To travel is to live: embracing the emerging field of travel psychiatry

For a person with mental illness, travelling abroad can be challenging but it can be easier when the traveller and healthcare practitioner have a clear understanding of the likely impact of travel on the illness and of the illness on the travel experience. Travel may also precipitate first presentations of mental illness or unmask previously undiagnosed mental disorders. We propose that mental health problems should receive greater recognition in travel medicine and that psychiatrists should collaborate more closely with travel medicine clinicians to ensure that their patients benefit from the opportunities afforded by international travel.

Automated summary

For individuals with mental illness, traveling abroad can present challenges, but with a clear understanding of how travel can impact their illness and vice versa, the experience can be made easier. Travel may also potentially trigger the onset of mental health issues or reveal previously undiagnosed disorders, highlighting the importance of greater recognition and collaboration between psychiatrists and travel medicine clinicians in addressing mental health concerns in the context of international travel.