BURNT OUT
Modern international travel can feel like a series of hurdles to negotiate, whether it’s the late arrival of your airport taxi, unexpected traffic jams and flight delays, or just the sequential set of queues, from check-in, bag drop, security, lounge access and boarding to baggage collection and passport control. In between periods of stress, there are periods of boredom, often combined with opportunities to over-drink or eat.
Throw in jet lag, disrupted sleep, feelings of loneliness, disconnect from colleagues and guilt at leaving loved ones, and it’s no surprise that a quarter of frequent travellers have experienced mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, according to a survey by the International SOS Foundation and Kingston University.
‘A classic response to feelings of stress is to work harder, which just exacerbates the symptoms’
Of course, it’s not only frequent travellers who experience work-related stress. According to the Health and Safety Executive, work-related stress, depression or anxiety accounts for 44 per cent of work-related ill health and 57 per cent of all
