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When I left the U.S. to travel the world in early 2017, I still had lingering trauma from an extended bout of depression during my high school years.
Anytime a group of people laughed near me, my brain assumed that they were laughing at me. And it would make me highly uncomfortable.
Long-term solo travel is the equivalent of pressing the hard reset button on your computer and wiping everything clean.
Why? Because when you leave your home habitat and peer group, you get an opportunity to stop, take a deep breath, and figure out who you want to be.
You aren’t held to old identities by people in your past. And you aren’t trapped in old habits, behaviors, or limiting beliefs because you’re in a radically different environment.
I’ve found that new places are so mentally stimulating that they fire up different parts of your brain and help revert you to your natural self.
Going abroad gives you a chance for deep self-reflection. A chance to undo and rebuild.
I’ve reinvented myself at least five times, and none of it would’ve been possible without leaving home.
If you want to heal old trauma, the fastest shortcut is to go on an extended solo adventure.
