Summer: Wanderlust - Research, Self-development, Society

Travel is a topic that is not accepted seriously and in detail to be considered in the context of psychological science. Still in the know: new impressions not only distract from the routine, but are also useful from a general educational point of view. Especially for children. Especially in Egypt. There are also pyramids. What does psychology have to do with it? But let's try to dig deeper

Tahiti, Tahiti … And we are well fed here too

In the spring of 2018, Levada Center conducted a survey of more than two thousand residents of Russia about the presence of a foreign passport, visas, a general desire to go on vacation or even move abroad. As expected, it turned out that only a quarter of the respondents are happy owners of a foreign passport, there are even fewer open visas in them. Russians still ride to Turkey and Thailand, less often to Greece, Italy, Spain. And hardly 15% of the country (17% in the capital) are thinking of leaving for good.

It is noteworthy that people with higher education travel four times more often than those who do not

There are three times more people willing to go abroad among young people than among representatives of other age categories. Wealthy respondents were also twice as likely to report their desire to leave the country as less well-to-do respondents.

Does this mean that "wanderlust" is more characteristic of seekers, educated and entrepreneurial people?

“The desire of Russians to leave their homeland or, on the contrary, their unwillingness to even just see how they live in other countries, is difficult to discuss without falling out of the psychological context, but I’ll try,” Maria Alipova, a psychologist at the HSE Center for Psychological Counseling, immediately stipulates her position. - Why is it generally not interesting for a person to observe the surrounding reality? Because we are simply not used to traveling.

The picture of the world of each person rests on what surrounds him, although for some it is limited to providing for primary needs and banal survival. And when there is an opportunity to step outside of “your” reality, it scares.

Meeting with another reality is a rather complex phenomenon. If there is a risk of undermining one's ideas of how everything “in fact” works, the new is instinctively rejected

Why it happens? A person seeks to postpone the inevitable moment when it will be necessary to go through an emotional hole and objectively admit that he is wrong. This is actually a grave crisis, and few people are ready for it."

It is not surprising that our compatriots prefer to spend their savings on vacation on vacation by the sea, where you can not leave the hotel, not get out of the habit and thereby completely protect yourself from culture shock and stress.

Only the bold and open to new tourists can access the Arctic or Peru

Finding yourself

In 1919, the German philosopher Hermann von Keyserling in his "Travel Diaries of a Philosopher" wrote very correct words: "The shortest path to yourself leads all over the world." Nearly a century later, researchers at Rice University in the United States have presented compelling empirical evidence to support this idea.

The shortest path to yourself leads all over the world

Hermann von Keyserling

Leading scientist of the project Hayo Adam argues that long-term residence abroad leads to a clarification of the self-concept of a person. And the longer a person lives abroad, the clearer he sees his own personality.

In the first part of the study, psychologists interviewed 296 people online with different travel experiences (some have never traveled anywhere, some have been in other countries as a tourist, and some have lived and worked abroad). More conscious were those who lived a significant time abroad. And those who traveled at least a little turned out to be "closer" to themselves than couch potatoes.

In the next part of the study, students from different countries showed that the longer they stay outside their homeland, the stronger their understanding of their own personality and the clearer the idea of their career and future life.

Those who live abroad have a clearer and clearer self-concept than those who have just decided to move

The authors of the work naturally believe that the correlation between awareness and travel is direct and significant.

The research carried out proves the psychological benefits of living in different conditions and in a different culture.

Sanguine and choleric people are easy-going

It is clear that a tourist outing and living in a foreign country are completely different stories. And every person who decides to move somewhere has his own reasons for such a radical change in lifestyle. The main thing that needs to be well understood: in connection with moving to another country, a person, firstly, has to take into account a different mentality, and secondly, to look at himself from the outside.

It is easier to adapt to a seasoned tourist who has experience of behavior in a different cultural environment. This allows you to gain a high degree of self-distancing. If you live in a familiar environment all the time, then you behave in accordance with it. And when you come to some other country, you are forced (literally - forced!) To follow the reactions of those around you (what you did, as you said), analyze, accept or not accept, change. And as a result, it is better to learn to understand yourself first of all.

A long trip or a change of residence, if perceived as a difficult encounter with oneself and unfamiliar surrounding reality, can become a serious stressor.

How a person will cope with "changing places" is largely determined by the type of his character

“In general, everything depends on the general level of adaptability of a person and the characteristics of his temperament, that is, on the work of our nervous system. This is a psychophysiological characteristic, says Elena Tuhareli. - Sanguine and choleric people quickly get used to the new conditions, their unequal system is more adaptive. Therefore, they need less time for packing and preparation, they may well have time to rest and in a short time, quickly merge into new conditions. Phlegmatic and melancholic people adapt longer, so they need more time to restructure their lifestyle. Moving, all the more quickly, will be a stressful factor for them.

In all its pluses

However, you should not escalate the situation. Foreign trips even for the greatest lovers of a secluded life in the outback have their positive impulses. Relaxing abroad and bragging to your friends that you have finally reached the coveted Paris is a great chance to get a lot of positive emotions.

For an urban (read: office) resident, this is a necessary breath of fresh air in the face of constant race and endless depression.

According to psychologist Maria Alipova, in a metropolis a person often experiences a fairly high level of stress, and the best way to deal with it is to change activities.

A short trip is a good way to reduce the level of anxiety and tension, to recharge with new impressions and emotions

True, if you already have signs of psychological burnout, then two weeks of vacation is not a panacea, as is often perceived. You cannot go on vacation from yourself. If traveling or moving is an attempt to get away from a really urgent problem, then, most likely, nothing will work. You just postpone the solution of pressing issues, and nothing more.

In general, short and long trips are very beneficial for a psychological reboot. New emotions and impressions refresh our view of the world and expand our horizons

	pros	Minuses
A short journey	when the situation changes for a short time, we are not distracted by "later", but are in the moment "here and now", enjoy every day, and not "sit in a smartphone" there is an opportunity to enjoy the impressions and get new emotions (but only without going to extremes and not turning them into a carousel of monotonous moments and photos)	while you are adapting to new conditions, changing climate, time zones, food, you may not have time for the rest itself the desire to see everything and immediately leads to the fact that instead of rest, we get a race for impressions it is not always possible to have time to enjoy the moment - you are just starting to get a taste, and it's time to pack your bags
Long stay	you can completely immerse yourself in the culture of the country there is time for the body to adapt to new conditions there is no rush and fuss, there is an opportunity to go wherever you want, and not only along tourist routes	everything is good in moderation, it may just become boring from the same type of living there may be difficulties with language and national traditions. With a long stay, immersion in another culture cannot be avoided, and we do not always accept what is the norm for local residents

The table was compiled by Elena Tuhareli

More about research:

• digest.bps.org.uk/2018/05/09/more-time-spent-abroad-increases-self-concept-clarity-confidence-in-and-clarity-about-who-you-are/
• www.levada.ru/2018/06/13/poezdki-za-granitsu-3/

Read also:

• • Traveling and living abroad allows you to get to know yourself better
  • Quiz: what kind of traveler are you?
  • Conscious travel. Interview with Mikhail Kozhukhov