What to do if depression sets in after vacation

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The end of the journey is a moment that you don’t want to think about at all, and which inevitably comes every time. Travelers know how difficult it can sometimes be to return home.

In English there is the term PTD, or post travel depression (also known as post-vacation blues). I don’t know how to adequately translate this into Russian, and I call this state simply depression or post-travel blues. It manifests itself as lethargy, apathy, lack of motivation, a feeling of nostalgia, and loss of appetite.

The longer the journey and the more successful it was, the more difficult it is to return to reality. Blues may not come immediately, but a few days after returning. Especially if those days were filled with unpacking, meeting friends, and even the simple pleasure of finally sleeping in your own bed. But as soon as the initial excitement subsides, life begins to seem gray.

The good news is that this condition passes. The bad news is that it may take several weeks, or even more. After living in Australia for a month, it took me several months to come to my senses. When I realized that the generally familiar process of adaptation was taking a little longer, I began to look for faster ways to bring myself back to normal. They exist and time after time they help me return to life after traveling with minimal losses.

So what can you do?

Take a break between travel and work

If possible, try not to return to work right away. Nothing makes you feel a return to reality more keenly than the sharp contrast between rest and activity. Even a day or two will allow you to overcome jet lag (change of time zones), unpack your things, get yourself in order, meet with friends or simply sort out your impressions.

It is not always possible to postpone immersion in a routine, but then at least try to plan the easiest things for the first days.

Causes of depression

Professor of the Faculty of Psychology of St. Petersburg State University, Doctor of Psychology, Svetlana Kostromina, in an interview with iReactor, noted that depression after a vacation occurs for several reasons. If the rest was short, and the accumulated fatigue during the working period did not disappear, it is likely that the person simply did not have time to rest and recover.

The quality of rest also affects how much a person has recovered during this time. Swimming, spending time at the beach, going on excursions, chatting with friends, reading books during the holidays can help you feel refreshed. If you go to nightclubs or drink alcoholic beverages excessively, the body will not have enough strength to return to normal after working days.

Stay a traveler anywhere

When we travel, we often do things that for some reason we wouldn’t think of doing at home. It happens that on a trip you manage to visit three museums in a week, but in your hometown you have been going out to look at the new park in the center for three years (unsuccessfully).

Try exploring the place where you live as if you were a tourist. Rent a bike and go out of town, go to a museum, book a tasting tour to a winery, go to an Asian restaurant, go skydiving, of course. If you enjoy spending your time this way, why stop after traveling?

Take a stand-up paddleboarding course or learn to ride a motorcycle to apply the skills to your next trip. I call it being a traveler, no matter where you are.

Secrets of a refreshing holiday. Advice from psychologists

Change your surroundings. To restore strength, it is important to change the usual picture of the world around you. Southerners can be recommended to spend their holidays in cool countries; Muscovites should go to the sea.
Extend the summer. To have more sunny days a year, you can start your vacation in the spring, when it is still cool. Summer will greet you after returning from vacation. During the autumn months, summer awaits you in many southern countries. The more sunny days, the more vitamin D and the joy hormone.
Consider your health status when choosing a vacation spot. Zurab Kekelidze, chief freelance psychiatrist of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, emphasized that it is necessary to organize proper rest so as not to overload the body with a long flight, a large difference in time zones and weather conditions. Not every organism can adapt quickly if it has flown from winter to summer and back. Your doctor can recommend the most comfortable countries that will suit your health needs.
Choose beneficial entertainment that will give you a boost of energy and leave pleasant memories. Take photos, try local cuisine, chat with other vacationers.
According to the American Heart Association, you should use mobile devices as little as possible while on vacation. To get the most refreshment and vivid emotions from your vacation, live every moment here and now, leave your employees with all the necessary information so that in your absence someone will carry out your duties without damaging the company.
Take a vacation of at least 2 weeks, as during this period of time the body has time to rest and recover before work.
Take advantage of long weekends to give yourself an extra mini-vacation. You can travel out of town, to the country, or simply change the type of daily activity to get vivid impressions that will bring refreshment.

Create a challenge for yourself

I don’t really want to speak in the spirit of motivational quotes, but the truth is that traveling really makes you look at your life in a new way. Along the way, you learn something all the time, improve yourself. When it ends, there is a feeling of emptiness. Therefore, an effective way to deal with routine is to find a new challenge. Get an additional qualification or specialty, join a gym, find a new job.

