Escaping the Storm: How Travel Rebuilds Your Mental Health in Uncertain Times

“Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.” ~Carlos Patterson

Introduction:

In a world shaken by uncertainty, lockdowns, and daily stress, sometimes the best therapy is distance from the noise, the news, and the numbness.

Whether it’s a bike ride down a country path or a quiet weekend in nature, travel no matter how short has a powerful way of healing the mind, awakening the spirit, and helping you remember who you are beyond the crisis.

It was the end of February, and the long shadow of COVID-19 had not yet cast a pall over human life, as we know it. So, when my friends invited me on a road trip, I jumped at the opportunity.

Little did I know that in only a couple of weeks, the world would change as the virus descended, blocking out the sun, the joy, and the vital connections of life.

For three days, we reveled in the beauty of an endless crescent of pristine, golden beach, stretching around a tranquil cove unsullied by the noise of jet skis and speed boats, where barely even one human footprint was seen in the sand.

But the glory of those three days is that they live in my mind, as though I'd been there only yesterday. That brief trip into the natural world created a kind of psychological airbag between my mental health and the overwhelming anxiety that was about to explode into all our lives.

The Corona Virus - Surviving the Pandemic, One Step Away from Routine

Rona is something of a party pooper. Canceled travel plans, canceled events, weddings, baptisms, birthday parties, canceled classes, canceled jobs, the list goes on.

Almost overnight, the life we'd known was put on indefinite hold.

And as the months wear on, our indifference and grudging acceptance have become a boiling cauldron of anger, frustration, and anxiety, leading to public scenes in supermarkets, prompted by the tantrums of those who will not be masked.

We are having a collective nervous breakdown, it seems.

Because, as we all know, Rona is no fun. She is the iconic wet blanket, the po-faced party pooper, the chaperone that nobody wanted.

So, how do we cope with all this? How to manage our emotional lives and safeguard our mental health from the unseen ravages of this monstrous pandemic?

“That brief trip became my mental airbag—buffering me against the anxiety about to crash into our world.”

Mental Health in Peril

Rates of anxiety and depression have been steadily increasing in the United States over the past several decades.

Today, almost 20% of Americans suffer from anxiety, and the numbers among young people are staggering.

A study conducted over time by the American Psychological Association found that mood disorders have increased dramatically in this demographic over the past decade.

Even in the 12 months prior to March 2019 (when the study’s findings were published),an increase of 52% in the prevalence of these disorders was seen.

Social media may have had much to do with that increase in 2019, but in 2020, the presenting issue is the virus. People are afraid of falling ill with it.

They're afraid of losing jobs, losing ground at school and college, or they’re worried about distant loved ones – the list is endless, and the anxiety and depression are beginning to drag us all down.

The World Health Organization has reported that 50% of Chinese health care workers were suffering from depression at the height of the pandemic, with 45% suffering from anxiety and 34% struggling with insomnia.

Meanwhile, in Canada, 47% of health care workers needed mental health support as the pandemic filled ICUs across the nation.

And with most physical and mental health facilities either consumed by managing the casualties of the virus or closed to prevent the spread of infection, there is not much help to be had.

And so, we turn to ourselves for solutions.

“When the world locks down, the soul wants to breathe—and nature holds the key.”

This virus is going nowhere. We are currently looking at another 18 months to 2 years of this pandemic, a desolate prospect for those of us who’ve found the past several months difficult.

But in ourselves and in our surroundings, there is relief from it all.

There is hope for mental health rejuvenation.

The Power of Local Travel (Even During a Pandemic)

I started this post by telling you about a getaway with friends. I wanted you to know about that modest little getaway because it offered me so much enduring value.

And that value has come to me in some of the worst moments of this public health crisis.

As I hear of outbreaks in long-term care homes and frontline workers dying from this devastating illness, I have a choice.

I can buckle under the weight of despair, collapsing in a helpless puddle of hopeless tears, or I can get away from it all.

And that's where I go.

