A divorce, break-up, separation, or even an amicable break in a relationship can be a very traumatic experience. It can be difficult to fathom a life without your partner, and you might fall into a deep depression after your break-up. These feelings of depression, anxiety, and insecurity about the future are completely normal after a divorce or break-up. It’s important to understand that you are not alone, and there are plenty of resources out there to get you the best legal help during a divorce, as well as emotional help during a divorce. This is especially true if your divorce came as a result of abuse, or even if there are children involved.
Getting Away from it All
After you’ve discussed all details with your divorce attorney, and you’ve sealed the deal and are officially single, you might be wondering where to go, and what to do. For some people, the feelings after a divorce can easily lead them down the wrong path. People can turn to alcohol, drugs, or other substances to calm their nerves and ease their depression. This can then lead to spur of the moment decisions, including spontaneously traveling.
In fact, the three most common causes of car accidents in the U.S. are not only distracted driving and speeding, but also drunk driving. A far better option to heal from your divorce is to travel alone, but prepare for the journey ahead of time, and find yourself in the process. There are many reasons why you should travel alone after a divorce or break-up, and they all deal with healing after a divorce. If you feel you need a break and would like to know more about why you should travel alone, the following 15 reasons can be a sure way to help you.
1. Gain Independence
One of the main reasons why you should travel alone after a messy divorce is to gain back your sense of independence. You might think that you are still independent after a divorce and that you don’t need your ex-spouse or ex-partner in your life to function. However, even after you’ve had a relatively clean separation, an uncontested divorce, or other clean breaks, you might still feel attached to your partner for a bit.
This is completely normal and will take some time to get rid of. However, you can speed up the process of gaining back your independence by traveling alone, and seeing just how much you’re capable of doing. From planning out a trip to getting the necessary automotive body repair needed to start your journey, and all other planning preparations, going on the journey alone will help you see just how independent you can truly be.
2. De-Stress
A divorce, break-up, or legal separation can be extremely stressful, emotionally, financially, and otherwise. You might work nonstop with your divorce lawyers attending different court proceedings, working with financial representatives, and hardly get any time to think. Though it’s important to attend all your court hearings and any negotiations, once you are finished you should take some time to de-stress. Getting rid of stress is one of the biggest reasons why you should travel alone after your divorce. Traveling alone can help you finally breathe a sigh of relief, get away from your city or small town, and simply recharge, whether in a luxury resort, small town, or mother nature.
3. Put Problems into Perspective
After your divorce or break-up you might be wondering how you can ever recover. You might think that your problems now will last forever and that you will always be alone and even think that you will never find happiness. However, this simply isn’t true, but it can be difficult to see things when you’re stuck in your own world. Traveling alone can help you physically and mentally break out of that world you’re living in. Taking a step back to recharge, breathe some fresh air, and look back at your situation can be a huge help in your recovery process. Traveling alone, even just to take a road trip can help you leave your problems behind, prepare mentally to see them for what they truly are, and finally move ahead on your healing journey.
4. Increase Creativity
If you come from a small town, a rural area, or even a city you grew up in your whole life in, it might be difficult for you to be creative. This is especially true if you’ve also been heartbroken and stressed about your divorce or break-up. If you’re a business professional, an artist, or even a student, creativity is very important to have. Creativity can help you look at projects differently, problem-solve, and express yourself better. Increasing your creativity can be a good reason for why you should travel alone, as traveling helps you get inspired by different sights and sounds. You’ll find that traveling alone can help you get creative and lift your spirits up again so that you can continue to use your creative ingenuity to express yourself in healthy ways.
5. Expand Your Horizons
Travelling alone can be the best way to expand your horizons, in more ways than one, after a divorce. For starters, preparing for a solo-journey can be difficult, but the challenge can help open up doors to things you never even thought you’d be good at! For instance, you might enjoy shopping for used car parts after prepping your car for the long cross-country journey you’ll embark on soon. Or, you might find yourself in a desert town absolutely loving the heat! Expanding your horizons and finding new things about yourself is one of the best reasons for why you should travel alone.
6. Become a Minimalist
After living with your partner for so long, you might have acquired many physical items including furniture, paintings, clothes, etc.. Though you can amicably get rid of some of these items with the help of mediation lawyers, sometimes you can be stuck with loads of items and not know what to do with them.
When you travel alone, you will be able to see just how unnecessary some of these items are. In the process, it can help you to get rid of some of these items you might be attached to, and even encourage living a minimalist life. You might even be inspired to live out on the road, invest in an RV sway control system, and trek across the country in your favorite RV. The choices are endless!
