Post-holiday blues: where do you go from here?

Don’t be alarmed if you are feeling tired and fed up after your holidays.??Holiday blues?just prove?that?your mind is functioning normally.?They?won’t last, but here’s some ideas to chase them away more quickly.?Use the blues to signpost what's missing in your life.

Instead of feeling restored from your holidays, are you feeling lethargic, a bit down, struggling to snap back into the swing of things???Jet lag without the jet lag? Feeling the post-holiday blues is a normal psychological response to a well-earned break. It’s cruel pay-back for having a good time.?The more we needed the holiday, the better or longer it was, then the more intense the come down when we return to ‘normal’.

?Even if your break involved extra frustration and uncertainty over Covid requirements, your brain still tricks you into a nostalgic view of it.?We remember the good times, not the stress of the journey.

Where do you go from here?

The exhausting challenges we’ve lived over the last 18 months have made any kind of break even sweeter, so it's natural that the return feels worse than usual, no matter how much we love what we do.???Easing off in August has been a brief diversion from continuing uncertainty and distressing world events.?We’re back, and where do we go from here??

Similarly, medallists returning from Tokyo may find that their big high swings to a big low before they return to their baseline level of well-being.?Newlyweds often report low levels of happiness in their first year of marriage.?They haven’t made a terrible mistake (mostly), it’s just that life feels mundane again after the drama of the wedding.

How to beat the blues and learn from them too:

Plan something nice.?Even if you can’t book another holiday put something in your diary to look forward to.?Build a reward around it: ‘I’m away that weekend, so I’ll try and deal with that niggling problem by then.’?

Get some structure.??Our brains prefer routines so that they save precious cells for more important decisions: the Steve Jobs black turtleneck concept.?This is another reason to commit to your hybrid working pattern?to remove anxiety caused by uncertainty.?What do you have to do, when and where should you do it??Test out a new routine.??

Work out what you are missing.?We are more influenced by a fear of loss rather than any potential gain. We turn down promotion because we worry about the perceived loss of work/life balance, even if we want the upsides.?What have you lost from being back home and can you find an opportunity for even a pale shadow of it??Cooking octopus like they did at the beach, taking up paddle-boarding, watching travel programmes, learning a language: whatever sparks joy in your heart.

Take charge of your mood.??A bit of negativity is normal, so don't fight it, but don’t make things worse for yourself either.?Most of us know our well-being 101s.??Is there real food in your food or too much booze in your drink??How’s your sleep hygiene??Are you getting enough exercise and fresh air? Do you hang out with positive people who make you feel good???How can you build better relationships with people that matter??Should you build in more movement into your day, more social interaction, or more quiet time to feel at your best?

Use the blues for some soul-searching.??What do you find fulfilling??Why does doing a good job matter to you? How can you have more impact, achieve more, be more creative??What’s really the issue here??Are you missing something more profound??Anchor back into your values and make some changes.?Set big life goals if your brain can take it or write down small steps to take between now and the end of the year to get you on the right path.?

As ever, I hope that helps, feel free to share it with anyone who needs a post holiday boost.

See you soon, Zena