Why Slow Travel is Essential for Your Wellbeing and Mental Health

I’m thrilled to dive into this topic today of why slow travel is essential for your wellbeing and mental health. If you’re a particularly anxious or chronically stressed person, this article is for you.

Slow travel played a large role on my healing journey. In 2019, I had a mental breakdown and could barely leave my house for a year. Looking back, this was a culmination of unresolved childhood trauma, an identity crisis, and a chronic inability to enjoy my life.

I was paralyzed in a state of overwhelm and an acute case of agoraphobia was almost too much to bear. 

I felt disconnected from my body and from the earth. But then… I had been that way for a long time.

My partner Shaun helped me cope by taking mini-trips into nature. And there, I observed something odd.

Shaun noticed many details I didn’t… often in plain sight. Distinction between birdsongs. Winding vines over branches. Monster trees, lichened with age. Forest critters foraging.

And something became very clear. I was completely disconnected from my environment. I didn’t notice any of those details because I was lost in my own head.

Over the years, I underwent a rigorous regime to heal myself. Which brings me to today’s post. I want to talk about slow travel… why it’s essential for wellbeing and mental health and why everyone should be doing it.

Boring disclaimer: I’m not a health professional nor should you be taking any clinical advice for me. This information is for entertainment purposes only. If you have questions about your mental health, please see your doctor or licensed professional. 

What the hell is slow travel?

Slow travel is a fairly new movement (to Western countries anyway). Slow travel has less to do with physical speed and more with enriching experiences… with enough time between activities to breathe and absorb.

My favorite description comes from Sloww, a blog dedicated entirely to slow living:

“Slow travel is for you if you want a balanced itinerary where you can pace yourself and eliminate the stress of rushing around. It’s intentional and immersive — allowing you to go deeper on the things that matter most to you while traveling. It’s conscious and connected — connected with yourself, those around you, and the world.“

And it’s funny he mentions connection… that will be a key theme in this post too.

Key Ways Slow Travel Can Help Your Wellbeing and Mental Health

Accessing the present moment and forgetting anxiety

I talk about the present moment a lot. Because I found it revolutionary to my healing.

In one of my favorite talks of all time, Eckhart Tolle explains what the present moment actually is and how it can free you in every way imaginable. It’s important to understand this concept fully.

Slow travel enables us to access the present moment. New landscapes, sounds, and smells make the perfect environment to exercise this muscle. 

The trouble is, many people approach travel as a way to fill empty space with more stuff to do. We tie productivity to our self-worth and that’s a dangerous way to live.

Slow travel teaches us that we don’t have to be doing stuff all the time. I’m here to give you permission to have empty space, without guilt.

Related: Naked and Laughing Hysterically on a Beach in New Zealand

Travel slowly so you can learn how to slow down. Practice accessing the present moment, and the seeds of that will sprout and bloom in various ways across your life.

The people: community, humanity, and feeling less alone

Now that you don’t have a congested itinerary, you have time for something I consider crucial on my travels: making connections with others.

Obviously this comes with a level of caution – especially if you’re female.

But chatting with the locals and meeting other travelers can be eye-opening. For one, you feel less alone.

Waiting in line for an hour to snap a photo can instead be spent over coffee with the local cafe owner. You might learn about her life, how she ended up there, what struggles she overcame. You gain something deeper than a photo.

Slow travel gives us enough space to seek people’s stories and become better connected with community and humanity.

For a long time, I thought I was the only person on earth who was terrified of being on a bus. But connecting with people globally taught me just how many people struggle with mental health, how many others have trauma and continue the fight.

And if you go even deeper, you’ll understand that the universe is a kind place. This is crucial to feel safer in the world. To know that if you had a panic attack in public, people will help you. To know you’re never alone.

Immersing in culture and realizing there are many ways to live a life

Slow travel presents another gift: culture integration. Slow travel experts are really good at this. If you’re able to access – and adopt – a place’s culture and way of life, you’ve won.

There’s something truly special about understanding a culture different from your own… with a different belief system and set of values.

We realize there are many ways to live a life. And the expectations we have of ourselves are completely arbitrary. Yet we torture ourselves for not living up to a certain ideal.

In fact, we might experience a fundamental shift in realizing Western ideals are a bit fucked up. That Western culture, albeit normalized, is abnormal. Exhausting. Unrealistic. Misaligned with wellbeing and good health.

I talk about this more deeply in this post: Reflections on Travel in the Age of COVID-19 and why it’s essential for humanity.

By taking the time to absorb other cultures, we’re introduced to new ways of living. And this empowers us to let go of stories about ourselves. Who we should be, what we should do. We’re empowered to just be, as we are, alive and human. And that’s incredibly freeing.

Caring about the environment and finding purpose

As you’ll know, slow travel can reduce your carbon footprint and contribute to sustainable tourism. But connecting to nature, spending hours among trees and in rivers, teaches us why it’s important to care for our environment.

Our wellbeing is intrinsically tied to the outdoors. We’re creatures of grass and sunlight, no matter how much we act otherwise. I’m not surprised some people struggle with believing this… particularly suits who never leave the office, ie politicians blocking the way to climate justice.

But if you study history, you’ll notice societal change always starts with small actions by ordinary people.

Slow travel reminds us of what’s important in life and gives us purpose to protect our blue home. And nothing is more revolutionary to our wellbeing than having purpose.

Related: Two Weeks, No Shower: a Guide to Freedom Camping in New Zealand

The Secret to slow travel: Connection and its link to wellbeing and mental health

If you’ll notice, all the key themes I mentioned in this post tie back to a single concept: connection.

Slow travel provides us space for what’s truly important in life, and it all has to do with reconnection.

Answer this: why are you traveling? If you want photos to make your friends jealous, then fair enough. If you want to have fun and a full itinerary is your idea of a good time, go for it.

But if you truly need a break… if your body is screaming for it… then go slow. Stand in awe for more than five minutes. Breathe the foreign air. Study unfamiliar plants. Talk to locals and learn their story. Seek connection… to others, within yourself, and to the planet. And you’ll understand why slow travel is essential for your wellbeing and mental health.

If you want to understand the importance of connection, I can’t recommend this book Lost Connections by Johann Hari highly enough. He dives into the nine causes of depression and how we can bring ourselves back through reconnection.

Go gently with yourself.

Much love

P