If you experience depression, you may have combined this with travel and either found it made things worse, or better. I would love to imagine that travel could cure depression, but from the chats I had with three different people for this episode, it seems (unsurprisingly, really) that experiences of depression and travel vary as much as people vary.

First up today I chat with Justin Watson, who has actually found that travel has been quite helpful in managing his issues with depression. We talk about mindfulness techniques and how practicing these when you travel can be a great way to improve them.

Next I speak with Megan Blandford, who has experienced depression while travelling during a period when she was in denial that she had any depressions issues at all. The link between Megan's depression and her adventurous travel activities is something I found really fascinating to discuss.

Finally, I talk to Ian Oliver who has had some mixed experiences with depression while he is travelling: from finding that moving to a new destination can give him a kind of "fresh start" and feel much better, to the experience of simply needing to go home.

I'm so grateful to each of my guests today for being prepared to open up about such a personal topic - thank you so much Justin, Megan and Ian!

Links:
Don't forget my next traveljournalschool.com course is the two-week “Start a personal travel blog” course in mid-June - sign up at the link to get more information
Justin's blog at Justin’s World - http://www.justins.world
Megan Blandford's website -  https://meganblandford.net/  
Her book I’m Fine (And Other Lies) about postnatal depression and motherhood is out now and is a brilliant read!
Ian’s Barefoot Backpacker blog - https://barefoot-backpacker.com
Ian’s podcast “Travel Tales from Beyond the Brochure” - https://barefoot-backpacker.com/category/podcast/ 
Some resources to get help with depression:
Australia:  Beyond Blue - beyondblue.org.au ; Lifeline - lifeline.org.au 
UK: NHS - Moodzone page - https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/ ; Mind - https://www.mind.org.uk/  - the mental health charity
US: Mental Health America - http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/depression-support-and-advocacy
Germany: https://www.deutsche-depressionshilfe.de/
Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers
Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/137

If you experience depression, you may have combined this with travel and either found it made things worse, or better. I would love to imagine that travel could cure depression, but from the chats I had with three different people for this episode, it seems (unsurprisingly, really) that experiences of depression and travel vary as much as people vary.
First up today I chat with Justin Watson, who has actually found that travel has been quite helpful in managing his issues with depression. We talk about mindfulness techniques and how practicing these when you travel can be a great way to improve them.
Next I speak with Megan Blandford, who has experienced depression while travelling during a period when she was in denial that she had any depressions issues at all. The link between Megan's depression and her adventurous travel activities is something I found really fascinating to discuss.
Finally, I talk to Ian Oliver who has had some mixed experiences with depression while he is travelling: from finding that moving to a new destination can give him a kind of "fresh start" and feel much better, to the experience of simply needing to go home.
I'm so grateful to each of my guests today for being prepared to open up about such a personal topic - thank you so much Justin, Megan and Ian!
Links:
<ul>
<li>Don't forget my next <a href="http://traveljournalschool.com">traveljournalschool.com</a>&nbsp;course is the two-week &ldquo;Start a personal travel blog&rdquo; course in mid-June - sign up at the link to get more information</li>
<li>Justin's blog at Justin&rsquo;s World - http://www.justins.world</li>
<li>Megan Blandford's website - &nbsp;<a href="https://meganblandford.net/">https://meganblandford.net/</a> &nbsp;</li>
<li>Her book I&rsquo;m Fine (And Other Lies) about postnatal depression and motherhood is out now and is a brilliant read!</li>
<li>Ian&rsquo;s Barefoot Backpacker blog -&nbsp;<a href="https://barefoot-backpacker.com">https://barefoot-backpacker.com</a></li>
<li>Ian&rsquo;s podcast &ldquo;Travel Tales from Beyond the Brochure&rdquo; -&nbsp;<a href="https://barefoot-backpacker.com/category/podcast/">https://barefoot-backpacker.com/category/podcast/</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Some resources to get help with depression:</li>
<li>Australia: &nbsp;Beyond Blue -&nbsp;<a href="http://beyondblue.org.au">beyondblue.org.au</a>&nbsp;;&nbsp;Lifeline -&nbsp;<a href="http://lifeline.org.au">lifeline.org.au</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>UK:&nbsp;NHS - Moodzone page - <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/">https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/</a>&nbsp;;&nbsp;Mind - <a href="https://www.mind.org.uk/">https://www.mind.org.uk/</a>&nbsp; - the mental health charity</li>
<li>US:&nbsp;Mental Health America - <a href="http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/depression-support-and-advocacy">http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/depression-support-and-advocacy</a></li>
<li>Germany: <a href="https://www.deutsche-depressionshilfe.de/">https://www.deutsche-depressionshilfe.de/</a></li>
<li>Join our Facebook group&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers">https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers</a></li>
<li>Show notes: <a href="http://notaballerina.com/137">https://notaballerina.com/137</a></li>
</ul>

The Thoughtful Travel Podcast with Amanda Kendle is a show for travel lovers. Each episode is packed with travel stories from fellow travel addicts on topics like using foreign languages, meeting the locals, getting lost and what we learn from our travels.

Tales from travel-lovers about why we travel and what we learn from it.

The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

The Thoughtful Travel Podcast with Amanda Kendle - established 2016 - helps travellers think about how our travels can be good for us and good for the world. We talk about how to make ethical decisions on our trips, sustainable and regenerative tourism, bringing back what we learn from the people and cultures we meet to improve our lives back home, and share the most memorable stories from travelling: fun, scary, educational and more. Most episodes include extracts from conversations with three different guests, centred on a particular topic, but you'll also hear occasional deep dive interviews, recordings from the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, and Amanda's own experiences from travelling past and present.

The Thoughtful Travel Podcast with Amanda Kendle - established 2016 - helps travellers think about how our travels can be good for us and good for the world. We talk about how to make ethical decisions on our trips, sustainable and regenerative tourism, bringing back what we learn from the people and cultures we meet to improve our lives back home, and share the most memorable stories from travelling: fun, scary, educational and more. Most episodes include extracts from conversations with three different guests, centred on a particular topic, but you'll also hear occasional deep dive interviews, recordings from the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, and Amanda's own experiences from travelling past and present.

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