Planning trips and getting ready for them is such a vibe we all love. The excitement of visiting a new place is a great feeling that makes us want to travel as much as we can. Vacations and trips are a wonderful opportunity to relax, unwind, and escape from the daily grind. But the coin has an opposite side as well.
One day we have to come back home and our real life. Returning to the daily routine after vacation is a challenge for many people and often causes a sense of melancholy known as post-vacation depression or post-travel blues.
This emotional slump can have a big impact on your mood and your motivation to work and do your daily tasks. The transition between vacation mode and working might take a few days and this is normal. In this article, we will explore the reasons behind post-vacation depression and offer practical strategies to help you ease back into your daily routine after you are back from an amazing trip.
Let’s dive deep into post-vacation depression
The first step in overcoming a mental condition is to plumb its depths and understand it. You should start by acknowledging your feelings and admitting the way you feel. Many people feel a sense of sadness or nostalgia after a vacation.
Understanding why you feel this way can be helpful. You spent a great time far away from your daily tasks and boring routine and it’s absolutely normal to idealize this trip that boosted your energy and enthusiasm. Such a break-off from the routine is a great way for your mind to rest from the daily stress which is what we really need sometimes.
Returning to obligations such as household tasks or job routines can be a bit of a shock to your system.
Even though this is a normal state you have to realize that your holiday is part of your life as your job and daily routine is. Pink glasses you put on when you think about your holiday or trip make it look more exciting than it actually was. On the other hand, your daily life could look gray and boring when we compare it to the trip you just came back from.
Strategies to Beat Post-Vacation Depression
After we discuss what are the reasons behind the post-vacation blues is time to give you useful tips on how to deal with this. Each strategy we choose may produce different results for different people. Try several of them until you find your thing, or combine different parts that work best for you.
- Spend a day at home before you return to work
The best way to schedule your holiday is to have a free between your flight back and your first day at work. A buffer time will help you adapt to your routine and rest after your trip so you can program your brain that you are back to reality.
- Create a to-do list
Before you leave for vacation, create a to-do list for your return. Knowing what awaits you can help ease anxiety. Prioritize tasks and tackle them one at a time.
- Exercise and eat well
It’s normal to try all the interesting food during your trip but when you are back, try to follow your normal diet and eat healthily. Going to the gym or doing exercises will help you to boost your energy and distract your mind from the post-vacation blues.
- Plan future adventures
Try to periodically plan activities that charge you with positive energy. Even for a day, you can break away from the daily routine and organize a day trip to a nearby destination to recharge your batteries again.
When you feel bored you can start to plan future bigger trips, check about flights, and start dreaming about your next vacation.
- Talk about how you feel
Shared pain is half the pain. Talk about your feelings with a friend and tell him about the great time you spent. This will help you to look at the trip as a normal time of your life and will help you realize it’s over.
Before we make a conclusion, we want to share a secret with you. You can stand up to negative moods and not let them wipe out the positive emotions you have gathered from your holiday. How to achieve this? The secret lies in your brain. The best way to escape post-holiday depression is to rewire your thoughts.
Post-vacation depression is a common but manageable phenomenon. For all vacationers, returning to routine is a difficult task. I believe there are many people who love their work and find meaning in it. Give yourself time to remind yourself what are the things that make you want to get up in the morning and it will help you get over the post-vacation blues faster.