How to look after your mental health when you can’t travel

Travel has helped my mental health more than any drug or therapy ever has. So what do you do when you suddenly can’t travel?

For me, travel is such an important part of caring for my mental health. Just the chance to get away from my day to day life gives me a new perspective on my concerns and anxieties. Often, the problem I was agonising over daily at home doesn’t seem anywhere near as important when I’m away and I’m able to look at life a lot more clearly. Travel helps me ground myself and focus on what’s really important in life.

Seeing new places and having new experiences brings me joy and a feeling of achievement, a feeling of having achieved something worthwhile with my life. When I look back on the last 10 years of my life, some of the things I’m proudest of are the solo travel trips I’ve taken, where I’ve faced my anxiety head on and had an amazing time. When I’m feeling low, I think about the places I’ve been, and plan new places to go. It’s worked far better for me than any drug or therapy.

Travel is a privilege, and I know how incredibly lucky I am to live in a country and a financial situation that makes travel even a possibility for me. I know that so many people in this world do not have the same options to travel as I do, and I’m grateful every day that I’ve been able to travel.

I focus so much of my time and energy planning new trips. I’ve always got a list of new places I want to go. Travel brings me so much joy.

But then Covid-19 came along.

Covid-19 has presented a huge number of challenges and has had a seriously negative effect on my mental health. Due to a chronic health condition I’m in the ‘extremely clinically vulnerable’ group for Covid-19, which means I’ve had to spend a lot of the last year shielding. I’ve been separated from my friends and family, often not even able to go to a shop because it’s too risky. I’ve been super lucky that I’ve been able to continue working from home, but going for weeks without seeing another human being in person is really difficult. I’ve felt low, isolated, and anxious about going outside.

But unlike in other years, where I’d be able to travel to practise self-care and build myself up again, this year it hasn’t been possible. So I’ve had to cope with my mental health challenges while being completely unable to go to my usual things that help.

So how can you look after your mental health, when your top thing is impossible? These are some of my top tips I’ve learnt over the last year.

How to look after your mental health when you can’t travel

1. Find enjoyment in a new hobby

When travel isn’t possible, it’s time to look for something else to fill your spare time. It could be reading, writing, watching Netflix, doing jigsaw puzzles, baking, or home exercise routines, or anything else you fancy. It’s so important to have things outside of work to focus on that you enjoy, and when travel has to take a step back, another hobby can fill its place.

I’ve tried to see this as a positive this year. I’ve done so much more writing this year than I would have done if I’d filled my year with travelling. Instead of taking time planning trips and going away, I’ve had entire weekends where I can just write. And I see this is as a real positive. I’ve also been able catch up on lots of Netflix shows, so when it’s possible to see friends again I’ll be able to keep up with their conversations about TV. Travel has left a huge void in my life, but I’ve managed to find the positives in filling that void with other hobbies.

2. Spend some time planning future trips – but not too much

There’s a tricky balance here between focussing on future travel so much that you feel low because you can’t go right now, but also keeping your passion satisfied. I enjoy looking at photos of destinations for future trips to get ideas, but I’m stopping myself planning a full itinerary of a trip as I know that will just make me sad that I’m not able to go. Find the balance that works for you.

3. Eat healthily, drink water and sleep

Again, I’ve tried to view this year as a positive that I’ve had a good eating and sleep routine all year.

In previous years I’ve tried to travel as much as I can in my time off work, which has often left me feeling completely exhausted and eating unhealthy food. In the past, I’ve had to get up stupidly early in the morning for a flight, then exhausted myself on a holiday walking around sightseeing. I often haven’t eaten that healthily on trips (memories of living almost exclusively off Belgian waffles on my trips to Bruges and Brussels…). And then when I get home, I’m so exhausted that I can sleep for 12-14 hours, and still don’t have the energy to cook healthy meals.

This last year, none of that has happened. I’ve cooked healthy food almost every day and gone to bed at a reasonable time every night, because there’s never been a reason not to. I think my physical health has benefitted from this consistency, rather than the highs and lows of my travel life. So even though I haven’t been able to travel, I’ve been able to look after both my physical and my mental health better through a healthy eating and good sleep routine.

4. Explore your local area

It can be so easy to overlook your local area and home country when you’ve got the whole world to explore. But almost everyone has some stunning scenery nearby. I live in the South-East UK, and I’ve really come to appreciate the scenery in my home country as it changes with the seasons. In the first lockdown in the UK in the spring, I got so much joy from seeing the first daffodils, and then the bluebells, and watching the trees burst into life in the summer. And then the autumn colours, and the frosty winter mists. There’s so much beauty right on your doorstep if you only look at it with the right mindset. And the exercise from getting outside for a walk is super beneficial as well.

Wherever you live, someone else is dreaming of going there on holiday. Although I often wish I was on a Greek island, I’m sure there’s someone in Greece who’s sitting at home wishing they were seeing bluebells in a UK woodland. We can travel in our local area, and that can have just as many mental health benefits as a trip abroad.

5. Enjoy travel-related hobbies

There are many things associated with travel that you can do when you can’t travel abroad, which can really help give your mental health a lift. Maybe you can cook a traditional meal from one of the countries you’ve visited. Or you could develop your photography skills so you can take even better travel photos. Or read books about travel, watch films set in exotic locations, or write about your travels. Or learn a language ready for your next trip. There are so many things we can do that can give us a taste of travel to help look after our mental health when we can’t travel. But it’s important to get a good balance, as I find that focussing too much on these can make me miss travel more and contribute to feeling low. So as with most things in life, balance is key.

6. Know that you’re helping to save a life by not travelling

When I’m feeling really low, sometimes I just need to remind myself that it’s so important to not travel right now. No matter how much I want to travel, and no matter how much I think I might ‘need’ to get away for my mental health, my wants and needs are nothing compared to the risk to someone’s life from spreading Covid-19. If I decided to travel now, I risk spreading Covid-19 to who knows how many people, who may then spread it to others, which may result in others’ deaths. There’s no ‘need’ for a holiday that is worth risking someone’s life.

The world is amazing and will still be there after Covid-19. So for now, just sit tight and focus on other hobbies and exploring your local area, and find other ways to look after your mental health when you can’t travel.

We’ll be able to travel again. But now just isn’t the time. But if we all play our part, then soon we’ll all be able to step back into the captivating world of travel.

Want to read more? Find more tips on coping with lockdown isolation and read my blog post on lockdown isolation with chronic illness.

If you’re struggling with isolation, it’s ok to reach out for help. You can contact the charity Mind or the Samaritans for help and support. It’s ok to not be ok. It’s ok to reach out for support.