Coping With The Guilt Of Travelling Away From Home

So you’re going travelling but all of a sudden you have a deep sense of guilt for leaving your family and friends at home… but don’t worry, you’re not alone. The guilt of travelling away can strike us all, but there are ways to help.

Leaving your day-to-day life behind to take on a new whirlwind adventure can be really tough; especially when you know how much you’ll be missed. But it’s an amazing thing to do and it will be worth it.

Throw A Leaving Party

While your friends and family will miss you while you’re away, they know that you’re about to embark on an incredible journey – a trip of a lifetime! And they’re just as excited for you as you are. Why not plan a family and friends leaving gathering to make sure that you see everyone before you go? Soak up all of the love and hugs for a day.

See also: Top Student Holiday Destinations

Shift Your Mindset

It’s important to try to shift your mindset from ‘what if’ to ‘what if not’. And it’s easy to think of the worst of every situation. You start to worry that something bad might happen while you are away; that something bad might happen to your loved ones.

But what if nothing happens at all and everything is totally fine? Have an optimistic, positive mindset at all times, and trust that everything will work out! It always does.

Remember that you can’t live your life in fear. And the best thing to do if you’re scared of something is to do it!

Now’s the time to focus on what you’re doing rather than what you’re missing.

Things Will Stay The Same

Life usually stays the same when you’re away for a while. You’ll know this if you went to university and you came home at Christmas and everything was the same as it was when you left three months ago. So try not to overthink everything! This trip is about you, and your friends and family are going to be waiting to hear all about it.

So if you’ve got that guilty feeling about leaving home to travel, try to change your mindset. If people are missing you it just shows how much you are loved. But it also means that you have a lot of people supporting you throughout this trip.

As the poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Life’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey” and you’re about to embark on the journey of a lifetime.

So be present for every second of it and enjoy it!

Read next: What To Pack For A Backpacking Trip

Victoria Causley

Victoria is a writer from Devon with a passion to raise awareness of period positivity and women's health. She has always enjoyed writing and studied History at Cardiff University, where she wrote her dissertation on the 'Attitudes towards Menstruation in the Early Modern Era' and received a Bachelors Honours Degree. In her spare time, she enjoys going to the beach, travelling and spending time with her family and friends.