Travelling with Mental Health - What I've Learnt So Far

Anxiety has always been in my life, becoming increasingly prevalent over the last few years. Don't get me wrong, your 20s are great fun, but they can also be pretty confusing at times. And there's nothing wrong with that - it's important that we take the pressure off and use them as a chapter in life for learning.

Prior to coming away, I thought that travelling would make all my worries and anxieties go away. This is in fact, not true. You can travel to another planet, and your emotions and feelings will be there right behind you. And actually, so they should be, because at the end of the day they are what makes you YOU. Anxiety or any mental health is not something we should feel the need to run away from, it is something we should learn to manage and control. 

When anxiety rears its head, we tend to instantly turn to distractions, whether it be indulging in a Netflix series, scrolling through social media, reading a book, exercising, eating, drinking. Don't get me wrong, it can be great to have a distraction to divert our minds, but what I’m increasingly learning is that sometimes the real benefit comes from facing our emotions head on. Challenging them and telling those recurring thoughts to do one, because quite frankly they are rather repetitive and boring.

Being on the other side of the world has made me realise just how powerful the mind really is in controlling our emotions and actions. For this reason, I wanted to share with you some of the things that have been helping me along the way, in hope that they can help you too.

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1)    Get active.

So let's begin with the obvious. The one you've probably heard a lot but that does truly help.

Whether it be running, boxing, football, yoga – find your thing. There is something very comforting about knowing that even when it feels like everything is going to s***, you have a release that is constant, non-judgmental and will always be there.

2)    Get out in nature.

Find your favourite part of nature - for me this is being by the sea. There's something very comforting about seeing it with no end, and knowing that it is so much larger and more powerful than your worries. 

3)    Know your network and reach out.

Establish a network of people who lift you up and reach out to them. A problem shared is a problem halved – I’m a true believer of that. We always worry about being a burden on someone, but that is what our friends and family are for. 

Or if you don’t want to speak to a loved one about how you’re feeling, speak to someone, anyone. Sometimes just saying out loud how you’re feeling can really help.

4)    But at the same time, look for happiness within you.

We are often conditioned to seek happiness in things that surrounds us, whether that be through people or buying habits.

People are going to let us down in life, that's just the way it goes, and it's important to remember that everyone is struggling themselves. If you rely on others for your own happiness, it can often lead to disappointment and frustration. I'm not saying that you shouldn't feel excited to be around other people, but that you shouldn't depend on it. 

The best happiness comes from YOU. 

5)   Do something for others.

Even if it is sending a loved one a message that you know will brighten their day. Doing good things for other people does you good and helps to put things into perspective.

6)    Learn to say no.

Discover what you do and don’t enjoy and learn to say no to things you don’t want to do. We are all great victims of FOMO, but start having more JOMO (in the words of one of my lovely friends). This is the joy of missing out. Work out what your top priorities are and if an event comes up that doesn’t fit within them, just simply say no.

7) Remember, it's okay to not be okay.

From a young age, we believe that certain emotions are 'right' or 'wrong'. Who can remember feeling angry at school, and being told it was 'naughty' or 'bad'. Feeling angry, happy, sad - they're all normal emotions, and not ones we should feel the need to suppress.

A lot of us also seem to be under the assumption that everything has to be rosy all the time, but it's perfectly normal to have days that aren't. If you need to have a cry, put on a sad film and bloody well have a cry and remember, it really is okay to not be okay. Allow yourself to feel what you're feeling and know that it will pass.

9) Stop thinking so much.

This has actually been the learning that has helped me the most. 

Living in the past makes you feel low and living in the future makes you feel anxious. This is why we need to try and calmly live in the now. One of the ways of doing this is to think less and throw yourself into whatever experience or situation it is you're in at that precise moment. 

Extract the past or the future from your now, this very millisecond you sit in, and you'll see that you're more than likely okay.

10) The most important - be kind to yourself.

We’re terrible victims of talking ourselves down and constantly thinking we’re not good enough. Learn to be kind to yourself and break this pattern of negative thoughts and words. Life will become lighter and your relationships will improve.

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The whole purpose of this blog is to get people talking openly about mental health, so I'd love to hear your thoughts or any coping mechanisms you may have. Please feel free to comment directly on the post, or alternatively email via the contact page.

Thank you for reading, and to end, here is a little positive mantra for you: 

Be risky. Give newness a try. Focus on the positives in the future instead of the scary 'what ifs'.