4 Powerful Mental Health Benefits of Travelling the World

Along my travels, I realised how beneficial it is to get out in nature, meet new people, and experience different cultures. All of these had an incredibly positive impact on my mental health. Without these experiences and the mental health journey I have been on, thanks to travelling, I wouldn’t be the person I am today.

So, to pass on what I’ve learnt through my adventures, here are the key mental health benefits of travelling that I’ve seen first-hand and how they can help you, too.

The power of being out in nature is perhaps the most widely discussed mental health benefit of travelling. There has been a lot of research into how nature improves mental well-being, but there’s no harm in finding that out for yourself.

When I began exploring nature, I thought I’d become an Amazonian Queen, a wild woman who conquered the natural world. Instead, I found how incredibly humbling nature actually is.

Perhaps one of my most vivid memories is sitting on the side of a large hill (not quite a mountain) in New Zealand. I was looking out over the bay, surrounded by overgrown plants, and thinking, “after I’m gone, everything I was looking at will still be here.” It may sound depressing, but it put many of my problems in perspective.

No matter what is going on in your life, whether relationship problems or a lack of purpose, nature will always be there, even with its unpredictability.

Even now, as I work in the city, I make sure I have access to parks and green spaces. It’s just the ability to breathe and open your mind that helps put everything in perspective.

A way to escape problems and leave everything behind.

I will never forget something one of my camp directors said on the last night of summer camp. He spoke about how we live our lives in squares. We live in square houses, work on square screens, and even spend our downtime on them, but in camp (and I believe this applies to general travel as well), life is circular.

Despite the persistence of flat earthers, we know the world is round, and the nature within it is full of opportunity. To me, that is what a circular life is like, open and full of hope.

I honestly could talk about nature and mental health healing all day, but I’ll move on.

One of my favourite things about travelling is meeting new people. This wasn’t always the case for me. Ten years ago, the idea of meeting new people filled me with dread.

Being in an unfamiliar social setting and with people I didn’t know was nerve-wracking. Even at university, I found it difficult to put myself out there. Travelling changed all of this. I was forced to make new friends and connections while living somewhere completely new.

Some of the most meaningful connections I’ve made have been in my five years of travelling. Not only did I find my “tribe”, but I am now much less nervous about meeting new people. A skill that is useful both personally and professionally.

This mental health benefit works on a personal level but also on a global level. Politicians, celebrities, and news - along with long-held stereotypes and beliefs - tend to shape how we view a country.

Meeting real people from different places humanises distant lands. I’ll admit when I volunteered in South Africa, I thought I’d be surrounded by hopelessness. In reality, the opposite was true. The people I met were ordinary people, resilient to the situation life had given them and determined to take control of their own destiny.

The state of the world can feel overwhelming, but meeting like-minded people around the world certainly helped me feel less alone.

This is why I will happily preach about the mental health benefits of travelling until the cows come home.

The world is a much better place when we cross borders and meet people.

When travelling solo, you’re balancing time between meeting new people and doing things alone.

Have you ever eaten at a restaurant on your own before? Or gone to the cinema alone? I have a couple of times, and it’s a weirdly rewarding experience.

I was at a restaurant by Lake Wanaka, New Zealand, and it was so lovely sitting and musing over where I was (as well as sampling some great food). Although the wait staff checked on me more than usual - perhaps with an air of pity - I felt so confident after I finished my meal that I strode out of the restaurant like a champion.

Obviously, I’m not saying to always eat a meal on your own, but just doing things solo is such a confidence booster.

Restaurants aside, just having to be in control of getting from one place to the other is quite a task.

This may sound incredibly ironic, but I’m actually a nervous flyer. Not really due to safety, but more the nervousness of getting to places on time.

Having to be organised and on time helped melt this anxiety away. Airport security lines aren’t as long as you think, and I always found a way if my first travel option wasn’t available.

Now, this is where I felt like an Amazonian Wonder Woman. Just getting myself from A to Z boosted my confidence. Not having the option to rely on someone makes you feel like you’re taking control.

Even if you’re travelling in a group, taking charge of an unfamiliar journey is a challenge that will help improve your mental health and the way you see yourself.

Building resilience certainly blends with confidence building.

You will face setbacks when travelling. That’s life. Whether there is a logistical issue, homesickness or even actual sickness. Picking yourself up from those setbacks is even more fulfilling when you’re somewhere new.

As I said before, my first night on my first summer camp trip was quite upsetting. When I arrived, it was pitch black. I remember voices in the dark calling out my name and leading me to my cabin. I know it sounds like the start of a scary movie, but in my jet-lagged brain, I felt incredibly out of my depth. So scared, in fact, that I cried myself to sleep that night, regretting all my decisions.

Picking myself off from the overwhelming feeling was hard, but dealing with those emotions and then thriving in a new environment, I became much more resilient to life’s challenges.

You can’t learn resilience from a book. There’s no other way to develop it than taking life’s punches, getting knocked down, and then getting back up to do it all again.

Post travelling, I have been practising gratitude as much as possible, and every day I am so grateful for the experiences I’ve had whilst travelling. So even when it’s a rainy day in England, the mental health benefits of travelling keep coming.

I think back to all I’ve overcome in my travels, thankful to have visited unique places and met amazing people who shaped who I am today.