Have you ever found your "answers" on the road?

[Everymanalion]

Have heard it a million times, that traveling to get away from your problems is a bad idea because your problems never really leave your mind, but how many of you have actually found a solution or fixed your mental issues on the road? Whether it be depression, anxiety, restlessness, family/relationship problems, job issues or whatever it may be. We always hear that the road exacerbates the issue but has anyone found extreme solace from their problems on the road?

I personally have horrible anxiety, it stems from too much time on my hands, and when I am on the road I do not have the energy to focus on that, I am focused on survival, food, shelter, danger, and how I will be getting to my next destination....

P.S. Obviously we all like to travel in some form or another but the meaning of this post is more about seeing if YOU personally have found what you were "looking" for when you first stepped out on the road in the first place, be it adventure, solace from mental issues or whatever the cause that made you leave in the first place.

 

[Alex the Weaver]

I think it's all circumstantial. A lot of my Traveling is actually back and forth between places, and sometimes I regret leaving, sometimes I regret not leaving. But a lot of the time, yes, I need to be out of a situation to clear my head out and figure out if it's worth coming back. I look forward to reading more people's experiences!

 

[rails2rails]

When I get fed up with people, which is inevitable, going on the road checks my narcissism and I can appreciate brief encounters and the kindness of strangers.

 

[schmutz]

When I was looking to escape from who I was or from my problems, nope. I kinda learned I had to go back and face my issues to find any real closure there... When I was looking to meet some good people, see some cool things and find adventure to get up to, I found what I was looking for every time

 

[barefootinbabylon]

When I was looking to escape from who I was or from my problems, nope. I kinda learned I had to go back and face my issues to find any real closure there... When I was looking to meet some good people, see some cool things and find adventure to get up to, I found what I was looking for every time

Couldn't have said it better myself - the brutal, honest and raw truth!

There was a time in my life when I was able to savour every single SECOND, every single chance encounter and random, beautiful occurrence (even the 'bad' ones, and they were relatively few and far between, b/c i had a much better concept of myself/self-esteem ~ that whole 'science of mind/setting good intentions thing' does have a fair amount of validity). I had big dreams for my life, and every single thing I experienced was an opportunity to both grow personally, as well as to give back. However, I also had a rather inherent 'stability' to my life; a lot of my traveling was based around moving from one place to another, getting a job doing something i LOVED (teaching kids), and eventually... getting tired of the routine, developing the chronic itchy-feet syndrome, and a lust for new experiences. Doing what you love, and being able to make a living/LIFE doing it ~ that is of the utmost importance, as well as a firm sense of 'who you are' and what you are questing after in life.

The best place to heal a broken heart is in Hawai'i ~ the only woman i've ever REALLY been in love with broke my heart (long, drama-induced story, with which i won't bore everyone right now). I wanted to get as FAR away from her as possible, because we truly had a relationship in which we could 'feel' each other's energy. I needed a completely different world-shift so as to convince myself that there would indeed be more to life, that i was strong, capable, and all that without her. So... off i went to the jungle, where i WWOOFed for 5 months, had a beautiful, spiritual experience, and... restored my heart and soul.

My traveling experiences now are just a jumbled up ball of confusion, lack of direction, and things of that nature, b/c i lost the ability to do the one thing which made me happier than anything in life (teachin' da yoots) ~ Asheville po-lice SUCK, and i was doing some stupid things with (fairly) stupid people, got a criminal record, blah blah. The whole bottom to everything has fallen out for me, and the majik of travel has ceased to be quite so... majikal, b/c i no longer have a foundation on which i can fall back. I just got back from a ridiculous trip to the Southeast (back to the 'scene of the crime' ~ crazy as the po-lice were there, it will ALWAYS be home). But while there, all the demons come back to haunt me (as they constantly are), and I ended up randomly driving all the way down to Jacksonville... only to turn right back around!

My mama still asks me (and this drives me CRAZZZYYY!) 'what are you running FROM, and what are you running TO?' and she's absolutely right. When the only thing that propels you forward is attempting to escape the negative, it's difficult to derive much positivity from scenarios. I guess I'm not quite as 'footloose and fancy free' as some kats on here; i DO like a bit of stability, or at least... the promise that it will come eventually. But, different strokes for different folks; i think it's interesting that your anxiety issues are not exacerbated by the uncertainty of life on the road, somewhat ~ but the logic you're using is one that i am attempting to embrace, myself. Then again, that's just my escapist tendencies, coming to the forefront...

That said! Anyone who knows of anyone who needs babysitters/freeskool teachers/things of that general nature... hit me up. I miss teachin' da yoots dem irie roots. :\

 

[Synth]

I left for the road the first time because I was tired of everything around me. I had bad anxiety issues and still do just not as bad. Being out and about let me work out a lot of things about myself. Having spent a lot of time in nature and being able to flesh out all those thoughts put me in a much better place.

 

[DoctorApocalypse]

Short answer is yes, because of the solace I often find on the road, it gives me time with my head and I can work stuff out without the almost constant demands and distractions I face when I'm not on the road.

I remember the first time I hit the road was after getting out of a particularly long and unhealthy relationship that left me pretty unsure about a lotta stuff and with a severe case of the fuck its. So I left my life for a while, hit the road, and in addition to having the most fun I'd had in my life up to that point, I found myself again, which was the intention but I kindof surprised myself because it actually worked.

 

[bip]

you have two options when you hit the road, you can let yourself grow and change with the world around you, or you can choose not to. if you choose to grow sometimes your problems get solved. cause as much as we try to deny it, sometimes the problem is us.