How to Care for Yourself While You Travel
Posted by Filed under wanderlust
These days, it seems that “new age” terminology like self-care and mindfulness are abuzz in the world around us. It’s easy to overlook these terms as catchy keyword-stuffing, but doing so really does ourselves a disservice. Particularly with travel, it’s vital to maintain some level self-care–not just physically, of course, but mentally and emotionally as well.
Photo via MaxPixel
Obviously, travelling is thrilling, fun and an incredibly fortunate opportunity to take advantage of. However, as anyone who really travels already knows, it can be an immensely difficult activity as well. Not only is it stressful for time management, organising logistics, and the like, but it’s also pretty hard on the body physically. Emotionally, it can be challenging to take in so much information at once, all while trying to enjoy yourself safely.
For these reasons, self-care becomes all the more essential. Here are 3 ways to maintain a high level of self-care while engaging in an inherently hard lifestyle:
1. Try to develop a habit for mindfulness, breathing exercises and journaling
Maybe you’ve already incorporated these practices into your routine as part of a healthy lifestyle. If you haven’t yet, they’re highly recommended as part of your travel routine. Especially when finding yourself in transient situations where you’re meeting many people, seeing many places and experiencing near-constant mental stimuli, taking time to reflect and ingest those experiences becomes all the more important for mental health and happiness. It’s quite easy to lose sight of yourself when you’re travelling, and being mindful helps to avoid that.
Photo via Flickr
2. Do one kind act for yourself everyday
It may seem silly, or even like something your grandma would say, but doing something nice for yourself – no matter how minimal – can be very beneficial for overall mental health. By making life easier and more enjoyable on yourself, you not only improve health and self-care but can also arguably glean more from your travels. Even something as small as treating yourself to a coffee or nice meal while travelling can boost your mood and encourage better mental health.
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3. Know your mental, emotional, and physical limits – and prioritise them over your travel
Even if you’re an extremely driven traveller, the best among us are those who know their own limits. Travelling can be an inherently exhausting activity – from the oft-lack of stability in “settling” in a place to crazy travel itineraries and spotty sleep schedules. While these are all aspects that draw allure to travel, it’s still a difficult activity to undergo. By pushing yourself too much over too long of a period, eventually you may figuratively crash and burn. By knowing your own limits, strengths, weaknesses, and how much is too much, you can become a better, stronger adventurer – even when that means sitting out for a few days to rest and recoup energy.
Photo via Flickr
Even though travel involves the physical moving of bodies, travel also moves our spirits. By having strong mental and emotional health throughout our adventures, we can better ensure that we’re open and ready for all of the amazing wonders that await us.
How do you stay on top of your mental and emotional health game while traveling? Share with us in the comments!