Holiday is already passed, you’re enjoying every second of it.
You don’t even mind getting stuck in long
traffic jam, or paying an expensive ticket for mass transportation. You are
totally out of your routines.
Now you’re back with your loved ones.
The passion from sharing your
story to your friends at social media like Path or Instagram slowed down. The
intensity of your adrenaline rush brought about by traveling is significantly
reduced.
Home sweet home! You’re back with routines, like stuck in the city
traffic or dealing with clients and pending works.
Suddenly,
you feel something is not right, something feel weird.
You feel sad that you’re
back.
That feeling is called post-travel blues. Yes, it is real and most people
even professional travelers (travel journalist or blogger) can attest to this.
Is this normal?
Yes,
this is normal.
Many people who travel on vacation/holiday find themselves
experiencing post-vacation blues, also known as post-vacation or post-travel
depression. This condition is marked by an overall decrease in well-being and
work productivity following a satisfying vacation. Having to get back into the
routine of work, school, and daily life in general can be a source of distress,
disorientation and discomfort.
However unpleasant it may be, though, the
post-vacation blues can be overcome with a little determination, some perspective,
some insight on lessons learned from vacation, and a little self-care.
So is there a way to
avoid it?
Maybe
we don’t need to avoid it. After all, let’s think it is a good thing. Post
vacation blues can open your eyes on what we need to change, so we “don’t
sleep” thru our lives doing unimportant things. This symptom can teach us to be
more aware of where we sacrifice ourselves unnecessary. This also reminds us to
be mindful of where we compromise too much and help us to find our passions.
I need to go back to work
but my mind is still in another place. How I can overcome this?
Your
mind maybe is still in euphoria from traveling, but your body is now in the
office. You tried to explain the best explanation to your friend, but words
feel flat. Your friend could not understand what you were saying at that time.
Nah,
there are three techniques or ways on how you coped with post-travel blues
1. Plan
your next travel adventure.
When
you suffer from post-travel sadness, try to plan your next travel in the
future. Read some travel blogs to get tips & tricks. Search cheapest fare
deals for your next target destination. Watch travel videos on YouTube to get
inspiration and motivates you. Planning your next adventure provides yourself
with just the right amount of fuel of excite adrenaline that just slowed down
drastically.
In
a way, it can motivates you to
move forward, and slowly accept that your travel adventure has ended. But at
the same time, it forces you to focus in your reality, which is work. In order
to travel, you need money. And in order to have money, you need to work.
2. Allocate
additional days to adjust your mind with reality
Three
days ago you were in your hometown, laughing and talking with your parents and
big family and now you are facing laptop, opening an excel sheet or word
document that you need to review. Suddenly shifting to a normal working life
can “shock” everyone.
So
in your next travel, allocate additional two days after your return from travel
so you can re-acclimate yourself from the usual things that you do. It also
gave you time to rest, and absorb all the things that you just experienced
during the trip.
3. Document
your travels
Another
trick to help ease post-travel sadness is by documenting your vacation. Freeze the moment! Each
photo you’ve take contains memory, emotion and story. Try to write all your
vacation experiences on diary, blog/vlog. You can always go back to your diary/blog/vlog and remember all
the travel adventures you’ve had! *wink* (sp2d)
