[FULL VIDEO] NomadnessFest Mental Health and Travel Panel

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How's everybody doing?

Great!

Are you hot? We got a little cloud cover right now. I think that's the Lord, the universe smiling down on us. So thank you guys for being out here in this sun. We're gonna talk about something that we don't always like talking about, which is mental health. It can be taboo for us sometimes, but we're We're going to talk about it today. And my name is Samantha. I'm also known as the Queen of Vacations. That name was coined when I took 14 weeks vacation in one year, paid.

Yes, it's possible.

And so I want these other beautiful ladies on the stage to introduce themselves.

Can you hear me? Hey, everybody!

Hi! Hi!

My name is Jentamu Jenny McKinney, and my organization is called Awareness After Dark. Where education and entertainment collide. I specialize in mental health. It's a nonprofit organization. Also, my other travel company is called Work and Play, where adventure and social responsibility collide. I specialize in volunteer trips and mental health trips.

Wow, okay.

Hi, my name is Zaakirah Muhammad. I am a brand cultivating strategist as well as a world traveler and a cancer survivor. I have been to 10 countries so far. And, um, yeah, I just love being able to talk about emotional and mental health.

Hello, I am Fuell. I am a native Memphian. I'm the second oldest of 7. Um, I just recently got into my calling. I just had a show called Feminine, and it was focused in on mental health, and I found that this is kind of like my niche. And so this is a I think it's a beautiful thing because I used mental health in my life as a coping mechanism. So I'm excited to be on this panel.

So first off, I think we need to define mental health for these folks. So what it is, what it's not, the myths around it. And, you know, whoever wants to start, just jump in.

I would say for me, mental health is having a harmonious relationship with your emotions, having Healthy conversations with yourself and your behavior and a true balance of self-awareness.

I believe mental health is one of the most important aspects of the human body, basically. If your mental health is not in tip-top shape, everything else will fall just like dominoes.

And I'll follow suit. To me, mental health is the start of your whole health and pretty much your whole wellness, because where your mind is, wherever your mind is, that's where your heart is, that's where your body is. You know, it starts with your head first, and that's when your whole other body will follow suit. And that's why I kind of hate sometimes when, as far as healthcare is concerned, they kind of separate it, because when it comes to that, it's really whole health. You know what I'm saying?

Yeah, people don't realize when you're tired, you're hungry, your hormones are out of whack, those things can sometimes stem from what's going on in your mind because you're not taking care of yourself. Because your mind's not there to tell you the things that you need. So I definitely agree with that.

Now, how about—

we know when we're happy, we know when things are good. How about when things— when you're mentally unwell? Like, some people will go to extremes, like, you know, oh, I'm just— if somebody's depressed, they're just in bed all day, they don't do anything. But that's not really the reality of being mentally unwell. There's so many different facets. And also, if you want to tie it into travel, some of the ways that travel can help.

Well, here's my I think when it comes to mental health and travel and being what you said, unwell. Number one, mental illness or mental health has no certain look. That's why we have functioning drug addicts. They're functioning, you think they're well, but behind closed doors they're crying and depressed. And there's another reason why we have this whole mental health and travel movement, because what I've noticed, we have a lot of people out there traveling and doing things stuff for the gram and doing all these pictures, but what are— why are you traveling? Are you traveling for spiritual reasons? Are you just traveling to hate and front on somebody else? Because I've heard a lot of disturbing stories that people are doing and they're, they're getting killed over just some random photos, um, as far as mental health and travel is concerned. So, um, but however, like I said, it's a double-edged sword. Travel can also— make you well, spiritually well, and bring those things up. One of my main issues with people traveling, they think traveling is going to solve their problem. If you're depressed and down and out in California or in Texas, going to Bali and going to Japan ain't gonna stop your depression, or, you know what I'm saying?

You're still gonna be depressed. Wherever you go, that's where you are.

Right, so you still need to get down to the root of the problem, and that's what I'm trying to get to people. And spread that message is, um, and one, um, let's talk about it. Let's have some conversations about it. Knowing that one of the biggest issues with African Americans and Black people, period, is we don't like to talk about mental health. We go from— we think it goes from way to the left, to the extreme, to being bipolar. No, you can just have anxiety right now. I had anxiety like 5 minutes ago, so I had to rush down here from Gate 1. Extreme anxiety. Jenny, go mainstream. Yes, I'm coming. You know, it doesn't have to be that extreme.

