Showing posts with label can bipolar people travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label can bipolar people travel. Show all posts

Thursday, August 21, 2025

Staying Grounded on the Go: A Self-Care Plan for Traveling with Bipolar Disorder

 

Staying Grounded on the Go: A Self-Care Plan for Traveling with Bipolar Disorder

I Took My Diagnosis With Me, Not Just My Luggage

I used to think travel meant a break from my mental health routine—that rest was optional and the thrill of adventure would keep me going. I convinced myself medication wasn’t necessary on vacation, and that the mood swings I felt abroad were caused by new environments, not the bipolar disorder I carried with me.

It took several post-travel episodes—and too many hospitalizations—to realize that real freedom comes not from escaping my structure, routine, and healthy habits, but from protecting them wherever I go.

Travel invites excitement, but for those of us living with bipolar disorder, it also carries the risk of dysregulation if we don’t safeguard our mental health. Without a plan for medication, sleep, and emotional regulation, I found that travel quickly became overwhelming instead of joyful.

This blog shares how to create a self-care plan for travel—one that centers stability, energy, and emotional wellness while leaving room for adventure.


The Purpose of a Travel Self-Care Plan

Self-care while traveling is essential. It’s tempting to believe that the trip itself is self-care—but for people managing bipolar disorder, it takes more than a ticket to care for our mental health. Travel disrupts structure, routine, and healthy habits—the very things that keep symptoms manageable.

A Travel Wellness Plan works hand in hand with a Mental Health Crisis Plan (like the one I created in Packing Peace of Mind). Together, they provide flexibility and safety while allowing you to enjoy the journey. A self-care plan doesn’t limit fun—it sustains it.


Essential Factors of a Travel Wellness Plan

When creating a bipolar self-care routine for travel, consider key factors that shape your experience:

Time Zones
Shifting time zones can disrupt circadian rhythms and trigger manic or depressive episodes. Start adjusting your sleep 1–2 weeks before departure to align with your destination’s schedule.

Length of Stay
The length and type of travel matter. A three-hour train ride affects your energy differently than a 12-hour international flight. Factor recovery time into your self-care plan.

Weather
Sudden changes in light, temperature, or pressure can destabilize mood. Increased sunlight, for example, can trigger mania. Knowing your triggers allows you to prepare with wellness strategies that balance body and mind.

Travel Self-Care Checklist

  • Medication reminders: alarms, organizers, or blister packs to manage doses across time zones.

  • Sleep hygiene: consistent schedules, eye masks, white noise, melatonin if prescribed.

  • Nutrition & hydration: fuel your body with stabilizing foods and plenty of water.

  • Emotional check-ins: journaling, mood-tracking apps, or voice notes.


Navigating Overstimulation and Energy Crashes

Travel can be overstimulating, often sparking hypomanic highs followed by energy crashes. These ups and downs don’t have to ruin your trip if you prepare.

  • Plan rest days: Build downtime into your itinerary to prevent exhaustion.

  • Bring calming tools: Music playlists, grounding stones, aromatherapy, or breathing exercises can help regulate emotions.

  • Notice early signs: If mania or depression surfaces, respond without shame. Rest when needed and lean into energy in healthy ways. Medication adherence is crucial during these shifts.


Know Your Travel Boundaries

Boundaries protect your wellness while traveling. Choose companions who respect your needs—those who understand when you say no to an outing or need quiet time alone.

Mindful travel means balancing exploration with rest. Whether wandering a bustling city or watching a sunrise on the beach, give yourself permission to enjoy your surroundings without burning out.


Final Thoughts

You Deserve to Feel Safe and Alive, No Matter Where You Go

Travel became more meaningful once I stopped pretending I could leave my diagnosis behind. I can’t pack a suitcase and ignore bipolar disorder—it travels with me, everywhere.

That means my structure, routine, and healthy habits—medication, sleep hygiene, emotional check-ins—must come too. A wellness plan isn’t about limiting joy; it’s about protecting the freedom to explore safely.

Travel is a radical act of self-trust. Some trips will go smoothly, others may test my limits, but every time I prepare with care and compassion, I know I can continue the journey.

Because whether I’m at home or halfway across the world, I deserve stability, healing, and adventure.

To my readers: What would it look like to design a trip that honours both your needs and your spirit? What self-care non-negotiables belong in your “mental health passport”?

Thursday, February 27, 2025

A Bipolar Woman's Lived Experience: Travel Mania and Self-Care

A Bipolar Woman's Lived Experience: Travel Mania and Self-Care

Bipolar disorder is a complex mood disorder characterized by extreme high-highs (Mania) and low-lows (Depression) which can lead to psychotic symptoms like delusions and hallucinations. When there are changes to the environment, sleep disruptions, stress and anxiety, altered routines, mood episodes often occur in people with Bipolar disorder. Travel for instance has elements of all of the above and can trigger or worsen symptoms. This article will explore the challenges individuals face while travelling, lived experience stories of the effects of jet lag and creative self-care practices when travelling with Bipolar disorder     

Challenges and Triggers: Travelling with Bipolar Disorder

When you are in unfamiliar surroundings, away from the comforts of home this can signal a disruption in your daily routine, throwing off established habits around sleep, medication or self-care. Travel can be exciting however for individuals with Bipolar disorder it can also present many challenges. Whether you are crossing timezones or taking a cross-country trip in a car or on a train, it is important to know your triggers and the challenges you may face when exploring the road less travelled. 

