– I started traveling when I started having a lot of problems at home. For me it was a kind of escape from reality. I just had to get away from everything and have time to think, Baldauf tells news. 10 October is World Mental Health Day. Brytaren has previously told news about growing up when his mother struggled with an alcohol problem, and that he then developed depression. In addition, he was diagnosed with Ankylosing spondylitis this year, a chronic back disease. He was 20 the first time he traveled alone. Then he went to China, and was there for two weeks. This year he has traveled to Laos and Cambodia in Asia. TRAVELING ALONE: Here is Felix Baldauf in Cambodia. Photo: PRIVAT – How important is it for your mental health to go on such trips? – It is very important. It has become a tradition. I do it after every WC, says Baldauf. Now Baldauf tells why he keeps the backpacking tradition going, and how such trips help him get back on track. – Need a break Baldauf was introduced to the travel method by his cousin, who started traveling alone many years ago. The wrestler wanted to try the same, and after his first trip to China, he was bitten by the bug. – I get nothing out of traveling for a week to warmer areas to lie on the beach. Then I can’t rest my head in the right way, he says. NEW IMPRESSIONS: Baldauf gets to know many locals on such trips. Here he was going on a train trip in Cambodia. Photo: PRIVAT And it’s a good solution, if we believe the switch. – It has helped me get through what has happened in recent years. If I were “trapped” in Norway, and never got away, I would constantly experience the same lows and lows again, as I am often in places I associate with bad memories. I think it costs a lot for mental health, he says. – Some might say that you are running away from problems? – I think everyone needs a break from everyday life and their lives, once in a while. There are two things that make me relax. Such a trip, or fishing. It’s my solution to dealing with the challenges of everyday life and getting my head back to zero, says Baldauf. BATTERY CHARGER: Here from Laos. Photo: PRIVAT Drawing parallels Anne Marte Pensgaard, who is a professor of sports psychology at Olympiatoppen and at the Norwegian Sports Academy, believes that Baldauf’s way of handling emotions can be compared to another widespread method. – I imagine that traveling to other countries can have a similar effect to being out in nature. It is something we recommend as a remedy, because you use your senses in a different way, says Pensgaard to news. CONTROL: Anne Marte Pensgaard has a PhD in sports psychology from the NIH, and has worked closely with many athletes. Photo: Cornelius Poppe / NTB She says that nature causes one to process thoughts unconsciously. – You get a kind of “out of yourself” feeling, in the way that you automatically direct your focus outwards. You have to pay attention to stepping straight, stay on the path, and in a way it becomes like meditation, she says. The professor emphasizes that people have different ways of dealing with their problems, but regardless of the choice of method, it is important to be flexible in your thinking. – One can quickly become locked in one’s focus, and these are things like this that force you out of the static focus. It can make you come back to everyday life in a slightly different way, she says. Earlier, news told about ultra runner Therese Falk, who uses training and competition as therapy: New collaboration In addition to going backpacking, Baldauf has taken another step to become mentally stronger. To ensure that he is as well prepared as possible for the Olympics in 2024, he has entered into a partnership with mental coach Erik Bertrand Larssen. IN THE MOUNTAINS: Baldauf on a motorcycle trip in Laos. Photo: PRIVAT – I have had many good conversations over the years, both with random people and with people who are my friends, who have contributed in their own way to giving me tips and suggestions on how to deal with problems. I have never felt that I needed a psychologist, he says. Before, he had no faith in mental training, but he has turned that thought around now. – I have had a rather troubled upbringing, which has meant that I do not always have as much control over my feelings. It goes beyond the performance, he says. He has no doubt that mental training can determine whether you take a medal, or whether you end up outside the podium. – If it makes me half a percent better, that could be the big difference, he says.
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