How Traveling Affects Your Mental Health and Well-Being

By Luke Douglas

Traveling is one of the best ways to broaden your horizons, meet new cultures, and come across a
multitude of people. As a result, you will have enriched your social life while also making yourself
richer through the experience of seeing various parts of the world. From Europe to Asia, North and
Latin America to Africa and Australia, each continent is so unique that you'll want to explore all of
them in search of new experiences. Travelling also affects people’s physical and mental health in
many ways. If you want to find more reasons to start your adventure, here’s how your well-being
will benefit from traveling.

Promotes happiness

A change of scenery comes with a happiness boost. Distancing yourself from the hustle and bustle,
leaving work behind, and focusing on exploring the new destination always comes with that ever-
needed feeling of happiness. The moment you find yourself in a foreign country, you start feeling
that urge to meet the locals and experience their culture and way of life as if you're going to stay
there for much longer than you genuinely would. Many people feel trapped when they stay in one
place for too long, so traveling offers a sense of satisfaction and improves self-confidence. The mere
thought of seeing a new destination sparks happiness and joy because you instantly have something
positive to look forward to.

Travel is good for destressing

How often do you feel stressed? Is your work often making you feel miserable, but you cannot afford
to quit right now? The solution lies in traveling. Stepping outside the everyday grind to land in a new
county or continent makes all the difference for your mental health. Booking a ticket to Australia, for

instance, will make you feel distressed weeks before you sit on the plane. Once you're up in the air
and reaching your destination, you will feel as light as a feather. Not having to worry about work,
chores, and all the errands you run daily allows your body to destress and find peace.

Affects your immune system

Aside from mental effects, traveling will also have an impact on your physical well-being. When you
travel from America to Australia, a long-haul flight will take a toll on your body, potentially compromising
your immune system. That is especially true if you forget to boost your immunity with vitamins and
supplements a week or two before the trip. Surrounding yourself with many people and coming in
contact with them puts you at risk of catching a disease when your immunity is not at its best.
With a COVID-19 pandemic still in action, you'll want to have a COVID-19 test with you in case
you notice any symptoms. That way, you can do a rapid antigen test in Australia and know for
sure whether it’s a common cold or if you’ve caught the virus during your trip. To protect your
health and those of others, stick to preventative measures like wearing masks, washing
hands, and sanitizing regularly.


Photo by Te lensFix

Improves creativity

The more we travel, the more creative we become. Being exposed to new cultures, destinations,
customs, and characters of people creates a new perspective from which your imagination starts to
go wild. New people will have various influences over you, allowing your brain to think differently
and come up with many new ideas. From starting a new hobby to changing the way you think and
live your life – traveling will boost creativity in a multitude of ways.

Helps you become more physically active

Physical activity is essential for keeping mental and physical health in check. Travelling allows you to
increase physical fitness, as you'll be on the move the majority of the time. Whether you're going to

Australia for sightseeing or Indonesia for the gorgeous beaches, you’ll inevitably become more
active as you enjoy new adventures and explore a foreign country. Swimming at the seaside every
day can even help you develop a new habit and make you want to go to morning swim sessions
every day when you go home. Improving your heart and lung health whilst helping your posture will
be some of the many benefits travel has brought you through swimming.
When you feel like you need a change, book a trip. It doesn't have to be a long journey for your mind
and body to recharge and refresh. Take a long weekend to visit a neighboring foreign country, and
you'll notice many positive effects without breaking the bank.


Featured image Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash 


My Struggles Have Made Me A Better, More Empathetic Doctor

By Emma Suttie, D.Ac, AP

Some of the most useful things that I have been able to bring to my patients are things that I have learned through my own experiences with trauma, pain, emotional issues, illnesses - and how I was able to get through them. These experiences also allow me tremendous empathy for the people I see, both in clinic and in everyday life. My thinking is that the more I go through and GET through, the better I can serve my patients and ultimately, my fellow human being. No matter our financial status, where we are born, our religion, colour or beliefs, we will all experience difficulties, pain, fear, sorrow, and illness at some time in our lives. And it helps to know that you are not alone and that you will ultimately get through it, and be stronger for the experience.

