Can travel fix burnout? It’s not that simple
If you’re furiously typing into your browser “is this burnout?” or “why do I feel like this?”, you’re not alone. I’ve been there, searching for answers after doing everything right and stunned at what was happening. Burning the candle at both ends did me no justice, and neither did climbing the corporate ladder. Turns out there’s not much waiting at the top if you’re already depleted. You might think: can travel fix my burnout? Maybe I just need a vacation, a change of scenery, some space and everything will be ok. It might, but it’s not that simple. Likely travel can give you some distance and time to reflect, but it won’t solve everything.
Don’t get me wrong. In my book, travel is always the reflex and I’m genuinely grateful for the experiences. But if anything, it delays the real work, or it could give you the breathing room to get started. The kind of work that requires honesty, self-reflection and eventually confronting what actually needs to change.
Enter the messy middle
What is the messy middle? It’s the best way to describe the in-between. The place in which you’re working through change and realignment, re-assessing everything and trying to work out what’s next. So many of us are burned out from doing everything right, everything we were supposed to. It might look great on paper but we are quietly questioning what’s it all for, or what does it even mean, while trying not to throw away everything we’ve worked so hard for, to feel some sense of control. This period is not a short one and burnout doesn’t just disappear because you’ve had a break. It lingers until you’ve done the work or shifted something deep enough to start finding your way back to yourself.
Can travel actually help burnout?
The ability to step out of your daily life and into a different version of yourself, perhaps even one that’s more aligned to your real self is where travel can play a role.
Imagine for a moment you finally take a trip that’s been on your list for years. You arrive with no plan or schedule, just an open mind. Sri Lanka was that place for me. I don’t think I have ever been so content doing so little on a holiday as I did there. Waking up in the jungle, enjoying long walks and delicious food. No tours or FOMO, just indulging in the simplicity of it all. Read more about my Sri Lanka visit here.
It wasn’t my first lesson in what stepping away could reveal. Taking long service leave the year before gave me the closest thing to an answer. Not because it resolved anything, but because the distance showed me what I was carrying and gave me the space to re-assess. You can read more about that here.
I don’t think travel is necessarily the antidote or silver bullet to overcoming burnout. The uncomfortable truth is that something’s gotta give. For women especially, who have spent a lifetime saying yes to everything and everyone else, that realisation can feel enormous. I don’t have all the answers for what comes next, but I’ve learned that the questions matter just as much.
What I’ve noticed about travel is this. It might not fix burnout, but the burnout itself might just change the way you travel. Not just whether you should, but how and why.
How burnout has changed my outlook
Burnout has definitely changed the way I travel. What I look for, how I plan and the permission I now give myself to slow down.
Midlife may also play a part, but before burnout I would cram as much as possible or put pressure on myself to see it all. When travelling long distance from Australia in particular, you only have a short window to make the most of your time, but I always returned home feeling exhausted, in need of another holiday.
Now, my planning revolves more around energy management, flexibility and calm. It might look like slow mornings, fresh air, new surroundings, a good book. Time. Space. No demands. A version of yourself that you might only access when you’re away from daily life. Travel has the ability to transform. To experience life differently. To just live, away from the noise and the performance of daily life. It really depends on your travel style and whether it’s for the world to see or just for you. You can read more about slow travel and what it actually looks like here.
Even the idea of planning a trip can act as a circuit breaker to spark some joy and break through the burnout, if only momentarily.
So can travel really fix burnout?
There is no simple answer. It’s not a cure or a solution, but it does rejuvenate the soul. For me, it’s when I feel most alive, experiencing life differently and exploring, and not feeling stuck behind a desk. Even as an introvert, I don’t need to interact with others to feel connected to something else, something bigger. Travel lets me experience a world outside my own, which is humbling and can teach me more about life than any textbook.
While I’m travelling, I feel lighter, more at ease (despite the challenges that come with it). For a while, thoughts of work and burnout genuinely disappear. However, very quickly upon returning, or settling back at my desk, I’m set back to my old ways and yearning for another adventure or a version of me that feels more free.
Burnout moves in phases and I’ve learned that the internal work requires kindness and time to discover or maybe find the courage to seek a brighter path forward. I’m not fully out of the burnout phase, but I’m starting to find my way back to myself. One trip at a time.
Curious about the research? National Geographic explores the mental health benefits of travel here.
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