Traveling With Family While Maintaining Your Mental Health

For some of us, Summer might mean going on a trip with our family. No matter how great of a relationship you have with your family though, traveling with them can be taxing. It’s a lot of uninterrupted time with each other that can come with some bumps along the way. That’s why we’re giving some tips on how to help maintain your mental health while vacationing with family! 

Take Some Time For Yourself:

While traveling can be fun, it can also be really stressful. You’re not in a familiar place, you don't know anyone besides your family, it might feel hard to get any “you” time unless you make it happen. Try taking some time for yourself during the trip. Whether it’s going for a swim in the hotel pool, reading a book on the beach, or walking to get a coffee, having some time to do whatever you want to do, alone, will help reset your mindset. 

Set Boundaries:

Every family member has that topic of conversation that is always going to start a fight. Make it clear to your family if there’s things that need to be off the table for conversation. While it’ll probably be impossible for no spats to occur, this is a good way to try and limit them. Physical boundaries are also important! Sometimes people do stuff on vacation they’d never do otherwise like zipline or snorkel. If you have certain activities you know are off limits for you, don’t let your family talk you into doing it.

Get Some Rest:

Lack of sleep is the easiest way to get irritable on vacation. Try and get your eight hours every night so you're approaching each day feeling refreshed and ready for a potentially long day. Also, no shame in napping on vacation! It’s your time to relax so nap if needed!

Know When to Walk Away:

If you feel like a situation is possibly going to get out of hand and turn into a full blown fight or breakdown, walk away. It might seem rude in the moment to the people you walk away from but it’s one of the best things you can do. That way no one says anything that hurts someone's feelings, and you have time to compose your thoughts and emotions and come back and have a productive conversation.

Traveling with family is supposed to be fun, and it can be! Following a few of these suggestions is a great way to try and avoid conflict while maintaining your mental health on vacation. Happy traveling! 

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