An Unusual Life (Let me get philosophical for a moment)

I have had, well, an unusual life. This has been mostly of my own making, and even though there have been a lot of ups and downs (oh *so* many), I wouldn't change any of it. I have never believed in regret. I believe that every experience that we have in this life contributes to making us who we are - that we are an accumulation of those experiences. I also think that it is important that we are at peace with the person we have become, no matter what may be happening in our lives. This certainly is not always easy. Remembering to be kind with ourselves as we are a young species, and here to learn a great deal which includes things which we judge to be unpleasant like pain, grief, loss, fear, anger, and frustration are all important pieces of the whole. Like Chinese medicine, I believe in a holistic system, with every part synergistically connecting to every other. I can draw so many parallels back to Chinese medicine, which is why I connected to it so strongly and why I fell so deeply and passionately in love with it. It is an allegory for life, and perhaps, all things in the universe and beyond.

Ever since I can remember I have been hungry for so many of the experiences that life has to offer. I didn't have a choice in the matter, it was like there was a force driving me, and I could either allow it to push me in the direction of experience or be crushed and ultimately destroyed by it. I wanted to do everything, try everything. I was driven by a curiosity about the world and my existence that has lead me to live a very, uh, interesting life. I was fascinated with travel and wanted to see as many places and cultures as I could. I loved the way that each place had a unique smell, a look, a feel and each would arouse such emotion. I also loved the newness of a different country, a new city or tiny village. I thrived being immersed in a completely alien culture and absorbing as much of it as I could, being exposed to its magic, its customs, rituals, food, and music. There is such beauty, creativity, and wonder that permeates the cultures of the world, and that is what I was after. I loved seeing what each had to offer, and learning how its people communicated, loved, celebrated and mourned. I absolutely think that travel is the best education. I learned more in my travels than I ever could in a classroom or books.

I have also been living my life in, I suppose, a unique way. I knew from very early on that I would never live the life that most people end up living. Buying a one-way ticket to another country and not knowing where you were going to stay, not having a job and not knowing how long you would be there? This is insane! they would say. Going to China alone to work in a tiny city so small (6 million people) it wasn't even on the map, and just hoping it would be ok? Foolish! Moving to Central America with a tiny baby to make a better life with hopes to buy land, live off the grid and create a sustainable community and healing retreat without the resources (yet) with which to do it? Madness. And yet, I have done all of these things with varying degrees of success. With these experiences came a lot of worry, grief, loneliness, frustration, and despair, I am not going to lie to you. And yet, even though they involved a lot of pain and emotions which are hard to deal with, I am glad I did those things because I learned a lot about myself, and how to process all the crazy things that life can throw at you. And even when things are difficult and painful, you do come out the other side, and the feelings then, are often intensely joyful because you have passed through such darkness to get to them. And yet, these experiences are not for the faint of heart. And many would say choices made by someone who may be a few crayons short of a full box.

I was once sitting in a session with a therapist before my imminent departure to a foreign country and he said to me "you know, this thing you are doing, would scare the hell out of most people. Aren't you afraid?" And, this was the first moment that I really thought about fear in connection with the situation. After a minute I said, "no, I am not scared of this at all." And then he asked me the inevitable question. "Well then, what are you scared of?" And the answer came to me quickly. I said "I am scared of being married to someone I don't love, working a job I hate and feeling trapped in a life I don't want. I fear getting to the end of my life and feeling like I never really lived."

Pain & Growth

In my experience, it has been the darkest moments, the most difficult times and when I was deeply suffering that I learned the most. It took me a long time to admit because I didn't want it to be true. I wanted to be able to learn from happiness, joy, freedom, and love, and I have. But not like I evolve when I am facing darkness. But maybe it is just me...

Take Vipassana meditation for instance. This, by definition, is taking a stroll through the winding path of your consciousness, that inevitably leads to some of the darker places in your subconscious. Vipassana is defined as "seeing things as they really are", which, at least in my experiences, have meant the whole she-bang. The light bits and the darker ones as well. And it is the darker ones that we tend to hide from, the ones that hurt us, leave scars and can hinder us in the present until we are able to heal them (acknowledging them first which is usually not easy and can bring up a lot of difficult feelings) and finally let them go.

**if you would like to learn more about Vipassana Meditation you can read about my two Vipassana retreats here - My Ten Day Vipassana Meditation and Vipassana 2.0.

