Post-vacation depression: how to return from vacation with minimal losses

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

It takes a little more planning.

It would seem that they go on vacation to rest, relax. But often a person does not feel full of energy at all when he returns to work. According to the American Academy of Psychologists, 40% of Americans experience an increase in energy and stress reduction just a few days after returning to work, and 24% lose the positive effects of vacation immediately. In Russia, according to polls, a quarter of respondents complain of stress after a vacation, and 47% of Russians feel sad.

Bad mood after returning to work is often referred to as post-vacation depression. It has nothing to do with depression, that is, with an illness that a doctor should treat. But stress and sadness clearly do not make life easier, so it is worth trying to minimize the negative consequences.

How to plan a vacation to get some rest

It is important to calculate everything so that both forces remain and the workload at work is adequate.

Rest more often

The Labor Code promises us an annual leave of at least 28 days. It can sometimes be longer. For example, for civil servants or working in hazardous conditions. In short - definitely not. Moreover, the vacation can be divided into parts. The only requirement: one of them must be at least 14 calendar days.

When we plan a vacation, we take into account many factors: the weather, the busyness of the partner, the holidays of the children. But we often ignore an important thing: our own fatigue.

For the time being, it is easy not to notice it. But when the vacation does come, you literally crawl into it. I want to lie in a layer and so that everyone falls behind. This is also a recreation strategy, and if it fully suits your plans, then everything is in order. But when there are many goals, the strength is often not found on them.

To prevent this from happening, it is better not to bring yourself to a state of total exhaustion. You need to analyze in what periods of the year you are exhausted, and leave to rest a little in advance.

For example, let's take an ordinary year without taking into account the specifics of the work. We have long weekends in January and May, additional days off in February, March, June and November. With the usual schedule, the first six months can be really extended without any vacations at all, since long weekends allow you to unload. Part of the vacation can be taken in the summer, because most people want to take a break during this period. But even in mid-late autumn, a short break will not hurt: there are no days off, and rains and reduced daylight hours do not add vigor.

You may have a different strategy, but the meaning is clear: it is worth resting periodically, and you need to do this constantly, and not once every one or two years.

Negotiate adequate workload sharing

On vacation, it often happens that the idea is good, but the implementation is not very good. Let's say you go off to rest for two weeks. Obviously, on the remaining workdays, you must meet half of your quota in a month. But in practice, it often happens that you have to work much more in order to calmly go to rest. And after returning, urgently to finish the remaining business, because no one has adjusted the plan.

In this case, it is obvious that vacation and everything that happens around it will only annoy and exhaust you.

To deal with this difficulty, you will have to discuss it with your superiors. An adequate leader, and so, most likely, understands everything. You just have to figure out together how to cope with the problem. For a boss who doesn't want to think about the well-being of his subordinates, it is better to bring some kind of ready-made solution to the problem with a load.

Take the vacation you want

True, only you can understand which one. Here's the thing: each person needs their own amount of time to get distracted from work and start resting. Taking too short a vacation will make you feel like you never left the office. It is important that you have time to leave work, not only physically, but also psychologically.

How to spend a vacation so as not to get even more tired

The main thing is to forget about work and not go to extremes.

Ignore work chats

Agree in advance with your colleagues on what communication channels you can get in case of a flood, fire, or an important client worth a million. For other chats, feel free to turn off notifications. Otherwise, you will always have one foot at work - was it worth going on vacation?

Observe the regimen

Banal advice that really helps. Rebuilding the daily routine back and forth is stress for the body. It is better to do without strong shocks.

Do not overuse

The measure is worth knowing both in alcohol and in food. Do not force the body to work unnecessarily, it also needs a little rest.

Switch

Sometimes, especially if you have not been able to go anywhere, vacation turns into waiting for you to go to work. All around is the same routine as always, only without visiting the office. And it is not easy to relax in such conditions.

Therefore, it is good to plan for yourself all kinds of activities, especially those that you have not tried before. When we experience something new, the body responds by releasing one of the hormones of joy - dopamine. And we feel happier.

How to get out of vacation so you don't want to quit right away

It is better to do everything gradually.

Leave a couple of days free

Try to allow time for acclimatization. You will just have time to disassemble things, fill the refrigerator with food, remember what your daily routine consists of.

If you have time, start living as usual, only without work. Go to workouts, cook dinners, follow a schedule.

Get out of vacation in the middle of the week

Monday is a tough day. The first Monday after vacation is doubly difficult. But you can, for example, go out on Wednesday. Then there will be only three days left to work until the weekend, which is psychologically much easier to transfer.

Don't take on a lot of things at once

It is unwise to rush into the embrasure instantly. You need time to refresh your to-do list, sort out your vacation mail, make a plan, and so on. This is what you need to do.

Take breaks

In general, this is good for every working day. No one is capable of being effective for eight hours straight. So it’s only useful to spend a few minutes on something other than sitting at a computer or papers. Walk around the floor, go to the store, have a coffee. This will make it easier to get back to work.

Tell us about your vacation

Find people who are interested in listening to you and share your impressions. It is not necessary to do this during the working day, you can also after. In any case, this way you will once again plunge into the atmosphere of relaxation and be able to regain your positive emotions.

Start planning your next vacation

Of course, it's not quite right to live from vacation to vacation, you have to enjoy every day. On the other hand, if planning your vacation feels good, why not take advantage of it?