5 Mental Health Tips I Learned in Slovenia | Culture Travels #slovenia #travel #writer #mentalhealth
I’ve traveled to over 30 countries. On every trip, I prioritize one thing to learn that I can share back home with community.
In Slovenia, I studied how culture shapes wellbeing. What I found was inspiring:
- 53.6% of the country is protected lands
- Supermarkets closed on Sunday
- Unselfish solitude
In the U.S., we lie and gaslight Black folk with talks of equality, safety, and opportunity. Yet, 300,000 Black women driven from the workforce, HBCU students threatened, and Demartravion “Trey” Reed lynched while trying to get an education.
So much harm and violence and we’re left to fend for ourselves when it comes to emotional and mental health.
That’s why I wanted to learn how Slovenians view mental health and what easy well-being strategies I could share back home with my peoples.
Here are 5 strategies I learned and I’m sharing with my family and friends during these dark times.
Slovenia shows us five techniques that make mental health a cultural priority:
1. Nature as therapy – 53.6% of land is protected and Slovenians use their love and access to nature to support their mental health. Almost all families have their own gardens or vineyards at home.
2. Family time by law – In 2003, more than 57% of Slovenians voted to close supermarkets on Sundays. The decision was about protecting workers and giving families more time together on the weekends.
3. A reading culture – Ljubljana, a city six times smaller than New York, has more than 35 public libraries. Reading is treated as mental nourishment, a way to both escape and expand perspective.
4. Travel, near and far – Hiking locally or road-tripping to Austria, Croatia, or Venice is routine. That sounds cool when your country is less than two hours from those destinations. That said, travel back home to their local towns contributes to their mental wellness.
5. Protecting solitude – Slovenians love people, and they’re also not shy about prioritizing their alone time. It’s not se
