Ok, so we all thought that travelling expands your horizons and holidays relax you right? Well listen up, as the World Health Organisation (WHO) would like to present a rather different theory - travelling abroad can be so stressful that it could lead to a development of mental health issues. So we all know queuing at the airport and delayed flights can push the buttons - but mental health problems?
WHO have issued guidelines on how travel can affect you psychologically in their annual publication International Travel And Health.
The publication states that of the one billion or so people that do travel/holiday each year, mental issues are “among the leading causes of ill-health among travellers”.
According to the WHO report, the most likely scenario for evacuation by air ambulance is a “psychiatric emergency” - alongside injury and heart disease. In fact as many as 100 adventurous British globe trotters get carted back to the UK in an air ambulance every week.
A Yorkshire based air charter company, FlyMeNow, reported returning a flyer with bipolar disorder back from Egypt to Manchester following a manic episode, “He had to be sedated for the flight; he was stretchered on to the plane and police were waiting when it landed in Manchester. He was taken to hospital where he was stabilised on drugs and discharged the next day,” said Andrew Whitney, the commercial director. The cost for all this totalled £25,000 - all paid for by the family due to a lack of travel insurance.
Not surprisingly, those who have severe flying fears feature strongly on the medical in-flight emergency list. The WHO suggest people who suffer from panic attacks may benefit from taking an aisle seat.
Warnings against taking certain drugs and stimulants including caffeine, some cold medications, and the anti-malarial drug mefloquine (brand name Lariam) before flying as there have been cases of psychotic episodes in some.
Other risks include air and road rage, along with the increased likliness of experimenting with alcohol and drugs in foreign climes, which could lead to a mental breakdown. Statistics show over hal od backpackers admit to experiementing with illeagal drugs while those who normally only indulge in a drink now and again went to drinking over five times a week.
Even those on pilgramages could be at risk if they are particularly fragile, “A traveller may become overwhelmed at pilgrimage centres such as Mecca, Jerusalem and Santiago de Compostela, as well at holy places in India,” it says.
Of course just the sheer culture shock for some people with different languages, lifestyles and food to adjust to can lead to anxiety in some. Conversely, those returning home after a life altering long term trip and can be equally affective.
The WHO suggests a pre-travel check-up with medical staff where an “enquiry into psychiatric history” would be advantageous.
So, before you next book that on-line flight, you better decide whether the gains of travel outweigh the risks.