You don't have to take drastic measures. You can come up with something simpler, for example, learn thirty new English words every week or read six new books before the end of the year. To make it more interesting, find a challenge on the Internet and join it.

It would seem that, having rested on vacation, you are full of energy and ready to begin great things with renewed vigor. But for some reason, it is at this time that melancholy sets in, there is a decrease in efficiency and interest in everything that is happening, and work matters fall heavily on your tanned shoulders.

Post-vacation depression

- This is a completely common phenomenon that affects almost all of us. It is known that the severity of post-vacation blues is closely related to the duration and quality of rest. The more joyful and “brighter” the vacation itself was, the harder it will be for a person to return to “everyday life.” After such a vacation, the body cannot immediately switch to a “working mode” and get involved in everyday work.

To prevent or minimize post-vacation syndrome, you need to understand what causes this condition and learn how to get out of it correctly.

Causes of post-vacation depression.

Severe restlessness, anxiety and apathy are caused by sudden changes in daily routine and cycles. Serenity, relaxation, tranquility and a pleasant pastime are replaced by the need to wake up early, become responsible, keep the work situation under control and much more. It is difficult for the body to readjust and wean itself from comfortable living conditions in a short period of time.

At the same time, a state of mild sadness and the presence of laziness regarding the work routine are considered quite normal. Soon this condition will go away on its own.

But if the scale of stress is much greater, a person does not want to wake up in the morning and he is overcome by severe anxiety and restlessness, his heart begins to beat faster just from thoughts about work, and tears well up in his eyes, this state of affairs cannot be tolerated and we need to do our best to help the body to cope with this condition.

The most common causes of depression after vacation are:

Change from sunny days to cloudy days.
Abrupt return to work.
Changing your daily routine to a more uncomfortable one.
Bad time on vacation.
Personal characteristics (susceptibility to depression).
Unloved or too responsible job.

If you learn to adjust yourself while on vacation and are able to properly adapt to everyday work, then the severity of the blues can be reduced to a minimum.

How to reduce the risk of post-vacation syndrome:

First of all, you need to properly prepare for the vacation itself. Complete all work matters before it starts: reports, important projects and work “tails” should be completely completed before the start of the rest. This will allow you to disconnect from work during your vacation and fully enjoy your trip or trip to the country. You will not worry that when you go to work you will need to clear away mountains of unfinished issues, and during the first working days you will be able to allow yourself to be a little lazy.
A properly planned vacation schedule will allow you to fully relax, and at the same time adapt to entering the workplace. There is no need to divide your vacation, since 2 weeks is not enough for quality recuperation. Having been at sea, it would be better to spend the remaining 7-10 days at home. During this time, you will have time to do household chores, get some sleep, and at the same time acclimatize and return to normal.
Equally important is a properly organized vacation. Spend it the way you dreamed, and not as it should be or as your relatives advise. If you've been dreaming of getting enough sleep all year, then set aside at least a week for yourself. Make sure in advance that no one disturbs you, turn off your phone and just lie in bed, watch movies, order ready-made pizza to your home and don't blame yourself for this recklessness and laziness. Believe me, if you don’t get enough sleep on vacation, by the end of it you will begin to regret it and become stressed, which means you will only get a feeling of heaviness, chronic fatigue and regret when going back to work. If you don’t have the strength to actively spend your vacation days, don’t torture your body. He won't thank you for it.
It is best to stick to a routine and schedule that is as close as possible to your work routine during the last week of rest; start waking up earlier. Psychological adaptation in this case will be faster and easier.
Another piece of advice follows from the first point: you don’t need to suddenly start working and immerse yourself in responsibilities; pick up working speed gradually. If you did everything correctly and completed the most important things before the vacation, then the current work will endure for a few more days.
It happens that when you go to work, you immediately fall under the arm of a formidable boss, nervous colleagues cast displeased glances at you, because they had to do double work during your vacation. In order not to irritate them with your rested appearance and to make the atmosphere more comfortable and inviting, bring them small souvenirs or a box of chocolates. Drinking tea together will defuse the situation and you will be able to share a piece of positive emotions and joy with Natasha and Sergei Vladimirovich, who are tired from work.
Plan your vacation so that your first day off falls on Wednesday or Thursday. A shortened work week will give you the opportunity to smoothly get into work mode. Just these 2-3 days will allow you to be lazy and adapt to the beginning of the working year.

