How to avoid needing a vacation from your vacation!
We’ve got some tips on how to travel with less stress. So much of dealing with stress is about mental preparation. You wouldn’t take a trip without packing a suitcase, without your clothes or daily essentials. And yet it’s so easy to forget to prep our biggest defense against stress: our minds. Know you have a big trip coming up? Start to incorporate mindfulness, meditation, or gratitude listing into your daily routine. All of these bring you into the moment, to enjoy the present, and to be more resilient to the things in life we have little control over.
Some Practical Tips:
- Plan in advance. This will help ensure that you get your choice of hotels, cabins and/or flight times that are most convenient for your family. For someone who is trying to eat healthy, figuring out online where juice shops and clean-eating restaurants are in the city you are visiting is a great to this. Yelp is great for this.
- Schedule decompression time. Try to take off the day before and the day after you return. This can give you time to organize beforehand and ease back into your routine when you get home.
- Have a plan but don’t over-schedule your days. And look for activities that support your healthy lifestyle. Hiking, bike riding. An example: for someone visiting New Orleans, we’d recommend an activity like yoga in the Besthoff Sculpture Garden at City Park. Not only do you get to do yoga under the moss covered oaks, but you get to enjoy the museum and outdoor installations. It’s a morning full of culture, art, and exercise.
- Take a closer look at who you are traveling with: are they supportive of your healthy lifestyle? Friends and family are important in influencing how well we can adhere to a healthy lifestyle. If you are traveling with people who might challenge your healthy habits, be sure to schedule some time apart.
- If you have to work some on vacation, set aside an allotted time to get work done, then unplug.
- Sometimes having a travel agent help with plans or going to an underrated travel location can make all the difference in adding to your less-stress travel.
- Avoid H.A.L.T. This is especially important in early recovery, where you are more susceptible to triggers. Avoid H.A.L.T. (Hungry, Angry, Lonely , Tired): If you are hungry, get something to eat. If you are angry, talk to somebody about it. If you are lonely, call a friend or a therapist. If you are tired, get a good night’s sleep.
Learning to travel with less stress is great, but if before, during, or after your travels you find that you are unable to regulate your stress levels reach out to one of our specialists. NAD Therapy such as NTR Brain Restoration is effective in helping to relieve chronic stress.
Safe and Happy Travels this Summer!
