Top 10 ways to beat post-holiday blues (to feel your fab self again!)
Top 10 ways to beat post-holiday blues (to feel your fab self again!)
It’s totally normal to feel a bit down after a holiday as you transition from a period of relaxation and excitement back to your regular routine. According to one survey, a whopping 57% of British people asked reported feeling “depressed or deflated” after coming home from a holiday, so you’re not alone! Hopefully with these handy tips we’ll get you feeling like your fab self again in no time! Here are my top 10 ways to beat post-holiday blues.
OTHER TRAVEL TIPS YOU MIGHT LIKE…
- 3 Step quick guide to replacing a lost passport
- Top 10 tips for sleeping on a plane (even for the most nervous flyers!)
- Top 10 ways to save money on food while travelling (even if you’re a big foodie!)
1) Immediately book another trip!
For the ultimate way to beat post-holiday blues, just get your next trip booked in!
When you come home after having an amazing time on holiday, your natural inclination is to immediately book another trip. So why not do just that?!
It’ll help occupy your mind doing the research and planning and will give you something to look forward to!
If you’re tightening the purse strings after your holiday and need to save up before you can book again, I would recommend putting a non-committal plan together of where you’d like to go and things you want to do next.
Also, fun fact! When you start planning your next adventure you’ll get hit by the happy hormone dopamine, which results in feelings of well-being!
Happy hormones are a primary driver of the brain’s reward system and spike when we experience something pleasurable.
Just another reason to get destination googling – it’s for the good of our health! 😉
2) Go on a weekend staycation
If you need a little more time before booking your next holiday, why not book a more cost-effective weekend staycation?
You won’t need to use up any annual leave and will be a nice little treat to look forward to between trips.
I absolutely love staycations! Some of my favourites have been low-key off-grid getaways in the countryside like in this awesome cabin and treehouse in Wales.
3) Have some fun plans booked in for when you get home
One of the best ways to beat post-holiday blues is with a little help from your friends!
Make sure you’re not coming home just to work, household chores and life admin. Before you go on holiday book in some fun plans with your friends in advance.
Go for drinks, see a movie, go dancing or just catch up over dinner! Spending time with loved ones will instantly lift you and give them the opportunity to get the low-down on your holiday gossip too!
4) Become a tourist in your own hometown
When we usually think about travel, thoughts of foreign lands and far away places flash across our minds. We certainly don’t think about travelling as staying in our own backyard, am I right?
But becoming a tourist in your own hometown is the perfect way to save money and your holiday allowance whilst getting to know your city in a whole new way.
Go on a walking tour, visit a local museum, explore a part of town you never go to or try a new restaurant.
Try to see your hometown through the eyes of a tourist and it’ll give you a whole new perspective on your city. As well as a new appreciation for just how much there is to see and do, but that you don’t take advantage of!
If you’d like more ideas on how to be a tourist in your hometown I highly recommend the book, ‘The Art of Being a Tourist at Home: Expand Your World Without Leaving Your Home Town’.
Jenny Herbert does a fantastic job of helping you get the most out of your city!
5) Introduce aspects of your holiday into everyday life
One of the best ways of remembering the places you have travelled to is by introducing aspects of them into your everyday life.
Cook national dishes and listen to music from your favourite countries or learn a new language! These are all creative ways to keep yourself occupied when you get home too!
I love introducing new dishes to my menu especially as all of us have memories of food that take us back to a certain time and place.
For me, whenever I eat crispy spring rolls and Thai red curry, I’m transported back to my time in Chiang Mai, Thailand. I had a cooking lesson there with a local chef and loved it. I even went food shopping with her to a local market to get fresh ingredients so this is a very sensory memory!
No matter the importance of the memory though, any memory involving food is vivid and sometimes feels more evocative than other types of memories because they’re linked to our senses.
So resist the urge to hit ‘order’ on Uber Eats when you get home. Instead enjoy alleviating those holiday blues by spending some time in the kitchen cooking some of your new favourite foods and let those sweet travel feelings wash over you!
6) Get out into nature
Getting out into nature provides a holistic approach to well-being. Benefiting your physical health, mental clarity and emotional state.
Whether it’s a walk in the park, a hike in the mountains, or simply sitting by a lake, immersing yourself in natural settings can have lasting positive effects.
It’s a great way to beat post-holiday blues as it lowers stress and blood pressure, gives you more mental clarity, improves sleep, allows you to get some vitamin D exposure and helps to keep you active.
I love getting out into nature because I’m a sucker for a good view too!
7) Get on top of your life admin
Time between holidays is a great opportunity to get on top on life admin which you’ve been putting off!
I know, I know, we ALL hate it but it’s a necessary evil and you always feel better after getting done.
Now you have some spare time to get on top of it – make a start! Pick one annoying task to do a day and by the end of the week you’ll be on top of everything!
Book that dentist’s appointment, call the plumber about that broken radiator, sort out your pension, clean the house – it’ll all be sorted before you know it!
8) Have a digital detox
A digital detox involves taking a break from using electronic devices and technology, such as smartphones, computers, tablets and social media platforms.
It seriously helps you beat those post-holiday blues so much quicker – believe me!
By reducing your connectivity and the influx of constant information you’ll reduce your stress and anxiety levels, improve your ability to focus with fewer distracting notifications and help you sleep better with less exposure before bedtime to the blue light emitted by screens.
Ultimately, a digital detox can help you achieve a healthier balance between your digital and real-world experiences too.
It’s about regaining control over your time and being more present!
It’ll also stop you feeling like sh*t when you go on social media and it seems like everyone else is having a great time on holiday a part from you!
9) Eat well and get moving!
None of us need a lecture in the health benefits of eating well and moving our bodies!
But it’s important to get a little reminder after we’ve spent a week or two indulging ourselves on holiday!
It sounds like very basic b*tch advice I know! But I can honestly say, getting back to a healthier eating and exercise regime helps me ease back into life post-holiday so much quicker.
And we all know that eating better and exercising helps reduce stress, improve our mood and increase our energy levels. All things we need to beat those post-holiday blues!
So resist the urge to keep the holiday party going by getting takeaways and laying on the couch after work. You’ll feel so much better for it!
Even if you have to force yourself to eat the healthy food that’s in the fridge at first and ease back into exercising with a simple walk.
You’ll get there, I promise!
10) Practise some self care
Practising some self care is hands down one of my favourite ways to beat the post-holiday blues!
When I first get back from holiday I’m overwhelmed with the sheer amount of stuff I need to do that I left for “future me” to deal with.
It stresses me the F out every single time. I never seem to take my own ruddy advice!
I suggest one of the first things you do when you return from holiday is keep that state of calm going by treating yourself to a little at-home spa night.
Run a bubble bath, light some candles, put some relaxing music on, read your book and put on a face mask.
Been saving all your expensive products for a special occasion? Well, now it’s time to crack those babies open!
A little time to take a breath and relax will make all the difference when you return to normal life.
Also – when was the last time you treated yourself to a bit of R&R? If you can’t remember, this self-induced “time out” is probably just what you need!
OTHER TRAVEL TIPS YOU MIGHT LIKE…
- 3 Step quick guide to replacing a lost passport
- Top 10 tips for sleeping on a plane (even for the most nervous flyers!)
- Top 10 ways to save money on food while travelling (even if you’re a big foodie!)
What ways help you beat the post-holiday blues? Let me know in the comments below! 😊
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