Coming back to work after vacation: How to handle the post-holiday blues?

Coming back to work is always stressful. It's worth taking it into account

Accepting that some stress will come after the holiday will help you to cope with the shock and not fall into despair. Coming back to work can indeed be stressful, and there's even a term for the negative emotions we experience with it: post-vacation depression or post-holiday blues.

According to Medical News Today, you can feel the following:

• vague anxiety
• increased irritability
• feeling of nostalgia
• sleeping difficulties
• general discomfort or restlessness

That's our way of telling you that you're absolutely fine. But that certainly doesn't mean you can't do anything about it!

6 tips on how to handle the post-holiday blues

The biggest cause of tiredness and nervousness after returning from a holiday is that we didn't enjoy it long enough. We came back to work too quickly or didn't plan it all out very well. So let's take a look at how to get our minds back into work mode and get through the end of summer more comfortably.

1. Plan a real rest

Feel like you need another holiday after your vacation? Maybe you went a little over the top with the entertainment and forgot to really relax. You've covered dozens of kilometers, walked all the sights and tried all the attractions. But now you're completely out of energy.

Try to plan some really relaxing activities for next weekend, where you can switch off mentally and physically.

2. Take an extra day off before returning to work

It's probably too late for that, but just in case it's not, this step will help you tremendously to go to work with a clearer head. Going home at midnight before your first day of work is guaranteed to put you under stress. Leave yourself a day to unpack, clean and shop your groceries so you don't have another shift waiting for you at home when you get home from work.

3. Start the first day of work with coffee with important colleagues

Are you jumping right into handling the mail? It might be more useful to discuss what's been going on at work with your closest colleagues. You'll find out what needs to be addressed now, you'll get context to the emails, and you may even find out that you don't have to worry about some of them.

4. Set your priorities and start slowly

Leave the appointments that don't hurry until the week after the holiday. First, you need to get your projects and tasks in order - so you can keep track and free yourself from feeling overwhelmed. We wrote about how to set priorities and break the cycle of not keeping up in our article How to organize your time so you can finally breathe. If everything is crashing down on you, it'll definitely help.

5. Don't catch up on work at night

Sleep deprivation will put you under even more stress and as a result you will be less productive and slower. It really is not worth it to finish the undone work at night. It's better to ask someone at work to help or delegate. If you can't do it there, at least do it at home. Have your home cleaned and groceries delivered to your door. But don't deprive yourself of sleep.

If you can't fall asleep because of stress, here are proven methods for falling asleep fast.

6. Embrace your feelings

It's okay to be lazier, slower, and still in the vacay after returning  back home. You don't have to fight it at all costs, give yourself time to get back into the routine. Be kind to yourself and reward yourself for getting tasks done. Go to yoga, get a massage, buy flowers on your desk or new writing utensils if it makes you happy.

quotation from therapist

What if the post-holiday blues stick with you for weeks?

If you still don't feel well after two weeks at work, it's a sign that all is not quite well. But there could be many reasons. Maybe you're in an unhealthy work environment, you're not good at time-management, you're not feeling mentally well and so can't be productive, you were already on the verge of burnout before the holiday, or you're simply in the wrong place where you don't quite belong and you wish that you were doing something different.

Whatever it is, you can figure it out in psychotherapy with professional help. No problem is so small that you can't talk to a professional about it.

At Hedepy, you can choose from over 10+ certified therapists and book an online session in the next few days. Learn how online therapy works.

Or take a 5-minute test and we will recommend the three most suitable therapists for you.