Passport to Recovery: How Travel Coaching Can Help You Overcome Fears After Trauma

Solo travel has become a transformative movement, particularly among women who now comprise 70% of all solo travelers worldwide. Yet despite these impressive statistics, many women remain on the sidelines, watching others embark on adventures they only dream about. What's holding them back? For many, it's the invisible weight of past trauma, grief, or loss that makes the unknown elements of solo travel feel insurmountable.

This episode introduces the concept of travel coaching—a specialized approach distinct from traditional travel planning services. Unlike travel agents who book your trips, travel coaches focus on the deeper "why" behind your journey, crafting intentional experiences designed for personal growth and healing. When we've experienced trauma, our brains often remain stuck in survival mode, making even the thought of planning travel overwhelming. Travel coaching works specifically with these challenges, helping guide women from a place of hesitation to empowered exploration.

The magic happens when we step beyond our comfort zones. Something transformative occurs when we leave familiar surroundings—our brains begin to rewire as we engage with new environments, pulling us out of internal thought patterns and creating space for new perspectives. For trauma survivors, this shift can be profoundly healing, though timing matters. A travel coach helps identify the right moment in your healing journey and designs experiences that challenge appropriately without triggering. Whether you're processing grief, recovering from divorce, or healing from past trauma, intentional solo travel might be the breakthrough experience you've been seeking. Ready to move from watching others' adventures to creating your own? Visit cherylbeckesch.com to learn more or book a free discovery call to discuss how travel coaching can transform your journey.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Did you know that 72% of American women have traveled
solo at least once?
According to Condor Fairies of2024 stats, and one in four
travelers worldwide is a womantraveling alone.
Per bookingcom, women influenceand make 80% of travel

(00:23):
decisions globally.
You've probably seen solofemale travel has been growing
steadily over the past 10 yearsand of all the solo travelers in
the world, 70% are women.
Have you been part of thatgrowth Maybe?
Maybe you've been on some solotrips, or are you still sitting

(00:46):
on the sidelines dreaming andwatching others do those solo
travels that you wish you coulddo, but something's holding you
back.
Welcome to Solo TravelAdventures.
I'm Cheryl Esch, travel coachand solo travel advocate for all
you out there that are sittingon the sidelines.
Well, one way I help people tofeel unstuck or scared is to

(01:14):
work with me as a travel coach,and you may ask what is a travel
coach versus what's a travelagent, travel advisor?
Maybe you think those terms areinterchangeable, but they're
actually different things.
So I'm going to share with youwhat travel coaching is not, and

(01:36):
just to clear up any of thatconfusion of those different
names that we might call peoplethat assist with travel, a
travel coach is actually not atravel agent, meaning we do not
create itineraries or book yourtravel for you.
That's gonna be more yourtravel agent or travel advisor

(01:58):
that's gonna do those kind oftasks for you.
However, there may be sometravel coaches out there who
either work with or canrecommend a travel agent for you
, and so they might even just bea one-stop shop, meaning maybe
they were a travel agent andthey have become certified as a

(02:19):
travel coach to sort of helptheir clients, you know, just
find the best place to taketheir travels.
But travel coaching focuses onhelping a client have a
meaningful experience with theirtravel, based on their
individual needs, theirintention for the trip, and we,
as travel coaches, guide theclient in through the pre-trip

(02:43):
phase, during the trip and evenpost-trip simulation and
reflection.
We will focus on the why behindyour travels and even craft an
experience to produce personalgrowth and transformation.
And in my program I specificallyfocus on finding healing and

(03:06):
transformation from past grief,lost traumas, those kinds of
things that make it a littlemore challenging in going on a
trip, possibly because there issome deeper issues that may be
preventing you from remainingscared or on the sidelines, and

(03:30):
so I work with clients to helpthem work through those reasons
that they're stuck.
You know what is preventingthem from going on this trip.
Why do they want to go on asolo trip and to really utilize
that time?
Because I truly believe, and Ihave experienced it in my own

(03:50):
life, that travel, coaching andbeing intentional about your
trip has provided healing for mepersonally and I've seen it in
a few clients of my own and I'veseen it in a few clients of my
own.
So I can officially say my newwebsite, my refreshed website,

(04:11):
has been launched, as of youhearing this today, and within
that there is more informationabout my program and next week
I'm going to talk a little bitmore.
I'll share a little bit of myone of my healing stories of how
I utilized travel to heal fromsome things.

(04:33):
So there are many differentsituations in which a person, a
woman, might need to findhealing and I feel travel offers
that and for many reasons, oneof the big things that I have
noticed with women that arestruggling maybe they've had

(04:54):
some past trauma and they'restill processing that we all
know.
If you have ever been in thatsituation, you've ever
experienced whether it's grief,loss of a loved one, a bad
divorce because that is apartial grieving process that
happens and everything else thatgoes along with that.