I have seen this for many years with patients. As a practitioner, I like to get deep into things. I want to understand why you are having those headaches, the insomnia, and the panic attacks, so I ask a lot of questions in an attempt to get to the root of things. And I have found that so much of what makes people sick are things that have hurt them in their past that they are dragging with them into their present. That may sound strange, but in my experience, it is absolutely true. As a culture, we are all striving for health, but most of the time that is limited to the physical realm. And yet, as well as physical bodies, we all have emotions, but few of us are taught or have the skills to deal with them in a healthy way. I think that because I was such a sensitive child, and constantly overwhelmed by not only my emotions, but by the emotions of others, that I have been working my whole life to find a balance and a way to deal with them effectively so that they do not become demons that haunt me in my present.

Chinese medicine is well aware of this phenomena and the emotions are considered to be one of the causes of disease. Now, to clarify, HAVING emotions is not a cause of disease, but emotions that are suppressed, unexpressed or expressed in an inappropriate manner are seen to contribute to disease. So basically, emotional health is just as important as physical health, and so it should be. Patients are often surprised at how much attention I give to their emotional state as we talk in each session. And I tell them that it is a hugely important factor and that I need to be aware of how they are feeling so that I can better help them to rebalance and gain the equilibrium that will bring them back to health - body, mind, and spirit.

A Better Healer

I hope that because of all the experiences that I have had, and all the pain that I have been through, that those experiences have made me a better version of myself. A wiser, more compassionate self. And I also think that my struggles with pain, grief, anger, loss and my journeys into the darkness have given me the ability to recognize those struggles in others. I know that darkness, I have spent a lot of time there. I know that place and I can empathize with you if you are there too.

It is rarely the thing that people say they are coming in to see me for that is the thing that needs the most attention. And, because I have been there, in that dark place where you feel like you are hurting and all alone, that I can see that person, take their hand, and hopefully, lead them back into the light. Which is, after all, where we all want to be.

This beautiful quote by Ram Dass is one that has always really hit home for me, in my life and in my work. <3


Biophilia: Ways to Connect With Nature in Your Daily Life and Watch Your Spirituality Grow

Contribution from freelance writer Sally Perkins

We are a species of biophiliacs. In 1984 an American biologist called Edward Wilson published a book on man’s innate love of nature: biophilia. Wilson’s hypothesis is that human beings have an innate tendency to seek connections with nature and other forms of life. This means that connecting with nature will improve your physical, mental and spiritual health. Since Wilson’s thesis, a hoard of science to back it up has been published including this 2015 study from Nature, showing a strong link between health and green spaces in cities.

Of course this only confirms what practitioners of Chinese medicine have known for centuries: the universe and the human being are interconnected. But these days many of us live in cities, doing technology focused jobs that keep us inside all day. Here are some ways to connect with nature and reap the spiritual benefits.

Understanding the link between spirituality and nature

The first step is to understand and accept that nature and spirituality are inevitably interconnected and both are necessary for your happiness. New research has found that spirituality leads to better mental health across the course of an individual’s lifetime. Spirituality is an intimate connection between our inner selves and the outer world. Thus while spirituality is related to your inner being, your place in nature and the world is equally important.

One you accept the importance of nature to your spiritual growth, you will find yourself drawn to natural spaces without expending much effort and the next steps will come naturally, integrating nature into your life.

Travel

The most obvious way to connect to nature is to travel to a natural space. When we think of ‘travel,’ exciting journeys to exotic places come to mind . These kind of trips can also be hugely beneficial but you don’t have to cross the earth to connect with nature. A day trip to a forest or a hill an hour outside your city will do. This works better if you can turn off your digital devices for your trip and really allow yourself to be in the moment. Done right, you will come back to your daily life spiritually refreshed.

Find natural spaces in your city

Of course, in our hectic life, opportunities to take a day trip may be few and far in between. Never fear, nature doesn’t stop at town borders. Search for parks, gardens and rivers in your area. Even fifteen minutes in a small park during your lunch break can make you feel more spiritually centered and ready to face your afternoon.

Bring nature into your space

For the days where even getting to a park sounds too much, make sure you have a little bit of nature in your home. The benefits of houseplants are numerous and well documented, including cleaning the air, helping you breathe and work better.

Even for urban dwellers, there are many opportunities to connect with nature and indulge your inner biophiliac. Integrate nature into your daily life and watch your spirituality develop and your happiness grow.

 .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

The beautiful featured image photo by Beata Ratuszniak on Unsplash