Travelling has become the aspiration everyone is holding dear. It\u2019s no longer the dream of a privileged few but a lifestyle marker for many today. And with the omnipresence of the internet, the pressure of curated #wanderlust is almost inevitable. Simply put, travel is becoming exhausting, and not just physically.<\/p>\n
What people are now experiencing has a name: travel dysmorphia. It has nothing to do with physical appearance, but everything to do with feeling insecure, inadequate or \u201cless travelled\u201d compared to peers. The term has been coined by yours truly, \u2018the internet.\u2019 It basically reflects the feeling that one hasn\u2019t adequately travelled as much as others.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not a medically diagnosed condition, but it\u2019s certainly one that can take a toll on mental well-being.<\/p>\n
Social media is a major influence on bucket-lists these days (Photo:Pexels)\n<\/p>\n
According to a survey by Talker Research<\/a>, one in ten Americans admit to experiencing travel dysmorphia. And honestly, it isn\u2019t shocking because FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) has only grown sharper. You would be lying if you have never saved a reel because it\u2019s either viral, aesthetic, and\/or you really wish to explore that hidden beach behind a cave.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n When travel becomes the crisis<\/p>\n When you read \u201ctravel dysmorphia,\u201d the mind does, even for a flick of a second, go back to \u201cbody dysmorphia\u201d \u2014 a mental health condition where you constantly feel that your body has flaws or is defective compared to others. And then, you spiral into anxiety, feeling distressed and more.<\/p>\n While this term is not a medical condition yet, it works on a similar emotional blueprint: inadequacy, self-criticism, anxiety about not measuring up, and bit of existential crisis too.<\/p>\n In fact, in the same survey, of about 2,000 adults, less than half of the participants felt satisfied with how much they have travelled in their lifetime. That dissatisfaction is quite telling.<\/p>\n And then, there’s social media, of course!<\/p>\n The algorithms had definitely messed with our brains as with the bucket lists too. But sometimes, behind all the rose-tinted Instagram filters, all that exists is disappointment<\/a>, because not many people know the BTS (behind-the- insta story) ordeals.<\/p>\n Everyone seems to be looking for the perfect travel grid on social media (Photo: Pexels)\n<\/p>\n