(05:15):
Or maybe just you had atraumatic event earlier in your
life, or even semi-recently itcould be just traumatic to in
your brain and therefore you areresponding in a way that is
reminiscent of PTSD and so youmight have some of those what we

(05:37):
call.
You have triggers that stillmight randomly happen, and so
that makes it a littleunsettling possibly for you, as
that person struggling with that, to even consider going on a
solo trip, because there is somuch unknown about solo travel

(05:59):
and if you've been through sometrauma, sometimes having control
could be also something that ispreventing you from doing any
kind of solo travel or movingforward, because it keeps you
kind of stuck in this controlmindset, even though, as we know
, travel we can't control travelthere's so much

(06:20):
unpredictability.
You got to be flexible withchange, but what I have noticed
with women that are kind of inthat stuck traumatic phase of
their life and they're stillprocessing they could be going
to counseling, which I highlyrecommend there is a mentality

(06:41):
of being in survival mode and ifyou've been there you know what
I'm talking about.
And so to even think or plan atrip is so overwhelming to you,
right, and that may be one ofthe reasons you haven't even
considered a solo trip to helpyou move through this process.

(07:02):
But what I found and there isscience behind it when we are
moved out of this safety, thisbubble that we have created for
ourselves due to the traumawe've experienced and I'm not
saying this is something youcould consider like immediately

(07:23):
following a trauma Often mytrips were even sometimes years
after the trauma.
My trips were even sometimesyears after the trauma.
So there is a period where youmay need to find that safe space
for yourself, right, to feelsafe in your own mind and body
and spirit.

(07:44):
So once you've gotten past that,though, we often stay stuck in
this survival mentality and wejust are getting through our day
.
We're just doing what isnecessary, right, and we can't
really think of anything elsebecause our minds aren't letting

(08:06):
us and we may be thinking we'restill in that situation, so
we're on the defense and sowe're kind of constantly in that
fight and flight, kind of feelright, and that also makes it
very overwhelming in the brainto even consider a solo trip

(08:28):
just to travel in general, right, because there's a lot of prep
with travel.
You have to plan, you have topack, you have to schedule
things, you have to book yourflights, and so all that, on top
of just trying to survive, canbe too much for someone who is
kind of in those early stagespossibly, but in the later

(08:49):
stages we may still revert tothat, and so my goal in working
with clients that are in thatspace where they have walked
through some part of theirtrauma, they've started some
counseling, they've started thehealing process possibly, or the

(09:10):
grieving process, is to helpguide them and show them the
benefits.
First of all, because when weare taken out of this comfort
zone as I was mentioning earlier, this bubble that we've created
to create safety for ourselvesit actually it rewires your
brain and there's somethingmagical that happens when we are

(09:34):
pulled out of our comfort zone,we're suddenly having to look
outside of ourselves, evenbecause we have to start to be
aware.
We're no longer in ourcomfortable home and our
comfortable job and in ourcomfortable town and
everything's predictable, right,we get moved to another country

(09:55):
, just for example, and suddenlyall of our senses are aware,
right, we're pulled out ofourselves and we suddenly have
to you know, you know again, beaware of our surroundings, um,
and then start to see ourselvesin a new light, and this is when

(10:25):
the transformation can start.
And so part of my program isit's very individualized,
depending on your story,depending on certain triggers.
We keep that in mind as we lookto.
I do help, suggest and plan ina sense.
I mean you're going to do allthe booking and all that for
yourself, but kind of guide youin a way to make sure where

(10:45):
you've chosen to go is suitablefor you and your personality,
but also suitable for you inthis season of your life and
that it's not going to put youin that traumatic brain mindset.
So you're not going to defaultto some sort of PTSD responses.

(11:07):
So if that is you and you wantto explore that idea you're not
sure, maybe it's something youwant to try, maybe you're unsure
if this is right for you.
I encourage you.
First of all, go to my website.
I want to thank my web designer, mariah Petty.

(11:29):
She did a beautiful job and I'mso grateful for her and the
love that she put into therefresh of my website.
I'm just so thrilled.
And so the website is actuallyCheryl Beck Esch, so that's
C-H-E-R-Y-L-B-E-C-K-E-S-C-Hcom.

(11:51):
So for those that don't know meor have just gotten to know me,
beck is my maiden name and Istill have quite a few people
that refer to me with my maidenname, and so that's sort of why
I created that website, withthose merged together.
Plus, that is actually whereyou would find me on Facebook as

(12:13):
well.
Anyways, go to that website,check it out.
You could also just book a callwith me If you're unsure of a.
What are the next steps?
Is this something that wouldwork for me?
And I would love to get on afree 15 minute sort of discovery
call to talk maybe more at.

(12:35):
You know you can ask whateverquestions you need to regarding
the coaching program, and we'lltalk some more next week about
some personal experiences of howtravel coaching has healed me
personally, and I'll share alittle story of my own, and

(12:56):
we'll talk some more about thisnext week.
But get on that website, checkit out and book a call with me
if you are unsure and need someanswers and sisters, I would
love for you to get out thereand have your next adventure.
So book a call again.

(13:16):
If that is you sitting on thesidelines dreaming through other
people's stories here, let'screate a memorable and healing
story for you.