Yes, I believe that, uh, here in the US it's very stressful. It's a very stressful environment with work, with family, with everything else that's going on, and it's so easy to get caught up in that. And so for me, when it comes to travel, travel is that self-care. Travel is the one to help me reconnect with myself, reconnect with what does make me happy, what does make me feel good when the things are not going so great. So when I do choose my Solo trips, most of the time it's in places that I know make me happy. I love water, I'm gonna go to the place with the beach. I love, uh, authentic food and cultures, that's where I'm gonna go. That's the places that I choose to go to when I want to choose to travel to help my mental health.

So it's almost like a distinction between escapism and traveling with purpose to actually address your mental health issues. So if anybody wants to touch— I don't know if you guys know what escapism is.

I wanted to chime in on the double-edged sword thing. So personally, I found myself, um, now discovering how traveling has been healing for me, but before then, before I was truly finding the space of self-awareness, um, it was a form of escapism. It was a form of, okay, well, I feel this way, but if I go here, I'm gonna get this instant gratification. I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna I'm going to take the pictures, I'm going to Instagram, and then you come home and those problems are back sitting with you, or even when you're there, you're not really able to have a fulfilling trip. My last trip that I feel was really fulfilling for me was when purpose was behind it. I went— I ended up going to Costa Rica, and I had all of these anticipations and expectations of what the trip was going to do for me, but I ended up Finding a lot of obstacles and bumps in the road, and it really made me sit with myself, and I discovered myself in a new way and was able to look at the obstacles as a healing component. So it is definitely a double-edged sword, and I do agree that purpose must be behind why you're moving and what you're trying to discover within yourself.

So with Target, let's talk a little bit about Self-discovery. So when you're traveling, I feel like if you're traveling for escapism, you're trying to get away from everything, but you, you really can't. And as you— the deeper you get into going into these places and to learning about new cultures and new things, um, I lost my train of thought. I'm a little bit nervous, y'all.

It's okay, it's okay. I got your back.

I got you.

So, self-discovery, right?

Self-discovery.

Thank you.

And how, yeah, how it goes along.

Yeah, so I feel like self-discovery is also a double-edged sword because, you know, you think that you're gonna find yourself by eating pasta and Eat, Pray, Love and everything's gonna be lovely, and then you might be in your hostel bed just crying because you figured out when you self-discovered, everything that you discover is not gonna be great. So How have you guys, like, some of the things that you've gone through as far as, like, maybe a particular place that you've gone or a particular experience, if you want to speak on specific to self-discovery?

Well, okay, I'll go. Okay, so my last trip, I, like I said, my company is called Work and Play. We work a little, we play a lot. Um, with those trips, I end up, uh, intertwining volunteering Volunteerism and mental health. The last trip was this past September called Eat, Pray, Love, and Party. That's the play part. So with this trip, we did volunteerism, and then we all had— we also had a mental health piece added to it where we had 2 days of sister circles in conjunction with holistic counseling and sound, vibrational sound healing With the ladies. And the ladies, um, it actually brought me to tears just to see what the ladies were actually going through and was able to finally speak and address some of those, the issues that they had. They never thought that they, you know, they thought they were just going on a trip, you know, something fun, you know, yeah, you could do this and do that. But then what they really got was they got healing. They got able to talk about something and take some tools with them to go home to. And so that's what one of my trips done. It was self-revealing for them. They didn't know that all those emotions were gonna— I mean, it sounds like good sister circle. Oh, let's talk. But then it's like, nah, we gonna talk about some real shit. We gonna talk about this shit because when you get home, it's gonna be some changes. And I think that's the issue about some of these travel experiences. You don't want to just experience and, you know, do all these other You really want some change in your life to be positive. That's the self-discovery part that you can take with you. That's the experience that you want. And I think when people say that cliché word, don't collect things, collect experiences, I think that's what we're really, really talking about. Not just traveling here and traveling there, traveling to a different country that nobody else has been to. I want to travel to this country first and Get to this place first. No, what exactly— what is the experience that you're really trying to take back with you besides that picture on Facebook and Instagram and that tweet?

