traveling gives you the opportunity to expand your emotional intelligence and allows you to view the world from another perspective. The ability to step outside of yourself and your community will not only improve your self-awareness but also will enable you to open your mind to new things.
Coming from chaotic and demanding work environments, having the chance to travel forces you to step outside of your usual stressful situation and reevaluate your emotions, needs, and wants from a new viewpoint.
Experiencing different places and cultures can also get your creative juices flowing when exposed to new sounds, smells, and people. That spark alone can be the start of your revitalization as new ideas and inspiration come to you during your trip.
Bonding Time with Family/Friends During a time when family and friends are not seeing each other as often, making the effort to see loved ones is good for the mind and spirit.
Digital communication has been essential in surviving the pandemic mentally. However, digital communication does not replace baking cookies with grandma or sharing drinks with your best friend in a poorly lit bar. The physical nature of being with people and the memories they generate are healing for the soul.
Keeps You Present Being present in the moment is one of the more difficult tasks in this day in age. If it isn’t work keeping us distracted, it is the over absorption of social media that keeps us from embracing the moment at hand.
When you travel, it forces you to be present, whether it is exploring an ancient town or just relaxing at the beach. Stepping out of your comfort zone and your usual work bubble helps you pay attention to what is going on around you. You can no longer rely on routine but on your ability to be aware in that moment in time.
Traveling is not just boarding a plane for a work commitment or seeing people you don’t want to; it is the chance to actively take care of yourself by doing something you will enjoy. Self-care deserves some traveling.
