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Post-Holiday syndrome: five tips against the mood after the vacation

Post-Holiday syndrome: five tips against the mood after the vacation

After the vacation is before the first working day. And that is exactly what leads to a bad mood and tiredness for many workers. Psychologists call the whole “Post-Holiday syndrome”. We have tips to avoid the mood low on the first working day.

We just drank a coffee on the beach or let the soul dangle at the hotel pool and he is there – the first working day after the vacation. In view of the approaching return to everyday work, there is often a pronounced mood low, which we otherwise only know from Monday morning before the first coffee. We are tired, demotivated and would like to get on the next plane back to paradise.

Psychologists call this feeling “Post-Holiday syndrome”. That there is an official name for this shows that we are not alone. It is estimated that around two-thirds of all employees suffer from the low mood after the holiday.

The good news: mostly the worst survived after three days. The rule of thumb applies, the longer and more relaxing the time -out, the harder we can return to the job.

What leads to Post-Holiday syndrome

When we come back from vacation and calls the work, the “seriousness of life” starts again. This means an enormous change for our body and our psyche, which often leads to a bad mood and a low performance, as Robin Kaufmann from Institute for Occupational Health Advice in an interview with the “RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland” said, “Perhaps you had different sleeping times on vacation and you have to get used to getting up early again.”

Post-Holiday syndrome is characterized by symptoms such as fatigue, loss of motivation, concentration disorders, headaches, sleep disorders and irritability. Although it can feel like depression for those affected at first, it must be clearly differentiated from it.

In contrast to the mental illness, the post -vacation low in mood is a temporary mood, which usually disappears quickly.

Five tips against Post-Holiday syndrome

If you don’t feel like breaking up again in the office after your vacation with a bad mood, you can also prevent Post-Holiday syndrome. For example with our five tips against the after-Holiday blues.

Tip 1: Take all to-do’s before the vacation

Procrastination is a property that many of us share. After all, tomorrow is another day. Shortly before the holiday, we should still really work through all the points on our to-do list. This enables us to enjoy the time-out without having a work tab somewhere in the back of the head that gets bigger the closer the first working day. If we have done all the contaminated sites, we can restart on the first day after vacation instead of solving old problems.

Tip 2: Let it take it slowly

From zero to a hundred is never a good idea. Especially not if that means that we fall back into stress straight away from relaxation. Especially on the first day we should take it easy instead. That means: Place appointments very generously and plan enough breaks.

And maybe we can even activate the out-of-office message in the mail program for a day longer. And: don’t stress yourself before starting work. The Dutch researcher Jeroen Narwijn found that the mood could otherwise go on a descent two days before the end of the vacation.

Tip 3: Plan your vacation strategically

A smart schedule of our vacation can create a lot of relief. For example, it makes sense not to put the return flight on the last day, but to approved a few days to arrive. Means: If we start working again on Monday, we should be back home on Saturday at the latest, better on Friday.

What also helps to avoid getting the full brunt of work stress when you are still sitting by the sea with a sun hat on: just put the first day of work on Wednesday or Thursday. This enables us not to have to work a full working week directly.

Tip 4: Share your memories with the college: inside

Shared suffering is half a suffering – we all know this saying. However, when we share moments of joy with others, we double our happiness. Because: We remember the beautiful moments again and at the same time let our counterpart participate in them.

So it is worth taking vacation photos or souvenirs to work and telling our colleague: inside of our great time. As a result, the after-Holiday blues passes quickly. And maybe in exchange we’ll get direct inspiration for the next trip.

Tip 5: Be understanding yourself towards yourself

It’s like this: We probably won’t immediately be back at the level of performance we had before the holiday. And that is also completely normal. On vacation we get used to a different daily routine, establish a different sleep rhythm and do most of the time that makes us sense.

In everyday work, our life then runs back to solid structures. We should therefore give ourselves the time and space to get back to our everyday work in peace. And don’t forget that the next break will come.

By the way: Psychologically speaking, it is much more to make a shorter vacation more often than take a longer trip once or two a year. This is because the recovery effects fizzle out after two weeks regardless of the duration of the break, so that we are back on our original stress level.

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Source: Stern

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