I think I have 2, um, travel stories to share. One of them, the first time I ever stepped on the continent of Mother Africa, I was with an organization called Operation Crossroads Africa, and they are the Peace Corps before the Peace Corps. So they intentionally told us during orientation, this is not a tourist trip. You're going to learn about yourself more than you will learn about your culture. And that was definitely the truth. So with that trip, I learned, you know, so much about myself, a different level of patience, a different level of independence, and things of that sort. And then fast forward a few years later, I ended up taking a trip to The Gambia. And I knew, but I didn't know, because I met— ironically, I met my husband through mutual friends. And so I ended up going there and actually meeting him in person. When I met him in person, it also brought up the conversation of spirituality because I'm also a practicing Muslim and that is a predominantly Muslim country. So I also had to explore spirituality. Right, okay, they just— Not only was I entering a new chapter of life, I had to explore like, how do I really feel about all of this? So sometimes we end up getting into situations during travels that caused you to, uh, examine that, that part of ourselves?

Um, for self-discovery, my biggest thing is perspective. I find myself running into people and they get a side eye because I'm a young lady walking with 2 canes and to, um, go out of the country, one, alone, meeting a friend, um, And try to navigate on my own and allow myself to open up and trust strangers that I've never met before. It helped me to understand there are more good people than I thought, you know. So it's really me, one, creating an experience for an outsider, but also understanding and receiving that I'm protected, I can trust people, and it helped me step over a boundary of fear that I had been holding with Within myself for a very, very long time. So traveling has pushed that fear for— I mean, back and pushed me forward.

And I want to touch on something that Zaakirah said, which is going back to the motherland. We as Black people, a lot of our identity was taken from us, and then we have these negative identities that have been imposed on us, and that really affects your mental health. So I don't know who in the audience has been back to the continent, but if you have, you know what a transformative experience it can have and how it can help heal you, and that can also heal you mentally, you know. Have either of you ladies been?

I have not been to Africa. That is on my 2020 list.

Um, go ahead. Sorry, have you been? No, I have not, but it's on the list, so it's coming. My name is actually Africania. One who brings life, joy, and laughter to the world.

Well, then I'll talk about it because I've been, and it's really— it really did affect my mental health to be in a space where everybody looks like you and they're doing amazing things, where the people that are doing amazing things aren't just the exception and they aren't put on a pedestal and, oh well, you're one of the good ones. No, we're all good ones, and it just gives you such a sense sense of pride in yourself and such a sense of peace and calm to know that the things that other people are saying about you aren't true. About us, not just you as a person, but about us. And that really does help shape how you feel about yourself. And when you feel good about yourself, it just, it just, you know, it flows. It just flows. And also, Traveling to the continent, getting back in touch with spirituality, like the religions that they have there. And I don't know if you guys have been anywhere— you were just speaking about, you know, going to predominantly Muslim country and tapping into that. No. I feel like spirituality is a big part of our mental health, especially as Black people. And travel— traveling to new places and learning about new cultures really can open more doors, you know. Do you guys have any experiences that you want to share?

I think it cultivates identity. I went to, it was like a meditation new moon session, and it was the first time I had ever experienced something like that. So at first, you know, you have your guard up and you're like, mm-mm, I don't know about this. But it was like one of the most liberating experiences that I had to be connected with people who didn't look like me. I think like for— when I think in terms of Africa, I'm going into a space where I'm finding people who look more like me, but when I go to places where there are people who don't look like me, that also defines identity. You see where you're different and you see that you need to learn more things about yourself, but yeah.

So A big part of why I like coming to conferences like this is to get concrete gems and tools and tips to take home. So I feel like we've defined mental wellness, we've defined mental unwellness a little bit. Now, for the people out here who may identify as, you know, going through escapism or going through some hardships mentally, can you guys give them some tips that they might be able to implement in their life and their travels to help them?

I think— sorry, I think the first form of healing is self-awareness. So learning how to have dialogue with yourself, connecting with people who you can relate to, who will be a safe space for you, allowing yourself to be vulnerable. She mentioned sister circles, That was transformative for me. And inner child work, understanding the patterns you create, creating your thought process and then redoing them. And of course therapy.

Okay, so one of the main reasons why we have this mental health travel segment on this Audacity Fest is to erase the stigma Erase the stigma and erase the shame and to also empower you. I'm very— I like smells. They're very soothing. You can also carry a rollerball with certain types of smell, aromatherapy. It's very triggering. It can calm you down within an instant. And one thing that you can taste. Another thing, people carry gum or mints. Get something that is very triggering to you that can calm you down and make you feel more refreshed. People like, if you see something The first thing when people are distressed, what do they ask for? Anybody know?

