The long way to New Mexico

Hi, I’m Katie — a social and cultural psychologist specializing in travel psychology. Psychologie is where I write about why we travel, who we become when we do, and the things worth sitting with along the way. I believe in slowing down, in handwritten things, and in travel that changes you. I’m so glad you found your way here.

I returned to Santa Fe, New Mexico for a summer getaway in early July. I’ve now been to Santa Fe more times than I can count, and this trip, I was back at one of my all-time favorite hotels. The trip made me think about how repeat travel can be good for us. When we know, with certainty, how a place makes us feel—relaxed, supported, stimulated, alive—we can return to that place when we need to feel that feeling again. It made me think about how and why we plan trips the way we do, and the psychological benefit we can experience when we plan them well.

That steered me toward a full-on way of thinking throughout July—I really entered into examining the full spectrum of a trip. So often, we overfocus on the trip itself, the time when we’re actually away. What we feel when we’re somewhere else. What we see and what we do. Where we stay and how we get there.

Instead, I’ve been settling in on what I think of as the four points of a trip, the full arc of a trip.

There is the before, the lead up to, the anticipation. This is the whole travel planning process. How we spend our days leading up to a trip, envisioning ourselves in cream linen and an oversized hat. Awaiting the feeling of the wind in our hair at the back of a cruise ship. Or holding that book in the sand of that perfect beach.

But then, of course, there is during. The actual experience of the trip. What happens to us when we’re in that airport terminal, the Uber, the restaurant, or standing at that bucket list monument.

Third, there’s the threshold moment, the moment when we arrive back home. The literal walking through the door and unpacking the bag. The liminal day or two following the return, and what happens to us in that aftermath.

Lastly, there’s the after that sometimes lingers well beyond the unpacking of your bag. Post-travel blues might show up here or a changed perspective resulting in a ripple effect that shifts the trajectory of our lives.

Here’s what came out of that thinking this month, all published in The Journal of Travel Psychology. While on the long drive to New Mexico, I found myself, once again, back in the driver’s seat and unwilling to let anyone else man the helm. It made me think about the fear of flying that I hear echoed from so many of you, and how that fear can manifest itself in different ways. So I wrote a bit about why losing control can sometimes feel worse at 40,000 feet or on a two-lane road in middle-of-nowhere New Mexico.

Next, I couldn’t stop ruminating about how so many travelers—and practitioners alike—give the blanket advice that “travel is good for your mental health.” And while yes, to some degree that is true—like with most things, there is a lot more nuance involved with the statement. So I wrote about what the research actually says on how travel helps your mental health and what most advice leaves out.

I also had a conversation with someone earlier in the month about solo travel. We found overselves on a winding tangent discussing how it’s important to take care at re-entry. How we can struggle to internalize what we’ve learned or gained from a trip if we don’t take the time to consciously reintegrate once home. That made me think a lot about re-entry rituals that can help us settle back into our everyday lives post-trip, so I wrote an essay on that, too.

Lastly, I’ve continued to write about the aftermath of a trip. In my view, one of the most fascinating pieces of the whole travel experience. I spent some time exploring and sharing about how leaving a place can sometimes break your heart, even if you were only there for a short time.

I felt all of these effects, in various degrees, on my latest trip to Santa Fe. I hope the reflection gives you something to sit with—and maybe a new way to think about the full spectrum of your next trip.

P.S. I picked up several amazing new postcards while in Santa Fe (and even sent a few!) — some of my favorites were from Cate Bell at Found Image Press. I always love finding her postcards in the wild! Writing and sending postcards, either to someone you love or to keep for yourself, is one solid, well-documented way to enhance the positive impacts of your trip. If you’re wanting to become the type of person who sends postcards but aren’t sure where to start, I wrote about what to write when you don’t know what to say over on Field Notes this month.