I return to the golden crescent of beach in the middle of nowhere, its placid waters gently lapping the shore, the light of the sun haphazardly interrupted by the branches of trees swaying in the breeze. I feel the sun on my face. I feel the sand between my toes.

And at that moment, I know that soon, life will be better. It may never be exactly as it was, and that needs to be OK. It will be better. We will pick up the broken shards of a civilization interrupted and move toward whatever our lives look like on the other side.

“The word ‘vacation’ means to vacate. And sometimes, we need to vacate our emotional heaviness to return home to peace.”

For now, though, let's talk about how you can get away from all this and, in so doing, reset and rejuvenate your mental health.

Reclaiming Sanity, Reclaiming Self

Travel doesn’t require a passport.
A simple road trip, a walk in nature, or a visit to that park you’ve never explored can shift your entire perspective.

Air travel, while still possible in the age of COVID-19, presents yet another source of anxiety to most of us.

Stuffed into a flying tin cigar, people are seated in close quarters.

Even if wearing masks, the risk of infection seems too great to risk the proximity of people we don’t know.

But getting away from it all doesn’t need to involve air travel.

There are many other ways to step out of your daily life and into parts of your immediate environment you might not normally have time to explore.

A road trip, a day at the park, a bicycle excursion in the country – these are all short vacations we can take from the “Rona”, which lift us out of our daily realities.

Removed from the worries, fears, and anxieties of the 24/7 news cycle that the virus dominates, we are temporarily elsewhere.

This can have a tremendous impact on our mental health.

The word "vacation" means that we leave our regular lives behind – we vacate them to immerse ourselves in another reality.

While we tend to think of vacations as a week, two weeks, or even a month, they needn't be longer than a day to have the same healing effect on our challenged psyches.

The Psychological Benefits of Getting Away

This isn’t about luxury—it’s about self-nurture.
And it doesn’t require a plane ticket. It just requires permission—to disconnect, to breathe, to feel.

Getting away from your habitual environment has the effect of lifting you out of the problems you associate with it. Being quarantined, not working or going to school, not seeing friends and often, family, is an isolating experience.

And human beings are social animals, so isolating ourselves is very difficult for most of us.

We feel imprisoned and stunted in our lives.

But the world is still out there, and with preventative measures (masks, handwashing and sanitizing and maintaining social distance), you can still go out and enjoy it!

Even if you go by yourself, getting out into nature, or going somewhere in your immediate area, you've never seen changes in the backdrop of your life.

While it's a platitude, the "change of scenery" is medicine more powerful than you might think.

• Anxiety is reduced. Just by “vacating” your life for a brief period, you step outside the worries and fears associated with it.

• You feel renewed. Just by being somewhere else, with nothing to do but enjoy your surroundings, you’re giving yourself the care you need to keep your mental health sound.

• Brief is beautiful. A recent study in Germany revealed that a brief vacation is as effective as a long one. You receive the same rest, stress-relief, and sense of renewal on a 3-day getaway that you do on a month-long epic trek.

You may not have a lot of money right now (another stressor), but you have time. Don't waste it sitting in front of the television.

Put some thought into places in your local area you'd like to see but have never followed up on visiting.

That could be a museum in your city, or a famous park, or a trek into the nearby mountains.

Your COVID-19 travel break – and you should plan to take more than one – is tailored to your desires and what you want to make of it. Plan it well.

Make it all about you and what you need right now. Nurture yourself and treasure every moment you spend doing just that.

It’s that self-nurture that prompts self-awareness, which is the heart of understanding what’s going on inside you.

And the more you understand, the less likely you are to allow it to take over.

You know this pandemic is here for a while.

But you also know that the sun always follows the deluge.

Take some time to connect with the world around you.

Get away from it all and get back to yourself.

You're worth it, and when you come home, you'll be at peace, knowing that the world hasn't gone anywhere – you’ve just been taking a break from it.

Go out and reacquaint yourself and find in that experience the strength that keeps you whole and well!

So plan that small trip. Get outside. Change your scenery. Reset your spirit.