Mental Health Mondays: How To Avoid The Post-Holiday Blues

Holidays are utterly wonderful things – coming to the rescue when our tired, over-worked brains need a break and we just want to escape from life for a little while. We’ve all been there; relying on a week or two away to save us from sheer exhaustion, yet despite a blissful trip, we still find ourselves stepping off the plane feeling a little worse for wear after a few too many piña coladas, without that relaxed, rejuvenated feeling we were searching for.

Unfortunately, no matter how amazing your time was, you still have to come back home to reality at some point, which also means facing your bursting inbox. It can be tough getting back into the swing of things, and it’s common to find yourself feeling pretty down. So, for anyone lucky enough to be off adventuring this summer, here are our top tips for avoiding the post-holiday funk: 

Switch Off Completely

Perhaps our most important tip of all - and yet the one we’re most guilty of ignoring ourselves - is actually taking a proper break and completely switching off. That means no work-related chatter, no checking emails or social media accounts or even team Whatsapp groups! It can be tempting to check in and see what you're missing, but staying in the loop is stopping you from getting the proper rest you need - it’s no wonder we don’t come back ready and raring to get back to it! Make sure you’ve got people in place to cover anything urgent and try to remember that the world isn’t going to implode if you take 7 days to get back to your emails. 

Take A Break After Your Break

We understand the struggle of trying to make your allotted annual leave go as far as possible, but getting back in the early hours of the morning and heading straight to your desk is never a good idea. Try to give yourself an extra day off to ease yourself back to reality and give you time to catch up on your washing! 

Facing an Empty Diary

There’s nothing worse than coming home from a whirlwind week of fun to find you’ve got absolutely nothing to look forward too. Arrange fun things to do with friends, plan to visit your family on the weekend or finally visit that exhibition everyone’s been raving about - it’ll make post-holiday life seem a whole lot more exciting.

Set Yourself a Challenge

Sometimes having a goal to chase is exactly what you need to get you firing on all cylinders. Whether you’d love to complete your first half-marathon or triathlon, hit a particular target at work or even just finally get a particular home project finished, it might be just what you need to reignite your motivation.

Clean Out Your House

There's nothing like living out of a suitcase for a couple of weeks to make you realise how much unnecessary rubbish you have at home. Use coming home as an excuse for a fresh start and clear out anything you don’t use from your cupboards. Pop old pieces on eBay or Depop – it’s the perfect way to start saving for your next holiday!

Bring Your Holiday Home

Is there anything about your holiday that you can bring back and incorporate into your life at home? You might have to skip the daily cocktails at noon, but how about continuing your beloved morning yoga sessions, taking up language lessons or even just finding the recipe for your favourite meal of the trip?