Why is travel so addictive?

British man Harry Mitsidis calls himself a "travel addict". In 2008, he completed a trip to all 192 member states of the United Nations. He said that the more difficult the journey to a country, the greater the adrenaline rush he felt after the trip. There are many people like him, who are willing to take unnecessary risks to explore distant countries in order to gain experiences that ordinary people do not have, and sometimes even put down their relationships and work. Is this kind of behavior considered addictive? Kenneth Leonard, a clinical psychologist at the University at Buffalo, is skeptical. He believes that while there are similarities between behavioral addiction and drug addiction, it may not be appropriate to expand the scope of addictive behavior to things like travel. Leonard believes that the negative changes caused by excessive travel on the brain cannot be compared with drug addiction. "Addiction is caused by multiple short periods of strong positive emotions, but travel is different." Matsidis, a "travel addict", feels that , "travel addiction" exists, because he will have a strong sense of satisfaction when he overcomes many difficulties to go to a distant foreign country. However, he also admitted that "travel addiction" is not a bad thing.

Matsidis has also encountered people whose relationships have broken down or whose careers have failed while traveling, but he doesn’t think travel is the culprit. He said, "Some people are able to balance their 'travel addiction' with their daily lives, but some people can't. There are many people who get divorced or break up because of their frequent travel, but I don't think it's the travel itself. The problem may be that something else in their lives is already wrong. "Whether traveling too much counts as an addiction is a tricky question. Also controversial are gambling, surfing the Internet and having sex. Some people can find satisfaction in participating in these activities in moderation, but for some people, these behaviors can make a huge difference in their lives.