Returning from vacation: how to take care of your well-being?

Returning to work after the holidays may seem like a big leap to us. The stress of rearranging plans, organizing time and reintroducing ourselves to daily activities can cause us to lower our mood. Mentally preparing for this shift can help you transition from vacation mode to work mode more smoothly.

Pourlop stress syndrome

Tired after the holidays? It should be the other way around and yet. Returning to work after a vacation can often be surprisingly difficult and overwhelming, which psychology colloquially refers to as “back to work blues” or “post-vacation hangover”. This phenomenon includes both mental and physical reactions of the body: a decrease in energy and motivation, difficulty concentrating, a feeling of despondency and sometimes even irritation and nostalgic memories of the last days of freedom. The mechanism is quite simple; while on vacation, the brain and body get used to a different rhythm, a slower pace, more freedom and pleasure from relaxation, and the sudden inclusion in everyday duties produces a contrasting shock effect. In addition, the pressure of deadlines, the rush of tasks and responsibilities, and the feeling that the vacation time has gone too quickly, are often combined with this. Although these symptoms are temporary, they are strong enough that they have earned their own names although they are not used professionally, they are rather colloquial terms. Psychologists emphasize that conscious management of this period is crucial: gradually introducing a routine, planning small pleasures at work or maintaining contact with elements of holiday freedom can significantly alleviate the “post-vacation hangover” effect. This phenomenon is so common that almost every working person has come into contact with it at least once in their life, which makes it an interesting example of how strongly our well-being depends on the rhythm of daily activities and the emotional balance between duty and pleasure.

According to the researcher, Doctor of Medical Sciences Hayk S. Arakelyan in an article Post-Holiday Syndrome Some symptoms of Christmas chandra may include:

• Feeling exhausted and tired.
• Sleep much longer or shorter than usual.
• Loss of interest in activities that usually bring pleasure.
• Lack of enjoyment from normal activities.
• Trouble making decisions.
• Difficulty concentrating.
• Isolating yourself from friends and family.
• Feeling of loneliness.
• Irritability or anger.

The time off is usually spent on rest that does not require a strict plan (although we also have lovers of organized excursions) - in any case, even if the plan is usually, first of all, it concerns a completely different type of activity and takes place in other circumstances, often on a trip. It happens that our holiday mode also changes the biological clock. Later we go to bed and then we get up, we use the sun and sometimes the stimulants. For the body, this is a break and returning to a later, regular rhythm can be quite a challenge for it. This effect of contrast between vacation and work can be really overwhelming. Not only that - many of us during the holidays begin to dream - and it is beautiful, but illusions about another life sometimes take away from us the joy of everyday life. Therefore, returning from beautiful Greece to gray everyday life can seem really cruel.

The benefits of vacation

However, demonizing the holiday would be a significant exaggeration. The days off are extremely important for us and it is worth giving yourself space to rest. The weeks of vacation are a time when we can relax, change our point of view, calm down or activate. The time of intensive work during the year is behind us - why not take advantage of it? So allow yourself some slack on vacation, but also do a “return time planning”. It's not about creating another “to the list” that's just meant to add stress to you, but it's about mental preparation. For pourlop chandra, for work stress, for jet lag, for regeneration. In short: just allow yourself. Feel. Understand. And consciously make a decision that “yes, after the vacation there is a small crisis, but this is normal and passes.” Such a psychological trick calms us down - it minimizes the risk of an unpleasant sudden surprise in the form of a chandra, because we have already realized the existence of this phenomenon in advance. Returning to the holidays; during the holiday it is worth simply taking care of yourself and your well-being. Spend this time in harmony with each other and as we like. We don't always have to get out of our comfort zone - although we do find it useful to refresh ourselves once in a while. However, vacations serve so that we find our comfort and gain strength for the following months.

The first days of work

Taking care of your mental health is crucial both on vacation and right after. Physical activity can be used for this, but it is also worth using supporting techniques. In the article Post-Vacation Blues? Here's How to Cope. Written by Rebecca Knight for Harvard Business Review, we look at a few tips for the first days of returning to work as well as spending the days off.

Rules to keep in mind

Do:

• Set realistic expectations — returning to work after a break can be challenging.
• Make a plan to “get back to the beat” of work: Start with small, easy-to-do tasks that match your strengths and interests.
• Refrain from immediately taking on additional responsibilities - otherwise you can overload yourself.

Do not do:

• Don't forget why you like your job — its meaning, its benefits and opportunities for growth.
• Do not impose guilt on yourself for the balance between work and rest; treat work and leisure as mutually complementary elements in a full life.
• Don't ignore the difficulty of returning to your daily rhythm after a few weeks; if the problem persists, consider exploring new career paths and roles.

We need time to recover, but we also need a microplan that allows us to get through the transition moment between vacation and work. The positive effects of vacation can easily and quickly be overshadowed by post-holiday fatigue syndrome, so it is good to minimize the potential damage at least a little.

summary

Returning to work after the holidays can be more difficult than you expect — this phenomenon is called the “back to work blues” or “post-vacation hangover”. The key to getting into the rhythm of work more smoothly is conscious preparation, gradual introduction of responsibilities and taking care of one's own well-being. Being aware of this transitional stage allows you to enjoy both the effects of vacation and new professional challenges.

Sources:

1. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338293679_Post-Holiday_Syndrome
2. https://hbr.org/2024/07/post-vacation-blues-heres-how-to-cope
3. https://english.swps.pl/psyche-space/articles/2467-how-to-overcome-post-vacation-blues