Dr Charlotte Russell, Clinical Psychologist and Founder
Travel obsession and travel addiction are commonly searched terms on Google. It is fair to say that many people are truly passionate about travel and it brings a sense of meaning to their lives. But when does passion turn into obsession? What would be the signs of a travel addiction? Can travelling ‘too much’ have a negative impact on us?
In this article I’m going to shed some light on these questions.
Travel addiction
What is an addiction?
Addictions are highly prevalent across modern society. Most commonly people are addicted to substances or alcohol. People can also develop addictions to a number of behaviours which commonly include gambling, shopping, internet use and sex. You can find out more in this helpful NHS guide to addiction.
There are a couple of key components of all addictions. Firstly, the addiction starts as a pleasurable behaviour and then over time this pleasure begins to diminish. The person continues the behaviour even though they are no longer getting pleasure from it. The behaviour becomes driven by habit and compulsion rather than pleasure. So most people at this stage describe a feeling of lack of control or a sense of ‘being a slave’ to their addiction. For alcohol and substances, at the level of addiction people will have built up a tolerance to the substance. They will experience symptoms of withdrawal if they were to stop using it.
At the point of addiction, there will be a detrimental impact of the behaviour on your life including your relationships, work and day to day activities.
We know that neural circuits involving the neurotransmitter dopamine are involved in the development of addictions. These are our brain’s reward centres. Initially people will experience a rush of dopamine when they engage in the addictive behaviour. Over time this will reduce and diminish particularly when people engage in this behaviour in a habitual way.
Can you be addicted to travel?
In theory yes, it is possible to be addicted to travel. However, in reality most people won’t get to the stage where they would meet the clinical definition of an addiction. For this to happen, these indicators would be present:
- You no longer enjoy travel but feel compelled to continue
- Continuing to travel has a detrimental effect on your life
- You neglect your own needs or engage in behaviour that is risky, unhealthy or unlawful to continue travelling
- You have tried to stop but have been unsuccessful in doing so
- You do not feel able to stop.
If these are present, I would encourage you to discuss this with your general practitioner or a mental health professional as soon as possible.
Travel obsession
When people think about being obsessed with travel, what they mean by this as that they think about travel a lot and are passionate about it. Of course this in itself is not necessarily a bad thing. To answer what travel obsession really means, we have to think about what it means to have an obsession.
What is an obsession?
Obsessions are distressing thoughts that come into our minds in a way that is intrusive and unwanted. These kinds of thoughts are very common in mental health conditions such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
This is far from what people usually mean when they talk about being obsessed with travel! Usually when people are passionate about travel, thoughts about it will lead to positive feelings such as excitement and enjoyment.
Another use of the term obsession to describe when a person is infatuated with another person, usually in a romantic sense. From a diagnostic point of view, this is called Obsessive Love Disorder. As well as being fixated on the person, there is usually a sense of extreme jealousy and controlling behaviour that are part of this kind of presentation. These are serious and extreme difficulties that go well above and beyond the normal stage of infatuation that many couples experience when they first get together.
Outside of diagnostic criteria, the term obsession is used to describe when someone is intensely interested in something or someone, and this goes over and above what most people experience. These kinds of obsessions are unhealthy because they are often rigid and because they have a detrimental impact on the person’s life. For example, being intensely interested in one activity or interest to the point that the person begins to neglect other aspects of their life including work, relationships and even their own basic needs. This is where being passionate about becomes unhealthy.
As you will see the term obsession is not something to be used lightly. It goes well beyond being passionate about an activity that you love.
What can lead to addictions and obsessions?
Addictions can start with behaviours that we use to avoid difficult feelings and emotions. It is for this reason that addictions can start during a period of stress or following difficult life events. People may turn to substances or problematic behaviours as a way to try to manage their feelings.
Common forms of escaping feelings are using alcohol, drugs, gambling, eating high calorie foods, video gaming, doomscrolling, and a range of other behaviours that provide a focus which absorbs us and helps us avoid our feelings temporarily.
For both addictions and romantic obsessions, low self-esteem can sometimes play a role in the development of these conditions.
If we don’t learn more healthy ways of dealing with difficult emotions, it puts us at risk of a range of difficulties with mental health, including addiction. More healthy ways of coping include coping strategies such as mindfulness, exercise, problem solving and learning ways of managing difficult feelings that work for you. This also includes developing and maintaining trusting relationships where you can share how you are feeling.
Early warning signs of travel addiction or obsession
Whilst true addiction to travel and travel obsession are rare, these are signs that travel is becoming problematic for you:
- Travelling beyond your financial means
- Breaking your own boundaries. For example, doing something you said you would never do in order to travel or continue travelling
- Neglecting your own basic needs, for example for example not eating nutritious food or staying in unsuitable accommodation for long periods of time
- Making decisions that put your health or safety at risk in order to continue travelling
- Breaking laws
- Breaching the trust of others
If you notice any of these, follow this advice
- Talk to someone you trust about how you are feeling. This will help you to make sense of what is happening and to plan your next steps.
- Consider accessing a therapist to talk through how you are feeling and to begin to address problematic behaviours. Psychology today lists registered therapists across the globe so it’s a great place to start.
- Consider returning to where you consider home for a period of time.
What if I return from long-term travelling and I can’t settle?
It is common to have an adjustment period when you return from travelling, and to feel unsettled. Many people will feel a little low in mood or out of sorts during this time. This is normal and natural and is part of the adjustment process.
The following can be helpful to keep in mind
- It is important to give yourself time; it can take at least 6 to 12 months to begin to feel settled again after any major move or life transition.
- Set yourself a goal or challenge that will give you something to focus on.
- Find ways of documenting and marking your travel journey. You might want to create a photo album or write some blog posts for your own blog or even as a guest blogger. Some people will even design a tattoo that represents their experiences in some way. It is important to mark and reflect on the amazing experiences you’ve had.
- Remember that it takes time to build connections and roots. Perhaps you are not finding it as easy to make friends as you did when you were travelling. Be persistent and look for areas of common ground rather than differences.
- Consider accessing therapy which can be very helpful at times of transition.
Why we should avoid terms like travel obsession and travel addiction
Having worked in mental health for more than twenty years, I can truly say that obsessions and addictions are very serious and not terms we should use lightly.
I understand the appeal of Instagram captions like ‘addicted to travel’ next to a beautiful shot. It’s nonchalant and a bit tongue in cheek.
Imagine though if someone were to write the caption ‘addicted to slot machines’ on their feed. If we think about it that way, we can see that it’s really not cool to use these terms in this way.
Is too much travelling bad for you?
At the Travel Psychologist we are huge advocates of the psychological benefits of travel, but like anything in life, moderation is the key.
Travel can be a wonderful tool for us to achieve personal growth, recharge our curiosity and creativity and to provide us with meaning and enjoyment. But we should never have only one tool in our toolbox! We need interests and activities outside of travel that provide us with a sense of routine, stability, meaning and opportunities to build close relationships.
Conclusion
True travel obsession and addiction are rare, but there are plenty of people who are super passionate about travel. My advice is to ensure that travel is not the only tool in your toolbox, and build other interests, activities, relationships and coping strategies. This will ensure that you get the most out of your travel experiences.
If you liked this article check out Escapism Psychology: Is it healthy to travel to escape?