Effect of travelling on Psychology

Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.

– Miriam Beard

One of the questions we often think is what exactly makes us to wander? According to many of the psychologists ‘it lies in our brain, the way it’s programmed’. When people are restricted to move, they tend to raise a feel of punishment. We, humans are fortunate in the world; we have an extra ordinary sense of experiencing and learning from the nature. Travelling influences human psychology, have a great affect on our behaviour and learning capabilities.

Since generations, humans were wanderlusts, it is a part of the life. Earlier humans, our forefathers were wayfarers; they travelled for days, months and sometimes years. Now we have wide variety of choices to move such as flights, trains, cars, and so on. No matter how much technology (VR) is developed, we love to experience the nature from all our five senses. Many factors influence our travelling purposes like age, gender, experience, emotions. Growing age tends to decrease the adventurous travelling. The choice of travelling is very complex and depends on our cognitive psychology.

Humans love to explore the world, the travelling reasons may differ. Some of them travel for work, some for fun. Whatever is the reason of journey, travelling is an emotion. We learn new, unknown, interesting facts of life and nature.

Let’s get into a few advantages of travelling on our psychological behaviour:

Building Intimacy:

Usually, marriage counsellors suggest a couple to go on a vacation to clear up their differences and gain mutual understanding. Their chances of falling in love again increases and intimacy grows, building their relationship.

Building Relationships:

A sense of togetherness develops an emotional bonding, help us to build relationships; our travelling partners can be friends, family or group of strangers. Bonding with the strangers makes them friends and also expands social networking. Speaking to the strangers makes us more conversationalists, with this increases our level of confidence. Travelling together helps strengthening bond of people.

Exploring New Interests:

Knowledge of different cultures helps us to explore our interests. Understanding the cultures makes life interesting, allowing us to fall in love with our self. Travelling develops our learning skills; some of these skills may help in career growth, while some in understanding our inner self.

The world is a book, and those who don’t travel read only one page– Saint Augustine

With the available latest technology we make get information instantly. But it narrows the information, the data is filtered before reaching us, we are not sure what we learnt on internet is correct. We are not experiencing the information, so it vanishes easily from our brain. Once you reach to that particular place and feel it through senses, this information is collected directly by us. No one has filtered it and is not biased, as our body felt it, these are stored without doubt in our brain.

Knowing What You Want in Life:

Usually we look the world from our perspective, travelling gives us a chance to view from the world’s perspective, what we are? Getting out of our comfort zone shows the path of life, exploring our self, and help us to build confidence. Travelling adds to life. At times, during a trip we may have to put our feet in other’s shoe; we start understanding other people, think from their angle and we mould our self to take different decisions and become more flexible mentally. We learn to be kind, patient and tolerant. We step into a new world with self consciousness and wisdom.

Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world. – Gustav Flaubert

Travelling Make Us Smart:

Once we are away from our comfort zone, we learn new words, new culture. Learning makes us smart. Learning new words or languages sharpen the ability of brain. Sometimes we may need to think practically and in a different way, this ability improves us mentally, helps to take smart decisions.

A travelling fool is better than a sitting wise person. – Mongolian Proverb

Our ability of learning new things, finding new interests helps our brain to utilise it at fullest and in long run, may keep our memory healthy.

Improving Our Health:

Wandering in the woods clears the mind, keeps it cool, cures anxiety and depression, once, we are psychologically healthy, our physical health also improves. Thus, travelling leads to a healthy life. The fresh air too play a role in making us happy and healthy. Pleasure trips have the healing powers, heal the wounds of heart.

Relieving from Stress, Depression:

A routine, boring, monotonous life makes it miserable and the best way to come out of is travelling. It may be a large or short distance, breaking the routine strengthens our ability to take new challenges in our career and life.

Tired of taunting words of officer at office, parents and spouse at home, children driving us mad, can’t handle the things. Before you burst out, pack a bag, plan for a vacation! This rejuvenates and strengthens the ability to handle different situations.

Make Us Adventurous:

Listing the places to travel motivates one to be an adventurer. Travelling to an unknown, new place alert our minds to face the unknown and force to think and act swift, increasing our logical ability. Exploring a new place does not necessarily means to search for a lonely place and feel scary. Some of the adventures acts like Trekking, diving, etc., boost ability to conquer the fear. Once we are out of fear, our confidence increases, more of taking the life easily and stress free. A stress free life energises the ability to fight and improves the standards of life.

Satisfying the Senses:

Along with the four senses, travelling also satisfies the fifth sense of taste, i.e. tongue. Whole body feels a sense of pleasure.

Travelling outdoors initiates our body to release endorphins; they are chemicals that are naturally produced in our nervous system. Endorphins are called as ‘feel good chemicals’ they reduce perception of pain or stress, develop positive thoughts and make a person happy.

Memories:

Travel memories are sweet, whenever we recollect about that time or place, they always bring a smile on face, fill our heart with happiness. Memories are the emotions. Brain processes the emotions that are more interesting, beautiful and remembers and recollects easily. Most of the travel memories are pleasure trips and we get tend to feel the same pleasure when, we recall these travel events. No matter how insignificant they are, they have their own emotional bond with our brain.

Ability of Imagination:

Some of the journeys give knowledge. We learn to know the history when on the historical tour and start imagining how they used to live in those days and this sense develops imaginative and creative skills. These skills may help in some careers too. Such as, architects, story writers, directors.

Sense of Achievement:

A pleasure trip or a journey when completed and we are back to home, we feel a sense of achievement. It motivates to keep up in the daily life.

Love Your Home More:

And finally when we are back to home we feel relaxed and secured. There is no place like our home. Home is the destination until we plan another trip.

Another Angle of Travelling:

Hodophobia, is the fear of travelling. Phobia manifests in many ways. Fear is the reason of the people’s own doubt and disbelief. They get depressed, feel nervous before a journey. Focus on what is letting to stop you from reaching dream vacation, or exploration. To deal with fear, motivate your mind to stop your fear and insecurities.

Planning wisely solves many of the problems.

Some of the reasons that stop us to travel could be:

Unknown Fear:

We feel comfortable in our home and do not like to move out of the comfort zone. Make a list of your favourite destinations. Gather the positive aspects of travelling there. Plan the trip carefully to gain pleasure.

Fear of Accident:

Search for the places and choose the safest place and mode initially to overcome the fear.

Language Barrier:

With the advanced technology language is not a barrier. Download some dictionary apps and the problem is solved.

Fear of Being Lost:

Foldable pocket Maps, Google maps, a GPS system solve this problem. A tip, map is written in our own language is more beneficial.

Sometimes world seems to be a scary place and it feels isolated, especially when we travel alone. But a beautiful world is waiting for us, have a pleasure of those places. Understand yourself, gain confidence, control yourself and motivate yourself. Nature teaches and helps us to grow. To overcome specific fear we can always take help from psychologists, as the phobias are treatable.