New Environment: Being in a new place, away from your established structure routine and habits as well as dealing with jet lag can be stressful. The prolonged excitement from being in a new and different environment can act as a trigger for Bipolar disorder symptoms.  

Mood Episode: Travel can trigger manic or hypomanic episodes characterized by an extreme elevation in mood. 

Anxiety: Travel can trigger anxiety especially when crossing into new timezones. The process of travelling from start to finish, whether it’s packing for a new destination or navigating through a new place upon arrival can stir up anxiety. 

Sleep Disruption: Travel can interrupt the Circadian Rhythm (sleep pattern) and have a negative effect on medication management. 

A Bipolar Woman’s Travel Log: My Experience with Travel Mania

I’ve travelled quite a bit in my life. From family vacations to business trips, North American travel, Caribbean travel and most recently I travelled to my home country Guyana, South America. I’ve taken buses, trains and planes to reach my destination but regardless of the mode of transportation I have always found myself experiencing what I call “Travel Mania.” Travel Mania is when you experience symptoms of hypomania or Mania while travelling to an unfamiliar country where you may cross timezones, climate change or environmental differences that disrupt the routines and habits that you have structured at home. This can cause a shift in your baseline mood leading to a minor to severe Bipolar episode.

In 2007 my family travelled by plane to St Maarten for a family holiday. Well aware of my anxieties around flying, my mother managed my medication and monitored my sleep in the hotel upon arrival. I slept on the day of arrival and for part of the following morning, waking up energized and ready to enjoy my vacation. Before I had understanding of my Bipolar cycle I believed this was enough rest. However during the 10-day holiday I slept less and less each night, mismanaged my medication, participated in risky behaviours and my moods shifted from elation and excitement to anger and aggravation easily. I was experiencing hypomania which quickly turned into Mania and I was hospitalized within a few weeks of returning home. 

In 2022, I travelled by bus to New York City to visit family. It was a 13 hour bus trip that included two rest stops. Because of the cramped space on the vehicle, sleep was hard to come by and I experienced physical discomfort for the majority of the ride. When I arrived in New York City I was immediately overwhelmed by the amount of people and cars on the road and very over-stimulated by the shining lights on every corner. When I arrived at my family’s home outside of the big city I couldn’t manage to get more than 3-4 hours a night of sleep. I woke up extremely early, went out all day, ate very little and went to bed after midnight every night, often staying up with my cousins to spend quality time. 

I was taking my medication daily and on time however, the major change in my sleep hygiene elevated my mood giving me excess energy and leading to hypomania. When I returned home to the stresses of life, family and work I was physically depleted but couldn’t maintain any quality of sleep, the cycle I was on my vacation followed me home and within a month I was hospitalized and experiencing Mania.   

Recently, armed with a better understanding of my illness and how travel can affect my mood cycle, I booked a month-long vacation in my home county Guyana. It was a life-changing trip full of culture, good food and re-connection with family. I took daily walks for self-care, I managed my medication fairly well only altering the time on a few occasions, I tried to re-create my structure, routine and habit from back home into my temporary home in Guyana. However, I noticed after the first few weeks that sleep was not coming easy and eventually I was on a 2 hour a night sleep cycle. By day 15, I was energized when waking up, incorporating more activity into my daily routine, my thoughts and speech raced and I was beginning to neglect my normal medication management routine, still taking them consistently but at odd hours. I started to hyper-spend and on one occasion participated in risky behaviours. 

This scared me and I reached out to my support team in Canada and they recommended I sleep for as long as I could for as many days as I could. They recognized even if I couldn’t that sleep deprivation was at the root of this Travel Mania. So I slept, for hours and days only setting my alarm to wake me to take my medication. I slept for 4 days straight and when I woke up I felt like myself again. When I arrived back home I made an appointment with my psychiatrist and he confirmed that I had had a manic episode but it was self-managed. He advised me that this will likely happen again especially when crossing timezones but can be mitigated by my quality sleep and taking my medication correctly and on time.  

Final Thoughts 

Practice Travel Self-Care with Bipolar Disorder 

When travelling and managing a mental illness like Bipolar disorder it is important to practice self-care in a more creative way. Previously I believed the self-care practice was taking time for myself to go on a vacation but over the years I have gained perspective and a different attitude around self-care for travel. It starts with research, asking questions like where do I want to go and will it be conducive to maintaining positive mental health. Other things to consider is how long you will travel for and where will you stay? 

If you are interested in going somewhere that may be an overstimulating environment consider ensuring that the place you sleep in is quiet and calm. If you only have a short time for your vacation, less than 10 days consider planning a staycation rather than international travel. Ensuring that you have access to your medication daily regardless of where you are can be done by switching to blister pouches that you can carry on your person. When you are planning your trip try to make sure you get quality sleep both at your destination and when you return home, this might mean you have to come back a few days early to catch up on sleep before you return to your regular life. It may also be a good idea to review and update your crisis plan to refer to if necessary.  

Planning a travel experience when managing your Bipolar disorder can be challenging but not impossible. It is important to remember the world is yours to enjoy and experience but it is necessary to take the steps needed to ensure you are practicing self-care for your mental health while travelling. There are things to consider like environmental changes, crossing timezones, change in routine, anxiety, mood cycles, sleep disruption, medication management and crisis planning as elements in deciding where in the world you journey to next.

If you have lived experience with Travel Mania or want to share your Travel Self-Care tips please connect with me by leaving a comment. Remember we are on this journey together and it's important to continue having conversations that take us beyond the stigma of mental illness and what’s possible.