7. Detox
If you’re like many people on social media nowadays, every part of your relationship was put up for the world to see. A big reason on why you should travel alone after your divorce or break-up is settled is to detox from social media and technology in general. Though you might need the internet to know necessary details, such as the closest urgent medical care while traveling, the rest of the trip can be spent alone, in reflection and away from social media. You’ll find that this detox does wonders in helping you feel less anxious and better emotionally overall.
8. Find New Motivation
After a break-up, you might be at a loss and wondering where your next path will lead you. Not to worry, gaining a new sense of motivation and direction by traveling alone can be all you need to get you back on your feet again. This new motivation should be a big reason for why you should travel alone and can help you get rid of the rut of depression after a divorce.
9. Gain Confidence
From finding an exhaust service to help you on your road trip, to trekking through the lands of Indonesia, or solo backpacking through Europe, traveling alone can give you an immense boost of confidence. This boost in confidence in itself is why you should travel alone after a break-up. Confidence can be useful not only in your working life but also to help you prepare for a new relationship ahead.
10. Learn Something New
Whether its a new language, new food, or new custom, traveling allows you to learn something new every step of the way. If you’ve been in a relationship with the same person for years, you might be stuck in your ways and unwilling to change. However, learning about new cultures and customs can help you learn something new about yourself in addition to the world.
11. Gain Self-Awareness
Mindfulness is one of the best practices you can utilize to help ease depression and anxiety. Mindfulness is the practice of examining your thoughts for what they are and being able to slow down the racing thinking we are so accustomed to. You can practice mindfulness through simple meditation and breathing techniques, and even while you’re traveling alone. Think about how beautiful it would be to meditate in an exotic forest, or near exotic sands! Utilizing this mindfulness technique while traveling can only lead to positive outcomes. Increasing your mindfulness and awareness are reasons why you should travel alone, as this increased awareness can help you put your thoughts into perspective and strengthen your mental health after a break-up.
12. Become More Compassionate
It’s easy to grow bitter, resentful, and even hateful after a divorce. These feelings are normal, and sometimes hard to shake off after a break-up. Luckily, when you travel alone, you can become more compassionate not only towards others but towards yourself as well. Gaining this compassion is a great reason why you should travel alone. If you feel you really want to help others while traveling, consider joining an organization such as the peace corps, which travels across the world to other countries and aids in disaster relief efforts as well.
13. Get in Touch with Nature
Courts, lawyers, judges, busy nights planning settlements, all can easily distract you from the true beauty that surrounds you. A walk to the park might be good to get you back in touch with nature, but why not travel alone and take a camping trip? Prep your gear with the necessary tools, make sure your car insurance covers natural accidents, get fit to get on a camping trip, and take off! Greenery and calming natural sounds have been found to reduce blood pressure and cortisol levels according to researchers at Harvard Health. In addition, research in a growing scientific field called ecotherapy has shown a strong connection between time spent in nature and reduced stress, anxiety, and depression according to these Harvard researchers. After a stressful divorce or break-up, getting out to nature is probably one of the best reasons why you should travel alone.
14. Become More Grateful
After you’ve spent time abroad, traveling, and meeting new people and yourself, you might begin to feel homesick. You’ll find that after leaving your family and loved ones behind for a while, you start to see just how big of a role they play in your life. It’s difficult to really be grateful after a divorce. Spending time traveling alone, and then coming back to those you love can be a great way for you to experience that gratefulness again.
15. Love Yourself
In traveling alone, you experience a myriad of memories, experiences, joy, even sadness. But, in the end, the journey is the most important part. If you’re wondering why you should travel alone, consider this: a study at Cornell University in 2015 found that spending money on experiences leads us to be happier than spending it on material objects! This happiness could be for many reasons, but in your case, spending money and time traveling should be geared towards feeling love for yourself again. After a divorce or break-up, don’t think it’s impossible to feel loved again. Time heals all things. Loving yourself, healing, and finding balance through traveling before you get into a new relationship can make all the difference.
Traveling is one of the best ways to become more in touch with yourself and the world around you. Before you go out on your newest adventure, be sure to invest in the help of your doctor and a personal injury firm to prepare. Talking with professionals about the potential dangers of your trip will help you prepare for anything. You can also rely on your therapist or life coach for essential activities while you travel that will make you benefit from the trip even more. When you want to heal from your break-up. rely on these tips.