Helpful Ways to Get Over Post Vacation Blues
Coming back from your epic vacation can be challenging. Vacations are exciting, relaxing, and an awesome escape from the stresses of real life. This trifecta can cause withdrawal effects that make it hard to readjust to normal routines.
Know that you are among thousands of people who find the idea of going home after vacation stressful. It is important to know the signs of post vacation blues, and to mitigate the toll it can take on your life if left unchecked. These 7 pointers will help balance your feelings of loss and promote constructive activities to fill your time after returning from a great vacation.
Signs that Point to Post Vacation Blues
Believe it or not, post-vacation depression is not just an excuse to avoid going back to work after a trip. Recognized as a condition in psychology circles, the term “holiday syndrome” can be found in psychological journals as early as 1955.
Post-vacation sadness is actually also relatively common. According to the Mirror, 57% of British people surveyed in 2017 reported feeling “depressed or deflated after coming home” from a holiday. So remember, you are not alone.
The more fun you have on your vacation, the harder it may feel to accept the loss when the trip ends. Psycom’s article “Understanding Post-Holiday Depression and Blues” explains that post-vacation syndrome shares similar symptoms with anxiety and mood disorders, such as:
- Irritability
- Trouble concentrating
- Lack of energy/motivation
- Insomnia
- Anxiousness
How to Get Your Groove Back After a Great Trip
The Journal of Applied Research in Quality of Life and most researchers agree that post-holiday blues tend to be short-lived as people adjust back to their everyday routines.
Going back to a routine after a great vacation can be stressful. So give yourself time and make a plan to help readjust to a regular routine.
Remember that it’s normal to feel a little blue after a fantastic getaway. However, it is essential not to let negative feelings get out of hand and interfere with your ability to function in everyday life.
These are some great ways to help you get over the slump of post-vacation syndrome.
Relive Your Trip Through Photos
If you are coming off a trip, take some time to reminisce. You probably have a million pictures. Use them to document your trip and enshrine memories in various physical and virtual places.
- Make a travel photo book.
- Post a travel album on Facebook.
- Frame the perfect shot for your office desk.
- Swap photos in group chats and reminisce with your travel besties.
- Create a personalized coffee mug.
Whether you choose to display your photos in the virtual world, in a journal, or on a dinner placemat, we encourage you to share your memories. It will give you a reason to talk about all the awesome things that happened on your vacation.
Come Back to a Clean Space
This you will want to do before you leave for your vacation. CNet’s article, “9 Ways to Prep Your Home Before You Leave for Vacation” says it best, “walking through the door to a dirty house after a long day of travel will rip you out of relaxation mode.”
You don’t have to leave your home spotless, but tidying up before you head out can make homecoming less of a burden. Simple ways to do this are:
- Clean out the refrigerator
- Take out the trash
- Change the sheets
- Do the laundry
- Stock the cupboard with snacks
- Check the doors and windows are locked
- Ask someone to get the mail
- Take a few chores off your spring cleaning checklist
Leave Some Time Before Going Back to Work
Noone wants to be thinking about going back to work after vacation. Not to mention jet lag can be extra debilitating on your first day home. So leave yourself a day or two to readjust before diving back into professional life.
You will need to do some basic chores upon your return to normalcy, like:
- Unpacking
- Laundry
- Catching up on a mountain of mail/email
- Grocery Shopping
- Paying your bills
- Setting some future financial goals
Allow yourself enough time to get your house and goals in order before taking on work-life. Getting these things done first may actually help motivate you to go back to work. For example, it will feel much more normal going to work if you have groceries for lunch, clean socks, and something fun to work for.
Plan Fun Things to Look Forward To
Claire Summers, the travel blogger who runs Claire’s Itchy Feet, says that planning activities with friends and loved ones can be very helpful in battling post-vacation blues. Having fun experiences to look forward to can soften the blow of having to come back from a trip.
An obvious one here is to start planning your next vacation. Find your next dream destination and make sure to plan some unique photos to take there. Warning though, while vacations are fantastic, they should not be your only source of happiness.
Some other great ideas for filling up your calendar after a vacation are:
- Get your blood flowing outdoors. Schedule a walk through the park or some workout time to fill in downtime.
- Have an outing with your pals. It is a great opportunity to reconnect with friends while reminiscing and filling them in on your great travels.
- Bond with your family. There are so many things you can do with your family to create memories and strengthen your bond. For some inspiration, check out some of our favorite family bonding activities.
- Plan a small outing like going to the movies, theater, a music concert, museum, or other exhibition.
- Celebrate events with family and loved ones, and create new, annual traditions.
From the most minor activities to the most significant events, having something to look forward to makes it easier not to look backward.
Journal Your Feelings
David B. Feldman, Ph.D.’s Psychology Today article “The Power of Journaling” endorses the idea that keeping a gratitude journal can better a person’s mood, which is sorely needed at the end of a great vacation.
Keeping a journal after your vacation can help keep you focused on the positive things in your life, rather than the nostalgia you feel for your escape.
Some tips for keeping a gratitude journal are:
- Spend at least 20 minutes a day for 2-10 weeks writing in your journal.
- Try to focus on current positive events, no matter how small or big.
- Focus on positive, constructive lessons or solutions.
- Write about your goals; financial, professional, personal, or otherwise.
- Make a wish list, which is a great motivator.
The more you express positive feelings, the more you will embrace them. That way, you won’t rely solely on the happiness you get from evading your everyday life while on vacation.
You can also try one of these great journal types to help get you over feeling blue about the end of your trip:
- Design a digital scrapbook that not only shares your experiences with friends and family but with everyone who may benefit from seeing it.
- Create a travel photo book that expresses your feelings and highlights the best moments of your trip in a tangible hardcover you can enjoy and share forever. Here are some of our favorite travel photo book themes in case you need some inspiration to start. If you're running out of ideas, here are 7 must haves for your photo book.
- Make a physical scrapbook for a crafty journal that lets you reminisce and play with scissors and glue. Art therapy can be helpful in generating a positive mood.
- Put together a travel recipe journal that highlights delicious foods from your travels. Great food warms the soul, and it will motivate you to try and recreate your culinary experiences at home. To take your travel recipe journal to the next level, enhance your food photography skills with these 14 tips.
Change Up Your Routines
People hate going back to “mundane routines” after a great vacation. It is important to keep a good work/life balance not to feel overworked and overwhelmed by everyday normalcy. A great way to help avoid that is to change your daily routine.
Do something spontaneous, even as small as changing your route home from work. Getting out of your routine helps give you a different perspective of an old familiar place. You might even discover something new to love in your hometown.
Know When to Ask for Help
Feeling blue about the end of a vacation usually gets easier the more you adjust back into regular life. However, if the sadness you feel is taking a toll on your emotional, personal, or professional life, it is possible there is an underlying cause of your post-trip despair.
Remember, there is no shame in asking for help. Here are some great resources if you need a little extra support handling your post-trip sadness:
- Get free or low-cost government access to mental health practitioner directories at FindTreatment.gov
- Telehealth and virtual therapy with licensed practitioners is available through various apps like BetterHelp and Talkspace.
- Find a mental health clinic in your area at the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) database or at MentalHealth.gov.
- Locate a support group in your area at Mental Health America (MHA).
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