Having mental health concerns should not stop you from enjoying your life. It is important that you manage them well on a day-to-day basis at home or when you travel. When your home is the road, managing mental health can be difficult, so I have put together a list of five things to think about how to manage your mental health whilst living a nomadic lifestyle. Here are some tips to think about:
1. Research the local health services of the country
Know what each country has to offer health wise. You can do this by researching the desired destination with a focus on ‘health services’ online. The U.K. foreign office provides travel advice on countries. They talk about local laws, customs and health issues in their posts. Stay up-to-date by following them.
2. Have enough medication for your trip
Do you take medication? If so, be cautious and take more medicine than you need and keep it in hand luggage so it’s easily accessible in case of travel delays. Also, make sure you check to see if your medication is legal so if you need to pick them up you can. It is a good idea to carry a prescription with you and take the original packaging of the medication so you can get it from the pharmacy. In some countries you can buy it over the counter. It is a good idea to track down your nearest pharmacy in every destination just in case you need one urgently.
3. Use virtual counselling companies whilst travelling
Use BetterHelp or other counselling apps to speak to someone whilst travelling. These apps have qualified therapists who usually answer ASAP. If you are happy and ok, then work with someone like me who is a coach. Coaching and counselling are different. Counselling is more designed to talking about the past or feeling unwell mentally, whilst coaching is more designed for lifestyle design and reaching goals. Both are designed for different needs and both will transform your life. Send me a message via email to find out which would suit you best. I am a psychologist, so I can tell you what would be best for you.
4. For Europeans… get a national insurance health card
Are you European? If so, get yourself a national insurance health card. It’s free and gives you access to healthcare in European Economic Areas (EEA) for free or at a reduced cost. Find out more details here (gov.uk).
5. Make sure your next of kin knows you are out of the country
Have a next of kin which could be a family member or a close friend. Make sure they know you are out of the country and stay in contact with them throughout your travels so they can support you, your wellbeing and be your personal cheerleader whilst you venture. I know this helped me a lot when I was travelling around Asia when my mental health dipped.
6. Create a routine whilst travelling
Although difficult because no day is like the other, my advice would be to create a routine using exercise and eating times. Set an alarm to ensure you take your medication if you take medication. If you are a nomad, then my advice would be to set hours to work in the day at a regular time and watch your energy levels. Take regular breaks and drink lots of water.
7. Know your boundaries
Travelling holds many opportunities to meet people from different places and cultures. Whether you are meeting up with new travellers or getting to know the local people, my advice is to know your boundaries. You don’t need to do anything you don’t want to. You need to remember that if you don’t fancy going out and want to stay in, no-one should force you to do anything otherwise. You are only human and must live life on your terms. Stay in and get rested if that’s what your mind and body are telling you. Or it might be the other way around and fear of missing out might be strong, but your mind and body aren’t up for it. Stay in, get rested and remember that tomorrow is another day for you to meet others or hang around with travel friends. An evening off for self-care won’t matter in the grand scheme of things!
Want to chat about this further? Send me a message and we can book in a call to speak.