Travelling with Depression


My husband and I head south today. We spend three months in Myrtle Beach, living on the ocean. It is wonderful and we love it. This will our tenth year and we love it more every time. We have made friends there. Sometimes family members come to visit. It is home for a little while.

 Sounds wonderful right?

 Well, it is wonderful except for one thing - getting me there!


I love being there, but hate getting there.

 I am a poor traveller and getting worse all the time. Apparently this is not unusual for someone with bipolar but that doesn't make it any easier.

 Walking is my favourite form of travel. If I could walk around the world I would go.

 Car travel is the worst for me. Being stuck in the car for two days, sleeping in a strange hotel, eating on the road - I could go on and on. I get crabbier and crabbier with each mile and that is a lot of miles.

 We have come up with something that works. My husband drives down and I fly down. It is a win/win. He loves driving and can really enjoy it without his crabby wife along.

 I don't love any kind of travel but I can muster up enough strength to fly down there. I know it won't take long and I can hold onto my sanity. I will leave my home at 1, take a shuttle to the Toronto airport and fly out by 5, one short stop at Charlotte and then arrive at Myrtle Beach around 10. It is a long day but I do everything I can to keep stress levels in check.

 I travel light, not even a carry-on or a purse, just one of those fanny packs (not in fashion). I wear soft comfortable clothes and don't even take a coat (too bulky and no where to put it). I make sure I have lots of my favourite music on my phone. When I am waiting at the airport I walk and walk and walk, I love walking and it keeps me focused on healthy thoughts. I don't eat or drink anything sugary or junky when I travel. 

 Once I get there we stay in one place, it becomes home. And I settle in and do pretty much the same things that I do at home (except I get to walk on the beach every day!). This is the kind of travel I can cope with.

 These are my travelling strategies. Unfortunately depression does not stay home when we travel. It is with us all the time. But there are ways to make it more bearable.

 WHAT ABOUT YOU? How are you feeling today? Do you enjoy travelling? Is your depression worse or better when you travel?

 Don't give up! There is hope for depression even when you are travelling.

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