Travel is enjoyable, but there is no doubt that it can be stressful. Even if you don't have a prior history of mental illness, travel stress, mood changes, anxiety and other mental health concerns can unexpectedly affect you and potentially disrupt your trip. Studies show that psychiatric emergencies are the leading cause of air evacuations along with injuries and cardiovascular disease.

Factors affecting mental health during travel

Your mental and physical health prior to, and during, a trip determines how well you will cope with travel stress. Consider the following:

• Tiredness, lack of sleep
• Major life events occurring prior to travel such as a birth, death, wedding, divorce, moving, or serious illness
• Difficult home or professional life; experiencing recent emotional exhaustion or financial strain
• Being lonely; prone to depression and anxiety
• Having pre-existing psychiatric, behavioural, neurological disorders; memory or cognitive deficits
• Dependence on, or misuse, of psychoactive substances
• Using medications that have psychiatric or neurological side effects (some antiretrovirals and antimalarials)
• Type and length of travel; adventure, business, leisure, emergency aid work, missions
• Travel destination; travelling to politically unstable or war-torn areas, returning to a place where psychological trauma occurred

Mental health abroad

Mental illness is an under-recognized public health concern and travellers often have difficulty accessing adequate emergency psychiatric care abroad. While more than half of all countries have a stand-alone mental health legislation, in many countries implementation of these laws is weak.

According to the World Health Organization Mental Health Atlas 2014, the number of psychiatrists varies from 0.07 per 100,000 people in Africa to 7.43 per 100,000 people in Europe. All regions except Europe and the Western Pacific have less than 2 beds per 100,000 people in psychiatric wards located in general hospitals.

Persons with mental health concerns have the additional burden of dealing with stigma and negative attitudes and behaviour towards their illness. Prejudice and discrimination towards mental illness may determine the quality of medical care you will receive abroad.

Download My Travel and Mental Health Checklists

What's inside:

• Tips for coping with travel stress
• Tips for travellers with no prior history of mental illness
• Tips for travelling with medications
• Tips for travellers with:
  • Mood disorders (depression, bipolar disorder)
  • Anxiety disorders (panic attacks, phobias, obsessive compulsive disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder)
  • Psychotic disorders (acute situational psychosis, schizophrenia)
  • Substance dependence

Travel Stress Download PDF Depression & Mood Changes Download PDFSubstance Use Download PDFAnxiety Download PDFPsychosis Download PDF

Last reviewed and updated: December 21, 2016