As college students on a well-deserved summer break, many of our summers are full of awesome vacations filled with parties, clubs, music festivals, indulgent meals, exciting outdoor adventures and infinite sightseeing trips. But if you have ever been on any fun-filled vacations before, you know that for every exciting trip you have, there are always post-vacation blues — those melodramatic mini-depressions that we get after going on vacations we will never forget. Here are a couple of tips to help you out when you’re feeling down:
1. Get some ZzZzZs. If you’re a Cal student, there is a very high chance you’ve had to deal with little to no sleep before (especially during midterms and finals weeks). And if you’re an adventure seeker who doesn’t want to miss out on any of the fun during a vacation, you’ve probably put those nocturnal skills to use. The period of time right after you’ve arrived back home from your vacation is prime snooze time. Soon enough, you’ll have to start up again with work, school or whatever it is you have to do. So take advantage of this precious, peaceful time while you still have it, and catch up on some Zs.
2. But don’t sleep TOO much. One thing you need to remember is not to extend that shut-eye period TOO long. If you have those post-vacation blues, lying around in the dark under the covers all day is only going to make your semi-depression worse. Make sure to go outside, enjoy the summer sun, run some errands and get back into the swing of things OUTSIDE of your vacation-land. Easing into the process will make coming home mentally easier.
3. Exercise. Cal students lo-o-ove to eat. Vacation is the best time to indulge and stuff ourselves to the brim, so we know when to put those stuffing-our-faces skills to use. It’s nice to lose oneself to a meal every once in a while, especially on vacations, but once we get home, there’s usually an “uh-oh” reaction when we try to fit into those jeans we bought before the vacation. It’s important to remember that when we’re done with vacations, we need to get back into the swing of things — and that includes eating a regular, healthy diet again (or for the first time, if you never have before) and getting in some exercise. Once you start doing this, you will feel better about yourself, get those endorphins running and be able to mitigate those vacation blues.
4. Avoid looking at vacation pictures … at least for a little while. We know you will want to do this, but at least for the first couple days of being home, we suggest you avoid it. Looking at the million pictures you took on your Cabo trip is only going to make your Cabo withdrawals worse. Wait until you’re comfortable with being back home with all your friends and family, and look at the pictures a couple of days, or maybe even weeks, later. By that time, you’ll be able to enjoy the photos instead of complaining about how depressed you are that you aren’t in Cabo.
5. Know when to STFU. We all have this problem, and sometimes it’s hard to control: Your friends want to know about your trip! Of course they do — they’re your friends, after all. But you need to know when to stop. If all you’re talking about for the next 72 hours after you’ve arrived back at home is how awesome your vacation was, you probably need to stop. Ask about how your friends’ time while you were gone was. Ask about their vacations if they went on some too. Avoid saying things like, “Ughhhh, (insert vacation location here) is SO much better than here!” or, “Seriously, I wish I could go back. Those people are SO much more fun than my friends!” This will probably give off some bad vibes that you or your friends probably don’t want to deal with.
Do you have any tips for dealing with those post-vacation blues? Let us know in the comments!
