Besides meeting new places, people and cuisine, traveling seems to have a huge impact on psychological health. Even though traveling has often been perceived as light and relaxing way to spend free time, many scientists claim that the correlation between mental health should not be neglected. Therefore, in the near future, we may look at traveling as a soul-centered journey as well.
Forbes magazine mentions several ways in which traveling can be good for the soul. First of all, traveling decreases the levels of stress. We are all aware of the high-speed societies we are living in, with full-time jobs that don't provide many opportunities for relaxation and rest. This is the most visible and obvious way in which going on a vacation can help us slow down and unwind from our busy lives.
Another way in which traveling can be beneficial is in the change of perspective. This may not be as obvious as the previous statement, and the best way to explain it is through the change that happens to us once we are encountered in a different environment to the one we are usually in. Different climate, landscape, food and people provide a different point of view. New routines are the things crucial for breaking the cycle of unsatisfaction and monotony. This aspect has also been stressed by the psychologist Jean Kim from Psychology Today, who claims that this aspect of traveling improves the cognitive functions and helps in resisting stress.
Change of the daily routine can also lead to a better understanding of our problems, by introspecting from a different point of view. traveling and getting to know other ways of living beside our own, helps us determine our priorities in life and make us less self-centered. By visiting other places, we also visit other places within ourselves, which literally makes us a new person. Besides that, traveling makes us more open, tolerant and flexible when it comes to different circumstances and people in our own lives.
Scientists from Psychology Today also mention a technique that can be beneficial for our mental health when we come back from the trip. This refers to the idea of a 'zen space', a place in our mind that reflects the feeling we had on the trip, which has a peaceful and relaxing effect on our mental state.
Another positive impact of traveling is in the encouragement that it provides to us. Each travel is a step out of our comfort zone, which widens our perception, empathy and strength to deal with our own problems and concerns. These positive effects further lead to increased creativity and productivity.
As we can see, the benefits of traveling are numerous. It is not easy to find a psychological method that would be pleasant and relaxing on one side, and deeply beneficial for our mental health, at the other. These facts provide us with the insight of how significant travel can be, and therefore we shouldn't neglect them when considering if we should go on that trip.