How to Overcome Post-vacation Depression

Plan ahead and take at least a day's leave before returning to work. It would help ease the transition.

'Vacation' is a word which is associated with absolute elation. It is like escaping into space leaving behind the mundane blahs. Planning prior to the actual departure, keeps us in high spirits. The day arrives when we finally have to leave. During the vacation, we enjoy life like there's no tomorrow. Eventually, the sad part comes where you have to return.

Returning is still bearable, but the depression that hits after returning is the most dreadful. You can say that the magnitude of pre-vacation exhilaration is directly proportionate to post-vacation depression. The much sought-after break that was supposed to revive us, leaves us disoriented, stressed, nervous, and with strong feelings of nostalgia.

So, what do you do when the vacation has, emotionally, done more harm than good? You just need to accept things as they are. This can be difficult, but you need to contemplate on how each moment is different and equally important. We recommend you to live in the moment and not in the past or future.

Different people experience different types of post-vacation depression symptoms. While some find it easier to cope with the transition and easily go back to their routine, others just keep drifting back to their vacation memories, and have a hard time adjusting to the usual humdrum.

Your blues can be eased a little, if you prepare yourself in advance. If you do so, you won't be startled when it actually hits you. Plan ahead and keep at least a day free before you could rejoin work. In that day off, try to fill in the gap that was created when you were out, like stocking the empty refrigerator, doing the laundry, and cleaning the house.

Keep your mind occupied with household chores. This, my friend, has to be thought of before leaving. You can make a list of 'things-to-do-after-coming-back', and hang it to the magnet on the fridge. This step may or may not ease the blues, but it would definitely take your mind off it.

Your body will also thank you for the day off, because you will recover from traveling or jet lag, and if you have crossed many time zones, your sleep pattern that has gone haywire would return to normal.

If you are already a regular at the gym, great! Go back to working out as soon as you can. It will get the adrenalin pumping and feel-good endorphin flowing. A sure-shot way of overcoming post-vacation blues.

If you do not work out on a regular basis, start doing it. This does not mean that you should join a gym immediately, but you could start by walking or jogging. The main idea is to get your body moving, and that is why, make a point that you do the chores as it can help you restore atleast some amount of balance.

It would, in a way, help you drive away the blues. Share photos and stories of your trip. Tell them about the marvelous show you attended while on vacation. Reliving your experiences orally, can prolong your sense of excitement. After you get back from work, start sorting out all your photographs and videos.

We would advise you to leave the passenger seat and get into the driver's seat. The first change that you should bring about is, in your way of thinking. When you return from your holiday, you should not come back exhausted, but with a tank full of energy, raring to go, a much more rejuvenated person than you were, when you left for the trip.

The second thing is a change in your lifestyle. You had packed only the minimum things required to go on a vacation. You didn't pack the entire house and carry it along...right? And with the minimum things you had in your kitty, you enjoyed your vacation. Carry on with that approach and start removing the clutter from your house.

You will not only enjoy the free space you would create, but also get into the habit of saving a lot of money that you used to spend on buying unnecessary items. Speaking of lifestyle change, remember that, when you were on a vacation, you had hardly used your cell phone or the Internet, and even watched less TV. Continue doing so even after the vacation!

Don't think it's possible? You did it for days together while on vacation! Learn from this experience, and stick to the habit. While you were on vacation, you used your cell phone just to inform people that you are fine and enjoying your trip. As far as TV is concerned, it should just be used at a bare minimum during vacations and even in our daily lives.

TV should only be a source of information, and not a means to fill up time. Adopting both these changes will not only fight the post-vacation blues, but will also help improve your quality of life.

It should not happen that you travel all the way, just to sit in a hotel room and watch TV. Seeing the larger picture should be your target. Try to switch off or curtail the dependence on technology, and spend some quality time with your family.

If you can handle one more vacation financially, there is no stopping you. Start looking for details like transportation, lodging and the cheapest airfare. If you cannot bear the expenses of a trip immediately, start saving for one. Even saving for a vacation can be a great way to beat the blues, since you'll know that a new vacation is soon going to follow.

Don't be sad that it's over, but be happy that it happened. Enjoy the memories, learn from the experiences, and start saving for the next trip.