@euphoricfilms

Q: How did everything impact your mental health? We're you able to come closer to finding yourself?

1. This is a very heavy and difficult question to answer. I'm going to be completely honest and transparent to you guys. At the age of 17-18 I started experiencing Generalized Anxiety Disorder. At this time, about 6-7 years ago, mental health was still quite taboo and only starting to get the exposure it needed. I felt very alone and had to seek therapy—and that's okay. I learned the tools I needed to take care of my anxiety. Because of it, I was able to do such a scary thing to me—travel! So let this be encouragement to anyone who feels limited by their mental health.

Spiel aside, my mental health didn't suffer in Korea, in fact, it improved in many ways. I didn't get panic attacks even in situations where it would typically happen at home. I was alone and forced myself to become strong because of it.

However, two really tragic things did happen to me while in Korea, and thus my mental health did suffer a lot as a result. But it's expected to happen after experiencing death. It was so hard dealing with it alone, away from my family, but I did it. And because of these bad situations, I think I grew so much as a person. I grew to be stronger, kinder to myself, my own shoulder to cry on. I was alone, but I didn't feel it after awhile because I grew to understand myself more. I grew more comfortable with all my emotions and reactions to situations. I learned what was best for me and what wasn't. I learned that I suffer when I shelter myself from people and keep myself cooped up indoors. I did this all the time back home, thus restricting myself from making connections with people. I found that the more I went out and socialized with people in Korea, the happier I became. By the end of the year, I grew restless being home alone for just one day!

I think travelling alone is a hard but really beneficial experience. You learn things about yourself you never thought were true. You become your own strength. I worked on loving myself, understanding myself, and this allowed me to connect with those around me better as well.

These things aren't because of Korea or a result of Korea. These are just my experiences as being a solo traveller with anxiety disorder, forcing herself to grow in an unconventional way!