Post-holiday blues
is it depression? what do we do with this feeling?
Often, returning from vacation is accompanied by sadness, sometimes deep enough that it seems to be heading towards a depressive state. This can affect our ability to concentrate, productivity and we can experience low motivation and anxiety.
We all look forward to vacations at any time of the year, and rightly so, because they serve a very important function for recovery and well-being. Studies show that vacations improve wellbeing, increase positive affectivity, reduce stress and exhaustion, but all these effects seem to be lost in the first week after returning to work and we almost return to the state we were in before we went on vacation.
This depressive state is not recognized in diagnostic manuals as a disorder in itself and is also not a diagnosable form of depression, even though it has common elements. It is rather a mood disturbance characterized by difficulty returning to the daily routine after a pleasant holiday. The main symptoms can include irritability, fatigue, sleep disturbances, loss of interest in pleasurable activities and difficulty concentrating.
One explanation for why we end up experiencing this state after vacation could be the sudden shift from the relaxation and freedom of vacation to everyday responsibilities and stress.
On vacation, we get a break from our daily routines, and getting back to business as usual can bring feelings of anxiety and emotional overwhelm. Other contributing factors are:
👉🏼 Change your daily rhythm
On vacation we are not restricted in our schedule, we can do “whatever we want”, but returning to a job-bound schedule can be perceived as rigid and stressful after a period of freedom.
👉🏼 Resuming responsibilities
👉🏼 Temporary disconnection from reality
Tips for managing post-holiday blues
1. Plan a gradual transition
2. Maintain your healthy habits as much as possible on vacation too
3. Set realistic goals
From many or, when exists task-uri from the last that must to them recover – as it happens often after vacations – we have trend to ne stress very cool for that weather to them solve on all once, what what not is realistic and put very more pressure on us. It is May healthy o approach based on prioritization task-of tasks in function of importance and urgency their, for a avoid stress excessive and Overloading.
4. Reconnect with the good things in ordinary life
Conclusions
Bibliography:
- Gump, B. B., Hruska, B., Pressman, S. D., Park, A., & Bendinskas, K. G. (2021). Vacation’s lingering benefits, but only for those with low stress jobs. psychology & health, 36(8), 895-912.
- de Bloom, J., Kompier, M., Geurts, S., de Weerth, C., & Sonnentag, S. (2013). do we recover from vacation?. International Journal of Psychology, 43(4), 722.
- Speth, F., Wendsche, J., & Wegge, J. (2024). We Continue to Recover Through Vacation!. European Psychologist.
- https://www.healthline.com/health/post-vacation-blues
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