Written By Snehanky Chattopadhyay
“I swear, doctor, I just want to get away,” said a client of mine. We are in the middle of the session discussing the triggers and anxieties caused by life. I smile and jokingly ask, “To the beach or the mountain?” My client looks at me with a sparkle and says without missing a beat, “mountains!! And you?” And so, we start talking about travelling and how it helps the person to connect with themselves.
It reminds me of certain things I have read over the years, particularly, connection with nature. There is a hypothesis that says since humans have evolved from nature, we have an affinity for nature. To paraphrase, we humans have complicated our lives with millions of things – phone, social media, careers, dating, relationships, and friendship, and though these are fruitful, it comes in harm’s way when these things dictate our life. Most importantly, we forget to prioritise ourselves – physically, emotionally and mentally. Vacation or travelling helps us to fulfil three conditions: a) connect with ourselves; b) connect with nature; c) lead to psychological enrichment.
Travelling is for mental health, what exercise is for the body. It is necessary. It’s a breath of fresh air and helps you gain more perspective as a person. So many facets of yourself become open to you – you get to know your likes, dislikes, capacity to adjust, tolerance and food habits. It certainly happened to me. One of my first trips was to Chakrata. It was a beautiful place surrounded by mountains and serenity. It was a place one could disconnect with the outside world and just be one with nature. The detox provided by that trip helped gain perspective in everyday life. I understood that I was missing the peace, quiet and disconnect within myself.
Why travel helps
As we get busy with the world we built around us, all of us seem to be running. Quite like hamsters in a wheel, running but getting nowhere. We are busy balancing crumbling walls of air and putting out smoke from our emergency imaginary fires. All of this immediate need to attend to every little thing in life leads to anxiety and depression. Our body and mind have a plan in place; if things get too overwhelming, it shuts down. That is why it is so important to take these little breaks and rejuvenate. An interesting form of therapy coming from Japan is ‘Forest Therapy’, where people are encouraged to spend time in the forest to promote well-being, reduce stress and promote relaxation. It could be the smell of pine trees that help in reducing stress and anxiety. Evidence supports that connecting with nature, whether landscape or water, helps to reduce stress. Numerous studies have shown that getting close to nature has cognitive benefits such as longer attention span, an increase in self-control and cognitive flexibility, emotional benefits and positive relations with self and others.
“You still haven’t answered my question,” the client chirped towards the end of the session. I blinked once and then understood what they were asking. I smiled while saying “Oh! I’m a beach person.” It felt like I had travelled back to Havelock and the visual imagery of Radha Nagar beach. The pristine waters, the sea in all shades of blue and green, and the line of palm trees acting as a wall between the real and surreal. The sky seems to embrace the ocean while the waves lap the shore with a tenderness of meeting a beloved. The feeling of the white sand under the feet, all soft, as if encasing the physical being. This visualisation is my safe space. Whenever things get too overwhelming, discouraging, or simply hectic, I find a quiet place and visualise the beach in as many details as I can. However, it’s not possible to visualise the safe space i
n every hectic or anxiety-provoking situation.
Hence, here are a few guidelines. Please feel free to make them your own.
- Find a path. Most of us live in a concrete jungle. That makes it so much more important to find greenery. Find a park or even a road which has more open space, is lined with trees and surrounded by flora. Walk this path slowly while appreciating the view
- Stop to smell the roses – quite literally! Have a flower plant in your home, office that you like to smell – it could be jasmine, mogra, roses or any other choice. Make it a point to smell the flowers before going out of the house to conquer the day
- Pot and soil. Get one small tub and fill it with soil. Use your hands to keep turning the soil over and over in the tub or pot. Bonus points if you want to plant something in the tub
- Walk. Studies have shown that just walking helps in getting our stress levels lowered. Even if you are visiting a gym, yoga class, or pilates, don’t miss walking for 20 mins a day.
- Something green, something blue. Keep potted plants around yourself; take a look at them whenever you take a break from your laptop or screen. Consequently, you can use images of water or scenic pictures to help you visualise any place in detail.
Travelling –whether a short walk or a vacation – is meant for the purpose to disconnect and clear your mind. Travelling to new places and experiences –whether comfortable or uncomfortable – add to the texture of the self. To summarise, “life moves on pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”