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How travelling the world disrupts negative thinking
It’s all too easy to be pulled down a rabbit hole of negative thinking. Our minds love habits – even the bad ones – and worrying can form a compulsive loop that becomes rooted in who we are. But there’s good news, too. Our brains hold a degree of plasticity, meaning they’re able to learn new…
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Why do we idolise ‘The One’? Friends are far more valuable
There’s a beautiful moment in the film About A Boy when it suddenly dawns on teenager Marcus that he and his single mum need the support of their community. “Suddenly I realized; two people isn’t enough,” he says. “You need backup. If you’re only two people, and someone drops off the edge, then you’re on your own. Two isn’t a large enough number. You need three at least.” In…
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What is social anxiety and how can you tackle it?
Social anxiety is one of the most common mental health issues; around 12% of us will suffer from it over the course of a lifetime. According to the NHS, it means having “a long-lasting and overwhelming fear of social situations”, as well as “a persistent fear of negative evaluation by others” that often begins in teenage…
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Two unsung mental health benefits of travel
Most of us loathe the phrase “finding yourself” when it comes to travel. And with good reason. What does it even mean, after all? Looking wistfully onto the horizon of some distant ocean? Exploring your spirituality on the Khao San Road? It seems so naval-gazing and false. A parody of itself. There ARE, in fact,…
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Solo travel gets rid of a major stress trigger
People who haven’t travelled alone before tend to think of it as a stressful experience. They worry about how they’ll manage alone and whether they’ll be able to cope. The fact is, solo travel actually removes a huge source of stress: obligation. A close neighbour of expectation, we carry the weight of obligation around with…