I spent a year abroad in my 20s and thought it cured my anxiety. I was wrong, but full-time travel helps me live with it.

Macie Strum has always been anxious — and has always wanted to see the world.

Provided by Macie Strum Macie Strum has been anxious for as long as she can remember — but she's also always wanted to see the world.

A breakup and two layoffs left her feeling stuck, so she began traveling full-time in 2024.

Nearly three years of travel didn't cure her anxiety, but it helped her stop letting fear dictate her life.

By the time I was a teenager, two seemingly contradicting things had become fundamental parts of my identity: I was deeply anxious, and I desperately wanted to see the world .

As a kid, I worried about trivial matters, like whether doors were locked and faucets weren't running before bed, to the heat death of the universe in trillions of years.

At the same time, I was deeply fascinated by geography and history.

At 14, I'd already decided that I would visit every country in Europe before I died.

When I got the chance to travel to Greece, Italy, and France later that year, my obsession deepened.

Strum's trip to Greece, Italy, and France was just the beginning of her obsession with travel.

Provided by Macie Strum The stakes grew bigger with adulthood As I got older, my anxiety didn't disappear.

Worries about locked doors and running faucets gave way to obsessing over relationships, careers, failure, success, and what my life was supposed to look like.

During difficult periods, I would create hypothetical futures in my head and react as if they were already my reality.

Therapy and medication helped, but I felt like I was simply going through the motions.