Wellness Holiday exploring time out

Give yourself the opportunity to explore time out from everyday life.

We all know holidays are supposed to be a fun time for you to relax but often what you planned to do when on holiday often goes array due to a number of things such as , Travel delays, Family & Friend issues increasing costs, work pressures and of course the weather itself.

I want you to think about Wellness as a holiday option and even think about a Solo Wellness breaks ie time away from daily life. More importantly I wish to highlight the benefits and provide more information about why its good for all members of the LGBTQ+ community to really think about planning a wellness holiday in the future. You might just thank me for highlighting such a lessor known product and service just waiting for you to explore & experience.

I must explain that the term Wellness can take on many forms in life itself and especially when you think about holidays ie, It could be a health & fitness holiday, a culture retreat, a holiday away from social media, a body detox holiday, a Solo find yourself holiday or simply a Body Pamper holiday. All of these types of wellness holidays focus on one key area and that is helping yourself live and feel better.

I have personally been on many styles of wellness holidays mainly Health related like body health cleansing where you focus on your nutrition and fitness and relaxation for 2 -3 weeks. You might hear of them even as a training camps or body detoxing life experiences. Regardless of why you decide to take this type of holiday it has to ultimately benefit you so doing your research is paramount for you to get the very best out of your experience. Budget is of course important to start with but I think you should really focus on why you want this type of holiday or indeed need it in the first place. Suffering mentally in silence is never good so reach out to family , friends or even your GP to discuss your own personal situation because they might also have helpful ideas or solutions.

If like me you have suffered any format of trauma in your life maybe due to ill health, family members passing, losing a job etc you can often feel lost mentally and physically about how you feel and what you want out of life moving forward. Usually a holiday is a short time out from the usual day to day of living a life but why you wanted a break or indeed the reason you left to go on a holiday is often not resolved when you return so mentally any issue is ultimately unresolved and will continue to take its Toal on you when you comeback.

Below are some of my ideas as to where you might what to think about for your first wellness holidays:

Thailand is by far one of my favourite places in the world to go on holiday and switch off from life back here in Northern Ireland. I can first hand recommend Kamalya Wellness Scantuary & Holistic Spa. Situated on the beautiful island of Koh Samui Kamalya Wellness offers an individual opportunity to take a wellness sabbatical here you will be at one with nature and yourself its a truly individual product with multiple services to match your body and minds needs. If ready for a personal journey I can guarantee your life will be better for experiencing this life escaping destination.

If Thailand is too far for you to travel then don’t worry Spain, Greece and even the UAE offer similar destinations for you to reconnect with yourself and plan for a better life.

SHA Wellness in Spain is another product I have been very lucky to have had experience in even though its only around 10 years old the destination is well regarded offering products from helping with Sleep, Sexual desire even cognitive boosting programs. Due to it be closer to the UK& Ireland you can take shorter 4 day programs or 2 weeks. At SHA you can found out so much about yourself both medically, physically and spiritually that you will be glad to have take the step into selfceare holidays. Of course none of these holidays have to be taken as a solo traveler but I personally think that you get much more out of it because it allows you that time to be free and really dig deep into your feelings as well as understanding what your body is telling you.

Most countries around the world offer wellness breaks/ expereinces, Thailand & Spain are just two that I have personally experienced but I know Austria, Greece , UAE and even Norway all offer unique perspective on wellness holidays.

If you are are shouting as you read this thinking I’m sure the price is high then yes it can indeed be high but to me your life is worth investing in and so if this is a one off opportunity for you to find yourself and build a new future then I am 100% behind you trying this sort of holiday.

Of course this type of holiday might be way out of peoples bank balances and so you can think about wellness as a thing you can do at home also. Northern Ireland offers multiple hotels and resorts now offering wellness breaks. These can range from weight loss to mental health retreats both as ongoing treatments for you or as one off self care breaks.

Why should you think about booking a wellness holiday ? The most simple answer is to give yourself the opportunity to recharge. Life in 2024 is not easy for any of us and by taking time out in any way you can to help boost your mental health has to be beneficial. I myself have struggled through the years with low self esteem, poor work life balance, relationship problems, not to mention financial worries. None of us our perfect and trying to compete and even compare yourself with others is ultimately pointless and self destructive. The point of a wellness holiday is by focusing on you and what you need right now means you can move forward in life. The fact that your reading this and its giving you some new thoughts around a holiday for yourself is an excellent place to start.

The LGBTQ+ community is known for its big parties, large clubs, huge events etc often also with excess alcohol and drugs mixed in. This type of lifestyle is not sustainable in the longterm and really I think often leads many of us into depression, debt and even loneliness. You may not even realise you are in this circle of life at the moment but burnout happens to us all.

If I can give any advice it would be don’t be afraid of wanting to try wellness experiences male or female and regardless of age or sexuality you will thank yourself for allowing yourself the gift of self exploration. If you have never even heard of wellness then I am glad I have brought the service into you thoughts. Moving forward do some local research here in UK & Ireland and experience the multitude of services from body detox, the benefits around different massage treatments to nutrition and health and wellness lifestyle training even CBT.

As always thanks for reading and I hope you feel like you can connect with the wellness sector in all of its formats locally or even globally as part of a holiday or city break.

Keep travelling don’t just dream about as we all just get one life so lets try living the best one we can.

G Andrews