How do you deal with back-from-vacation blues?

Start planning the next vacation.

Heavy drinking works for me. (Just kidding) How about starting to plan your next trip as soon as you get over the jet lag, or even before.

I've been back for a year and still have the blues....LOL!! nah, mostly kidding. What I did was go to the places at home that I really love. I had the food I was missing, my favorite stores, etc., stuff I didn't get over there. Caught up on TV shows I missed, movies, friends, etc.

I go back to work and weep quietly to myself.

This trip I planned so that I have 8 hours after we get home before I have to be at work. I think I might be calling in sick.

I do all of the above.

I also spend some time going over all my photos (I take a LOT of them), putting them into online albums, and I create a website as a souvenir of our trip. And I start planning the next trip, make notes from the previous one to help me plan the next one so it goes smoothly.

Then I try to stop spending money and start saving it up!

Janet, that's a great question. I try to stretch the vacation by returning a couple days before going back to work, organizing trip photos, telling others about my trip and asking them about their travels, planning my next trip, and so forth. But reality eventually sets in.

My job is so busy that it quickly consumes me upon reentry, which is bad from a trip-memory standpoint but good from a stave-off-the-blues standpoint. I always keep the next overseas trip in sight. Even if it's not planned or funded, it's a goal. Just knowing that I will get away from the same-ol same-ol humdrum within the foreseable future helps.

Even if I don't have a trip lined up, I talk with my co-workers about their recent travels or plans for upcoming travel. Helps keep the travel fire alive and the day-to-day humdrum in perspective.

I do two things.

I read travel forums,, the computer is in our kitchen/great room, so its easy for me to pop in and out when not busy . I go on serveral boards.

I plan another trip. I hadn't anything in the works after returning from this summers trip,, but , I am now thinking of returning to Paris for a quick visit next fall, 7-10 days,, we will see.
Hubby and I also have a week in Hawaii this April for our 20th anniversary, so if our teenagers don't mess that up( don't ask) it isn't Europe, but its something.

Great question Janet,
I usually eat out that first day home (it eases me into the reality of being back) and after that I haunt the travel section of Borders book store!

I find that relating every detail of my trip to family and friends is a great boost to my mood. They don't say much, but I'm sure they just love it. I see their eyes glaze over in delight.

This is a great topic Janet. I think that we all deal with the post vacation blues.

I too start planning my next trip, organize photos and tell others about the trip. But, I also try to re-create some of the food memories. Italian is my favorite, so many times I will go to the local store and try to find some of the same ingredients that we used to make a meal over there: proscuitto, various cheeses (even better if you can find some from a town you visited), olives, pickled veggies, fresh loaf of Italian bread (I know, it's not quite the same),fresh fruit and of course a great bottle of Italian wine. Make it a picnic in the back yard and it's like Italy all over again.

Thanks for bringing up this topic.

I like going around and distributing the souvenirs I brought back for family and friends. I get to explain where I got it, and they in return have to listen to me talk about my trip :) In Cambridge this summer we found green bags at the Cambridge University Press bookstore that were one pound each, so we got to buy presents for lots of people (and thus had lots of captive audiences!).

In addition to the other suggestions here (I actually started planning the next trip while ON the last trip!), I like to come on the boards and share what I've learned and 'live vicariously' through other people's trips. I also read blogs and books by people living abroad. And in addition to looking through my pictures and sharing them with everyone I can, I read my journal entries.

I love coming home, hugging the cat to death, catching up on all the office gossip, and talking to friends and family. Invite friends for an evening. . .feed them and then make them sit and look at all your photos and listen to all your adventures. For the price of a pizza and a 6-pack you'll have a captive audience and relive your vacation!! This works better if your friends are travellers and you're not competing with the world series.

Carole: LOL at the eyes glazing!!!

I plan my next trip (not necessarily overseas) and deal with my pics. I shoot in RAW, so it takes me a few days in Photoshop to do all of my edits and convert to jpg.