If, after all, you did not protect yourself, and the post-vacation blues took you
by surprise, the advice of psychologists will help you get out of this state with minimal losses:

Mindfulness. Having realized that the cause of your condition is connected with leaving comfortable conditions, you can begin to fight it. It would be more correct to say, not to fight, but to accept it and take steps to get out of the blues.
Set aside time every day to relax. Anything you like will do: aroma baths, massage, reading a good book or watching your favorite movie. Then your working days won’t seem so sad.
Destroy the usual day and design a new one. There are many options that you can change in your working day. You can start jogging in the morning, go to work on a route other than your usual one, make your non-working time memorable and eventful, don’t go straight home - communicate more.
Spend your evenings not preparing for tomorrow's work day, but drinking a cup of deliciously prepared herbal tea with honey. A cozy home environment, a warm blanket and the attention of loved ones will envelop you in care, and you will feel better. And looking at vacation photos together will fill you with pleasant memories and joy.

Be sure to take a walk. It is better to prefer walks in nature than noisy parties. Chatting by the fire or over barbecue in the company of family and friends will help lift your spirits and see the beauty in everyday life.
A great way to get out of the post-vacation blues is to do what you love. This could be cooking, horseback riding, painting or writing a book. Having returned from vacation, you have become a slightly different person, you have learned something new, hitherto unknown. Perhaps it was on this journey that you discovered completely new abilities and interests. It is possible that a new activity will bring you out of the state of blues and tearfulness.
It is recommended to start a course of taking vitamins. Eating fresh, juicy fruits has a beneficial effect not only on physical health, but also on your mental state.

In order not to fall into depression, it is important to realize that happiness, freedom and vivid impressions do not end after the holiday. You are the creator of your life. Having set your priorities correctly, determine what is most important for you - to suffer at work or to enjoy the opportunity to spend time with your family, take a walk, visit a cafe, or play sports. By shifting your focus to something more pleasant, you can look at life with different eyes.

Keep in touch with people

While traveling, you probably came across helpful people who showed the way, helped with timetables at train stations, or otherwise showed friendliness and hospitality. At home, you can do the same for other travelers. Someone is confusedly turning the card in their hands or can’t figure out the terminal at McDonald’s - ask if they need help. Leave reviews on Google about places you've visited, answer queries from strangers about places you know well.

If you're a social person, you can sign up for CouchSurfing, host travelers, or give tours around your hometown. If you are lucky enough to meet interesting people while traveling, spend a little time and effort to keep in touch with them. For many years now I have been visiting friends in other cities, and my traveling friends come to visit me.

This way you will stay on the journey all the time and communicate with like-minded people, even when you are at home.

We have already talked about couchsurfing in more detail.

The main thing is to survive the month

The phenomenon of “August melancholy” lasts only a month. Afterwards, either the person comes out of this depressive state by adapting to working conditions, or the “post-vacation blues” flows into a protracted autumn depression and can manifest itself on the physical level.

“I am often approached by people who, year after year, returning from vacation to work, suddenly become ill,” says the psychologist. “But this is not acclimatization of the body after the resort and not weakened immunity by autumn. This is a common psychological trick. This is how the body protects itself and tries to prolong rest. The illness seems to help make the transition from a relaxed rhythm of life to a work schedule smoother.”

Write travel notes or make a travel book

One way to get rid of post-travel depression is to write about your trip. Or somehow “capture” pleasant moments and memories. Write a post on social networks, create a travel book where you will write down impressions, paste tickets and other “reminders”, start keeping a travel diary. Such things will allow you to relive your impressions and keep yourself busy with something in the first days at home.

In addition, even the most vivid memories are gradually erased from memory, and after a while you will be surprised to re-read your own notes.

Keep yourself occupied during the last days of your trip

Sometimes the feeling of sadness comes not even at home, but in the last days of the trip. In order not to spoil the end of your trip, plan more activities for the last days. Visit a museum, go shopping for souvenirs, ride a pleasure boat, go to the local theater. Make sure you don't physically have time to be sad. This helps you take your mind off the fact that you'll be returning home soon and enjoy the place you're in.

Plan your next trip

One of the best ways to take your mind off post-travel depression is to plan for the next one. Even if the opportunity to go somewhere does not present itself as quickly as we would like, the very fact of the next trip ahead allows you to feel more relaxed about returning home. Make a rating of the places you dream of visiting. Then start thinking about how to make the plan a reality.

Come up with small trips that will fill the wait - let it be a visit to friends in a neighboring city or a trip to a camp site for the weekend. With a new focus in life, it will be easier to wait until the moment when you need to pack your backpack again and hit the road.

Author: Yulian Minsky