Travel is a form of therapy for me. It truly does help rewire my brain and helps ease my symptoms from disorders like depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder. Traveling helps save my sanity and gives me hope for a better tomorrow. Here is why taking a vacation from your symptoms helps your mental health.
Every year around February I take a little vacation away from my home city of Chicago. This is absolutely necessary for me. I struggle with extremely bad seasonal depression. If you live in or around the midwest you know that it can become difficult to keep your depression at bay in the wintertime. It is gray, cold and windy. We have weeks and weeks without any sunshine.
This is my second year escaping the darkness and going to where the sunshine lives in Miami Florida. The sunshine and the ocean are very therapeutic for me. After returning home from my trip I feel renewed and rejuvenated.
Table of Contents
Before: Decline of My Mental Health
Before I take my vacation from my symptoms my overall mental health starts to decline. I suffer year-long depression and anxiety however; in the winter it is intensified.
The decline usually starts in the fall for me. When the leaves fall and the green is replaced with the brown. Barren trees and brown grass represent the beginning cycle of extreme depression. It feeds all of my other symptoms which, in turn, is an avalanche of despair.
My sleep starts to become affected. I have trouble falling asleep at night. There are nights where I will lay in bed for 8 hours before falling asleep. I will look at my FitBit and it will say I finally fell asleep at 7:30 AM. Once I fall asleep the quality is horrible. I find myself waking up repeatedly throughout. My energy level is nonexistent. I am tired the moment I wake up and feel exhausted throughout the day. It is a vicious cycle that repeats every night. Even though I am tired I can not fall asleep.
I find myself hopeless and can not perform day to day tasks. All I want to do is lay in complete darkness with the windows drawn. I remove myself from friendships and barely leave my house. My house becomes a disaster. I usually care about having a nice home that is clean but in the winter nothing matters any longer.
I find myself heartbroken for unknown reasons. There are no reasons why. I just have uncontrollable sadness. and cry while my body aches.
I start to become paranoid and have obsessive thoughts about horrible things that could happen to me. My anxiety to leave the house becomes worse. I will stay inside and not leave. My pantry will become barren and I am too afraid to go to the store to buy food.
Then the desperation begins. I go to my therapist and my psychiatrist and beg for something, anything to help me feel “normal” again. I am willing to take and try any medication that will take the sadness away and help me sleep. Intensive outpatient programs start to sound like a good idea. The desperation consumes me.
Please read my other article on What Depression Feels Like.
Turning Point
At this point in my mental health decline is where I begin to weigh my options of rehabilitation. I can not go on living the way I am. For me, my first step is to compare what my medical doctors recommend and how they will affect me in the long run. Some medications have dangerous side effects. This is what deturs me to jump right into them. They are still options just last on my list of rehabilitation options.
I have had positive outcomes from getting away before when my mental health declines. Natural health options are usually always the first thing I try when trying to get better. Sunshine and being surrounded by nature seems to help ease my symptoms.
Another article on suffering from mental illness to read In The Eyes Of A Mental Illness.
Saving
I save up for this every year. I do not have a lot of disposable income, but by saving a little bit each month I am able to have enough to get away and begin healing.
When traveling I always do my research and choose budget-friendly options. I am not opposed to staying at a hostel or making my own meals. I will fly budget airlines and pack light to live out of a personal item carry on backpack for 7 days. By doing these things it allows me to be able to stay longer and get the most out of my trip.
Where to Go
Miami might not be right for you. Everyone has a “Miami”. Perhaps it is somewhere with mountains and lush forests. Maybe your Miami is somewhere with snow and crisp air.
To find the right destination for you, you need to really search inside and find what you are missing. For me, it was some sand in between my toes and the glorious sunshine on my face.
The internet is at your fingertips. This can be the most powerful tool to use to find inspiration. Do your research and make it happen.
What I Did in My Miami
When I think about all that I was able to see and do while in Miami, it gets me excited and my heart racing. When traveling to Miami I went solo. I find when I need to heal and try to rewire my brain positively, going alone works best. Being with just yourself can be the best company. You choose your own schedule and do what you want to do when you want to do it.
