Rifka Mustafa

You only live once

[traveltotherapy]

Random flow of emotions from first SOLO travel 

We are always scared to travel alone out of fear of being alone or safety concerns to some extent. I believe if you don’t enjoy being with yourself you are never going to have heart to heart fun filled laughter or joy with anyone. Sometimes all we need to heal and be happy is doing things we love , but if we don’t know what we love doing?

Start exploring , I still remember my first dive in pool all shivering inside out, I still remember my first day into rock climbing with zero grip of understanding, I still remember my terrible fall into a bathroom tent while descending on my first trek base camp, I still remember how introvert i was entering in college, I remember my first day at gym learning to lift weights while struggling to grasp the right form , the most memorable and challenging has been my journey of learning a headstand , it still feels like it was yesterday .

The first time I decided i want to travel solo to mountains , i had so many things running in the back of my mind but I knew I will make it happen . That’s where it all started . On my first solo trip I discovered how potent I am as an individual , I discovered how much i love spending time with myself . A lot of people , like my own family call me selfish because of being the person who I am . Honestly sometimes it triggers your brain but you will learn to get away with such toxicity. Being with my best self is something which attracts good energy to people .

Looking back to my first trip , I am really grateful i met great personalities and humans around to learn and explore more of life . Every time I encounter a stranger I felt nervous to understand the intent of the person . Sometimes their too kindness might make be overthink or even make be even happier than I could have. 7/10 times my experience has been with great people , well in India people say it is not safe for a woman to travel alone but take my words it can be the same in any part of the world as well. There are always few safety measures everyone should consider while travelling solo . 

My first trip had been in rishikesh ,Uttarakhand. So stay tuned to now my complete travel experience over there and why did I choose this state and there is a lot more to share about my first times over there

[traveltotherapy]

“In the end, we only regret the chances we didn’t take”

[traveltotherapy]

How trekking turned therapy to me!

Growing up i realised I need therapy to deal with my anxiety and panic attacks. In Indian households parents don’t really get what mental health or depression to a teen or an adult in their early 20s can go through. My parents always wanted me to fit in the circle of society and I always knew I wasn’t meant to be in that ceiling. My life aspirations and career choices were too unconventional for them to accept and expectations with the first child is never ending.

At the age of 19 I was officially detected with depression and that was an eye opener for my family to understand my aspirations and desires from life. At the age of 21 I was finally able to convince my parents to allow me to go for solo trip and that where it all started. I realised that how I am different from the person my parents want me to be , I loved how I was able to talk anything and everything to strangers without any judgements being passed, my potential was much more than what I felt while trying to fit in that ceiling of society, nature was healing me inside out and giving me all the opportunities and faith to be my self.

2020 was a big time for everyone to go out as covid-19 was at ease and that’s where I decided to celebrate my birthday in mountains for the first time. I am usually very low-key with my birthday as I never felt special about my self , self love has been a long journey. As it was my first time trekking in high altitude I had mixed feelings . Trekking is challenging sport and being a fitness enthusiast I was super excited to see how good I can be at it. Trekking requires a lot muscular endurance and I went for the trek without any preparations. Until I don’t put myself into physical challenges ,there is no hit of adrenaline rush so here I am to my first base camp at jobra in Himachal Pradesh , gasping breath while ascending with my 7 kg backpack.That day and today I decided to take this therapy every quarter. The more it allows me to be myself , the more physical challenges I opt for because I believe movement is medicine.