Back to the grind
Suffering post-vacation blues? It can be ‘like an anxiety disorder,’ psychologist says
Welcome back.
What’s that? You didn’t want to come home? You might have the post-vacation blues.
“It’s like an anxiety disorder,” says Miami psychologist Erika Martinez. Symptoms include excessive worry, restlessness, irritability, headaches and poor attention or concentration.
As people return from vacation, many will experienced these symptoms. A recent Wyndham Vacation Rentals study found 45 per cent of respondents said the prospect of going home added to the stress of their vacation.
I’ve wondered about post-vacation anxiety since I experienced it for the first time years ago. I worked for a financial wire service in New York. One weekend, I visited friends in the Catskills, N.Y. When I drove back and saw the Manhattan skyline, I felt my heart drop to my stomach and said, “Oh, no.”
“There is no name for the anxiety that people experience as they end a vacation,” says Joel Minden, a psychologist in Chico, Calif. “But the cognitive processes that generally lead to anxiety are important to consider. Anxiety is linked to concerns about an upcoming threat or the belief that it won’t be possible to cope with the threat.”
I was lucky. My post-vacation anxiety surfaced only as I approached Gotham. For many travellers, it happens earlier, which can interfere with having a good time.
“In the past, this anxiety would be so bad, I would start getting blue after the halfway mark in my trip,” says Bailey Gaddis, an author in Ojai, Calif. “I believe a good deal of my post-vacation anxiety comes from a love of who I — and my family members — are during vacations. They’re slow movers who know how to stop and savour the moments.”
In other words, Gaddis misses that feeling of being on vacation while still on vacation. She anticipates what’s about to happen — a return to work and everyday routines — and wishes the break could last a little longer.
One fix: a longer vacation.
“I take a minimum of two weeks of vacation at a time,” says Brett Anderson, a financial adviser in Hudson, Wis. Part of the reason is he doesn’t start to de-stress until about four days into the getaway. Another part is the apprehension he feels a few days before the vacation is over. Two weeks of vacation gives him at least seven days of relaxation.
There are treatments for more serious cases of post-vacation malaise, including breathing techniques, mindfulness and cognitive behavioural therapy, says Allison Johanson, a social worker in Centennial, Col.
Martinez says seeing a therapist can get to the root of post-vacation anxiety.
“If they say they’re dreading returning to work, that can spark a conversation about their resentment for the boss who passed them over for a promotion,” she says.
Perhaps the best way to treat the post-vacation blues is booking another vacation. A recent Booking.com survey found one in five visitors book their next vacation during the last 24 hours of their current trip.
It doesn’t even have to be a full vacation. Karen Schneider, a project manager from New York, says as long as it’s something special — like a concert or a trip to a museum — it’s a kind of mini-vacation.