There were days when I actually did nothing. I laid on the beach and took in the sun while I read a wonderful book. There were also days where I just walked. I walked for 20 miles with nowhere in mind to go. I contemplated life and absorbed the beauty around me feeling so thankful that I was there. As well as days when I held a baby alligator and went on an airboat ride through the Everglades. I snorkeled in the third largest reef in the world and saw with my own eyes a nurse shark about 4-5 feet long! I ate key lime pie that was delicious and the best Cuban sandwich ever.
Visiting Miami was a soul moving experience for me. I did things I have never done. I pushed myself but knew when I needed time just to be. There was no rush or must do. I was just being alive, I was just healing.
My Healing Process
Arriving in Miami I was sleep-deprived and anxiety-ridden. Once I arrived to my room I unpacked and just relaxed. I took it easy on the first day. By hanging out in the beautiful courtyard my hostel provided and let the sun kiss my skin. It had been weeks since I have felt the sun.
The first night in Miami was a little difficult for me. It usually takes a few days to adjust. By the third night in Miami, I was able to fall asleep at 9:30 PM and slept until the morning. I woke up at 5:30 AM refreshed and ready to walk the one mile to my favorite breakfast place. It was amazing, the feeling of restful sleep. I had not seen the morning sunrise in months.
After breakfast, I would usually go for a long walk to gauge how I was feeling that day and what sort of activity I was up for. Some days I felt I just wanted relaxation and some days I wanted to be around people taking in all the sights. This was very important for the healing process. Just to listen to my body and mind and do what it needed.
There was a day I went for an exhausting 20 mile bike ride all up and down the boardwalk of North and South Beach Miami. I am a lover of scenic bike rides. If you are ever in Miami South Beach I highly recommend renting a bike and trying this out for yourself.
I included activities that challenged my mind as well. One of the days I decided to take a long 4-hour bus ride each way all the way down to the Flordia Keys to Key West and try snorkeling for the first time. I was the only person alone without a group. It did not matter to me, I was determined to snorkel in the ocean. The experience was so amazing. The sea is so full of the most vibrant colors I have ever seen. I returned back to my hostel that night filled with joy and memories I will carry with me for the rest of my life. I learned that day not to let anything scare me, sometimes you need to take the plunge to grow.
Here are 8 Reasons Why Traveling Boosts Your Mental Health.
After: Healed and New
Each day in Miami I felt more healed and stronger inside and outside. By the end of my trip, I lost 10 pounds. I stayed active and hit at least 12 miles a day from walking. My sleep was regulated without the use of any type of sleep aid. I went to bed at a reasonable time and woke up ready to start my day.
When I called to speak to my loved ones, they could hear a change in my voice. The said to me, wow you sound like a different person. I had a purpose in my voice with a side of happiness. My skin looked healthy and my hair looked transformed, it was dull before my trip. My body aches had gone and I felt so relaxed. Obsessive thoughts and worries no longer plagued my mind. The hopelessness I once had felt the week before miraculously was gone.
The moment I arrived back in Chicago and stepped off my plane I had a pep in my step. I was truly a transformed, rejuvenated, rehabilitated woman.
It is week 4 now since I have been back home from Miami and I am happy to report my sleep is still normal. I am waking up every day rested. My state of mind is still in high spirits. I have gone out to a local museum and been around people. My vacation therapy has worked for me.
Since I have returned home I have seen my therapist and all is much better. My outlook feels renewed. I have been eating healthy and keeping the weight I lost off.
This is why I believe taking a vacation from your symptoms is so important. They can consume and destroy you. Trying to regulate your body the natural way by changing your surroundings and adding what you are missing in your life can be a lifechanging experience. Year after year I swear by this. It has helped me grow and helped ease the symptoms of debilitating mental illnesses.
I am free from the darkness. I will always have mental illness and that’s okay. What is important is to know how to manage and help ease the symptoms. What brings you hope and joy? I am so lucky that my Miami is there for me when I need her the most. She is just a short plane ride away. Until next time my lovely Miami, thank you.
Love Always,
Ashley
