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Reasons Why You Should Travel at Least Once a Year after 50 to beat Loneliness
January 24, 2019 | Travel | By Amanda Johnson
Why Travel after 50 to beat loneliness?
The Royal College of GPs has declared that loneliness can do more harm to our health than smoking 15 cigarettes a day can. While many prefer to stay isolated, the problem is actually accentuated amongst the seniors. This is because they get lonely due to loss of a loved one, a divorce, an old age and illness, this reduces their mobility and could lead to retirement due to which they tend to get more home bound.
If you are in your 50s and feeling lonely and depressed, you need to get out and travel. There are many studies that have been harping on the importance of mobility in order to improve both physical and mental health – travelling will give you this, and more.
Travel Creates A Sense Of Social Acceptance
The Mental Health Foundation and Age Scotland found that travel brings down loneliness amongst older people. This is true because when you travel and meet a new person you realize that you are still socially acceptable. There are many out there who want to be your friend and would like to talk to you. So, it is time for you to stop feeling lonely and start connecting with people.
Travel after 50 Gives The Chance To Meet New People
If you are going to sit inside your house and feel sad that you are alone and lonely in this world then how would anyone even know that you exist. This is why you need to get out and travel. Traveling will give you the chance to meet new people from all walks of life. Choose different kinds of holidays to meet different kinds of people – from nude cruises to travel meant for singles, from a jungle safari to the beach. The more people you meet the more connections you will make. And who knows, you might meet someone who becomes a close friend of yours.
You Might Find A New Partner
If you have been alone for a while but have healed enough to start looking for a partner again, then travelling is what you need. There are many out there who are looking for someone to date. People just need to know more about you. So, go out and start mixing around and you might find a soul mate once again.
Your Boredom Will Go Down
When you travel you will have many interesting interactions not just with fellow travelers but also with the cab drivers, staff at the airport and the personnel on the cruise ship etc. Through all these interactions you will get to know so much more about the world and the different cultures and lifestyles. When you get back to your home, you will have a lot of things to do to keep you productively occupied – from writing a memoir, screening a book of photographs, reading more about different places. And all this, till you make the next trip.
Plan A Healing Journey
There are some trips that will heal you internally by making your heart feel happier and hence bringing down your levels of sadness and loneliness. Such trips involve visiting resorts that offer yoga, mediation, and spa treatments. On such trips, even amidst silence you will start feeling better. You will connect with the greenery around you and also with your inner being. This will make you appreciate the life that you have and once your trip ends you will feel lighter and changed in your attitude. With the positive vibes that such trips will inculcate within you, you will want to live again and that is the first step towards getting rid of your loneliness and start making friends again.
Travel after 50 Will Improve Your Self Confidence
When you travel alone there will be situations that you have to deal with on your own. When one faces challenges and knows that he/she can’t run to anyone for help but needs to solve it on his own, his level of self-confidence and courage goes up. Travel will make you feel surer of yourself. And when that happens you will be able to start mixing with more people.
No One Will Be Judging You
As we age, we tend to feel embarrassed about the way we look, walk, and talk. If we find that others are sniggering at us, we tend to close up and get into a shell. Maybe you have been hiding from people because you feel that people are always judging you. When you travel you don’t have to worry about this anymore. You will be a part of a large crowd and in places where no one knows you. You can release yourself from all the anguish and nervousness that you feel within and just be yourself. Automatically you will see that you feel better and not feeling quite so lonely anymore.
Travel after 50 Will Show You How Much You Can Do
You are lonely because you think you are incapable of being a friend or a partner anymore. You feel that you have reached an age where you can’t go out and start all over again. This is a myth. Travel and see that there are so many of your age who are still living life to the fullest. Seeing the world will teach you what you can do, will remove your covert thoughts and will make life worth living again. Traveling is like getting an education about why you cannot sit in the confines of your home feeling lonely it need to open up and allow people into your life once again.
Travel And See How Big The World Is
Your life seems to have become just you and that office and house of yours. Why do you think that is what the world is? It is time for you to get out to see the bigger picture. When you travel you get out of a Monotonous routine that is probably bogging you down and keeping you to yourself. When you see more, you will realize there is still so much that you can discover.
Nature Is A Good Friend
There is a difference between being alone and feeling lonely. Loneliness is a state of the mind. One can be alone and yet be happy and cheerful. So, in order to get out of your depressive state you need to travel at least once in the year. Visit places where you can be one with nature – amidst greenery and flora and fauna. This will rejuvenate you greatly and when you return home you will be feeling much better.
Endorphins and oxytocins affect the way that we feel. Travelling releases these hormones in aplenty and thus makes us feel better. If you want to overcome your loneliness and depression, you now have the 10 reasons why you should start making a plan soon to travel after 50 to beat loneliness.
