How do you treat travel burnout?

Veröffentlicht: 16. Juli 2022, 19:26 Uhr

Von: wom87

almost exactly a year ago I wrote an article about how to avoid travel burnout. The steps described therein really helped us to make optimal use of our time on the go. Step three was particularly effective (i.e. plan no more than 60 % of your schedule). Between planning, traveling, writing, filming, photography and submitting external orders, we would have collapsed quickly if we had not installed any downtime. That worked well until we came to Bolivia.

aha, Bolivia. In Visiting Salar de Uyuni I admitted that Bolivia was the first country to go home. The feeling was fleeting, but it was a sure sign that not everything was fine. For Bolivian reasons I felt like that (ice -cold shower, boring meals, exhaustive altitude), but also because we started to move faster than before. Until then, we had covered 10 countries in nine months and spent almost a month at any location. Now we had to go to Patagonia before the breakdown of winter and rest south, rarely spending more than two nights in a hostel. When we arrived in Argentina, we were both exhausted. This gave us an insight into the travel burnout, which affects many long-term travelers. When you long for yourself, find out here how you can prepare to go back onto the street.

1. Stop!

The first thing you should do is to set traveling if you can. Take a week or two (or four if you can afford it) time to simply pause and refresh yourself. The reason why we remained happy and excited for nine months is that we stopped and spent Christmas on Tahiti so that we could reset.

Use Airbnb to find a cozy home, or check out at HELPX whether you can volunteer for food and meals if you are short of cash. With Helpx you don't have 100% of your time to relax, but only stay in one place for a while will look like balm. You may have the feeling that you have to see another place at the end of your trip, but it is better to see eight countries and really enjoy you than ten countries while you feel drained. If you set off again, slowly go and plan no more than 60 % of your schedule.

2. Compare it with life at home

"Sometimes I just want to cry," said Anna in Peru when she described the logistical challenges of overland trips in South America. I was impressed by her openness, but not surprised by the mood. I had been to cry a few times a few times (namely when camping). The question that you should face on these occasions is: Is travel stress worse than the stress at home? For me, the answer was always a clear no. It's true, I don't like to camp, but is it worse to wake up in a tent on a beach on Fiji when I struggle to the center line every morning for my long way to work? Of course not. This recognition makes a significant contribution to making it fit for the street again.

If you answer the above question with yes, pay particular attention to the last step below.

3. Spray out

No matter whether you book better accommodation for a few nights, pay too much for a few pudding creams or go out for a nice dinner, treat yourself to something nice.

in Buenos Aires we booked an apartment for four nights and ate ice more often than necessary, but it was a great way to reduce stress after a hectic travel month. A vacation on vacation sounds too forgiving, but it is certainly effective, especially if you have it rough.

4. Become healthy

It is difficult to maintain a training routine on the street because you don't have a fixed schedule, but when you become active, you really feel better. Quite optimistic I downloaded a "7-minute workout" app and completed her twice in our Argentine apartment before I gave up. If you find it difficult to motivate yourself, instead install activities in your travel style: hiking, trekking, hiking, cycling and swimming wherever possible.

also try not to do without kitschy pizzas, sugar -containing drinks and the like. In South America it was difficult to eat healthy, but I made small changes (e.g. water instead of cola) to help where it was possible. To become healthy and stay, it will put it in a better mood.

5. Let yolo and fomo go

The phenomena Yolo (You only live once) and Fomo (Fear of Missing Out) encourage us to say yes to everything. You are traveling. Go out! Beverage! Dance! Have fun!

No to say it is not only important to avoid travel burnout, but also to treat it. You can't and don't want to see everything. They only have a limited time and energy, so sometimes they have to miss something - not only at parties and events, but also on sights and attractions.

In Peru we spent time in Lima, Cusco, Aguas Calientes (for Machu Picchu), Nazca and Puno, but we missed the Colca Canyon. In Argentina we saw Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego, El Calafate (for Perito Moreno), El Chalten and Buenos Aires, but we miss Salta, Cordoba and Mendoza. Don't try to do everything.

6. Find the same

loneliness can play a major role in travel burnout. In this case, look for expats from your home country. If you are looking for meetings in relevant expat groups on Facebook, ask the Tourist Office for Expat meetings, take a look at Wayn to find like-minded people. No traveler wants to spend all the time with people from home, but a foretaste of the familiar will definitely be a consolation.

7. Have an end in sight

We met the Australian backpack tourist Tanya in Cotopaxi, Ecuador. She was on the road for 14 months after the sale of her property and had plans without a fixed period.

A month later we happened to met her on our way to Atacama in Chile. She told us that she booked tickets and fly home in a few days. This was a big surprise (for us and you). She said that a journey blade without the end without the theoretically, but was quite overwhelming in practice.

If you are lucky enough to have as much travel time as you want, it can make sense to set an end date anyway. In this way you know that your time is limited on the street and you will rather strive to enjoy them.

8. Seriously think about whether you want to return

When we said goodbye to London Heathrow last year, Peters leaned forward and said to me (probably familiar with Peters many "quirks"): "If you find that you want to come home earlier.

He is right. If you really have enough of being on the road and are sure that it is not just homesickness and didn't help anything, then seriously think about going home.

snack from the barrel and endlessly hot showers? Seriously. We will all understand it.