After a few days or weeks of rest, we may feel sad, apathetic or a lack of energy and motivation when we return to routine. This process is more frequent than we might think and is known as post-holiday blues or depression.
What is post-holiday blues?
According to experts, this condition is not an illness as such, but an adaptive disorder that causes stress-like symptoms, anxiety and, in the worst cases, depression. It usually appears when, after a period of rest, the person is not able to take up and perform all tasks associated with their day-to-day life or work activity.
How does it show itself?
Depending on the person, their environment, their background and their work situation, the condition will present some symptoms or other disorders with different intensity. Some of them may include the following:
Stress or anxiety
Stress and anxiety are two very common symptoms after returning from a long period of inactivity. Even people who do not have this condition can suffer from stress when returning to their everyday tasks. It is important to be well organised and, as far as possible, gradually return to a normal routine.
Tiredness and fatigue
After a few days in which the activity has been much lower than our body is used to, it is quite normal that tiredness and fatigue occur in the first days back to the routine. To overcome them, it is important to set up sleep schedules to rest the necessary hours.
Sleep disorders
If we do not set these schedules, some people may even develop sleep disorders. It is possible that on holidays we may have been up late and had to go to bed late, so we must slowly get back to our schedule. It is best to go to bed and wake up as early as possible on the last days of your holidays.
How long do the effects last?
The duration of the symptoms that the disorder can cause varies a lot depending on the person and their particular circumstances. Normally, two to three weeks will be necessary until our body returns to its normal routine and schedule.
Tips to get back to routine and face post-holiday blues
As we have said in the previous section, the most important thing is planning and prevention. Therefore, if for example, we have gone on a trip or moved to a holiday home, it is important not to come back to work directly on the following day, after the holidays, but rather to allow ourselves a few days to get organised.
It is also recommended that we return to our usual sleep schedule as mentioned above and practise moderate physical activity.
Once we are back to work, we should give ourselves time to adapt and not take on all the tasks, but rather give priority to what is important so that we do not become overwhelmed, and thus avoid stress. For this reason, it is also crucial that the days before we go on holiday, we leave the minimum number of tasks to be done so that we do not find them all at once upon our return.
Relaxation and meditation can also help you in your return to routine. Make sure you have time for yourself and to do activities that you enjoy to relax from day to day.
Help your energy metabolism with Royal Jelly
When we go on holidays we usually change our schedules and our normal diet. That’s why getting back to a healthy and balanced diet is very important.
Some ingredients such as Royal Jelly can supplement your diet and become your best source of energy. Other components such as propolis and vitamin E will also help your body to be ready to face the days back to routine without a decrease in your energy and vitality throughout the day.