Water.

Water. Water, honey, sugar, something that's sweet so it can get you out of that aroma or that headspace. And that's it. And again, I'll tell you again, it's one thing that you can see, one thing that you can feel, one thing that you can hear. One thing that you can smell, and one thing that you can taste. Those are the 5 things you can do this week today, all while you're here at the Audacity Fest, as far as calming down your stress levels, anxiety, or depression. And again, get the book. It's called Keep Calm, Bring Your Carry-On: The Ultimate Self-Care Guide for Travelers of Color. This book is for you because number one thing That's something that we talk about, that I talk about all the time. White folks get treatment and get diagnosed all the time. Black folks are misdiagnosed and don't get treatment, and we're treated like crap when it comes to that. So that's why it's very important that you get the book because it gives you tips.

I'm sorry, darling, we are running out of time, and I just want to make sure, um, see if we have any questions. We have time for about 2 questions, so if you really have a question about mental health and travel, raise your hand. Just 2 of you, don't all run to the mic. All right, go ahead.

Oh, Fueal. Fueal, hi.

So I'm interested as far as, um, I know you said when you travel, walking into a room And like you're on 2 walking sticks. How is it with you when you're traveling to a new place and you have physically, you look quote unquote different? Like, how is it for you showing up into a room as far as like being you, but you know, like just showing up into the room?

For a long time it was like, look at the ground, don't look at people. But I realized that Yes, people's eyes drawn toward me, but I learned to take that fear and turn it into power. It's like, okay, if I have people's eyes on me, start smiling, start greeting people, and just, you know, reversing that energy. Thank you.

Do we have any other questions? We have people up there that—

yeah.

Thank you. Do you have And this is for anybody, um, tips for nervous flyers, um, especially, you know, dealing with turbulence, because this is something I fly a lot, but I'm still a very nervous flyer.

So if anybody could speak to that.

I wanted to add, um, prayer if you're God-fearing, or positive affirmations. I will make it safely to my duration. I will enjoy myself when I arrive. I will be okay. I will get to see my family again. Think of positive affirmations. That's what I do.

Hello?

I would add a bomb-ass playlist. I always, before I travel, I sit the night before, think about, you know, the logistics of things, and then I create a— depending on what my mood is, creating a playlist to kind of take my mind to another place when I'm actually on a flight.

My suggestion is also aromatherapy. They have aromatherapy balls, different balls that speak to you. Also get different types of candies that you can possibly chew that will get your mind off of it. They also have different types of sleep water or sleep aids that can help you during travel. Like I said, there's also more tips inside the book.

So I get really bad anxiety And it's not around traveling, but it's— it's not around flying, sorry. It's just around traveling altogether. There is— this is not— I'm not— it's not FDA approved. Talk to your doctor first. But there is something called flower essences, and it's Bach Rescue Remedy. It doesn't interfere with medications, but like I said, talk to Yeah. But, um, just a— it's an herbal way to calm your nerves, um, because I personally— this is personal— I personally don't like hard medication unless you necessarily have to really have it. And that's also, you know, talk to your doctor. There's nothing wrong with that. But if you do want to just kind of ease yourself into maybe trying to find some holistic way to help you, there are different vitamins adaptogens, and different herbal remedies to help with anxiety and stress when it comes to travel. All right, and I think we are out of time. Thank you guys. Um, yeah, these ladies, they just want to tell you your handles and then, uh, out of here.

I just want to jump in really quick. I have a podcast, um, if you want to listen to my podcast, Living Legacy Podcast. Otherwise, you can follow me on Instagram @illuminousone. I also have postcards for another podcast called Silence the Shame. It's a nonprofit that focuses on mental and emotional health. I have those if you want to find out about it. It's founded by music, um, music industry veteran Shanti Das.

I am on Instagram and I just recently launched my website. Uh, Instagram handle is PSVOEL, PSVOEL, and then the website is www.psvoel.com. And yeah.

Um, my information is available on Facebook and Instagram as Work and Play Co. That's W-O-R-K-N Play, P-L-A-Y Co. That's on Instagram and Facebook. Um, organization is called Awareness After Dark. That's on, um, just like it's spelled, Birdies After Dark, on Instagram and Facebook. And I also go by Volunteer Adventures with Jen. And that's it. All right, thank you guys. Now you can clap.

Good for you.