I drown my sorrows in my photographs!!! As soon as I return I load them on both my desktop and laptop then let them spin the pics in slide shows. After I've worked with the photos I frame our favorites and hang them on the wall. We will also bring paper place mats back with us and have them laminated in plastic. We place them on our kitchen table so we can go back to that wonderful memory every time we sit down for a meal together.

I like to go to the library and borrow a novel set in one of the places I've been. I can picture it in my mind as though I'm there with the characters in the book. It's a great way to remember my trip and it makes the story come alive.

Thanks for the great (and some funny) suggestions! Though I'm currently not suffering from post-vaca blues, this has inspired me to start planning my next two dream trips.

This summer I took my first European trip. We were there three weeks and when I got home it hit me. I think it was a combination of jet lag, exhaustion (when are you ever on the go as much as you are on a trip) and the blues. It took me weeks to snap out of it. Actually, what helped was taking another, much smaller trip. It gave me something to get excited about and all of a sudden I wasn't tired anymore! I've been fine since but am planning the next trip.

We like to use the dining room table as a display area where we put all of our mementos from our trip: photos, maps & brochures, tickets, receipts, plus things we purchased. It helps prolong that 'just got back' feeling. It really takes us quite a while to get back to regular life, actually we never really do, as we talk about Europe every day. In between trips I try to stay connected to Europe with travel mags, videos, and the internet.

I budget a couple extra free days after I get home to ease back into "real" life. I get my photos printed and clothes put away. I visit with friends and tell them about my adventures. I re-read my journal (this often happens years after the fact, as I just re-read my 2006 Italy journal this weekend). After this year's trip, I vowed to figure out how to maintain the vacation feeling year-round (any suggestions folks?!) When all else fails, I head to the library, check out guide books, and start planning the next trip.

Look thru my pics and read over my journal. I then start brainstorming for my next trip.

How about signing up for a language course right away? Or contact your local university to see if they have a foreign students organization, where you can make some new friends from your favorite country, practice the language, learn some new recipes and perhaps even invite them for dinner. This way you will double your pleasure the next time you return to Europe.

Live in a place you love and have a life you love (sorry if that sounds new age-y!). As much as I love travel, when I come home, I look forward to seeing my dog, my friends, visiting my favorite coffee shop, seeing what's new around town, getting back to my weekly volunteer work, taking my pilates class, even seeing my coworkers!

But even with that I admit I have to be planning a trip at all times. Even if it's just a weekend away, I do have to have something on the horizon.

I felt that way for a couple weeks after our trip in early summer. Since then, I have been busy remodelling a bathroom, scraping popcorn off the ceiling in my entire home (feels like we'll never be done), taking a French class for credit (yikes!!), and working part time. I barely have time to remember what a fantastic trip we had....now that I think of it, I'm feeling a little blue again, LOL

In other words, get busy! You never quite get over a good trip. The memories keep me going. Still have to print photos for my scrapbook.

Besides planning my next trip, I also partake in beverages from the area I've visited:

If I was in France, I drink a Beaujolais or Bordeaux.

If in Italy, I drink Chianti.

If in England, I drink ale.

If In Ireland, I just drink.

:)

Hey Janet

I'm gonna echo all the others' sentiments about planing the next get-away, and you know what - because of the state of our economy (airlines' fees, route cancellations, etc, etc), it's gonna be a huge challenge just to plan for the next one!

However, that doesn't mean the planning can't be fun. Decide where you're going, read up on it, and then take your time and put all the logistics together! :)

I try to take at least 2 "mini" vacations a year along with my trip to see my family, so that works out to going somewhere about every three months, and I just pretend I'm going from "party" to "party".

Long story short, don't let yourself get blue! If you have a blog, write a "travel-logue" from the previous vacation so that you'll always have those memories to refer to, and then go to work planning the next getaway - even if it's on the same continent you live on!

B~

The post vacation mourning process is a natural thing. Don't fight it. I download my thousands of photos and start the post processing to make them better and then enjoy re-living the vacation through those photos while it is still fresh. I enjoy watching travel shows or movies made in places I have traveled and it always seems that I discover something I had missed in my research and kick myself for having done that. I guess that's ok though because it gives me a reason to go back. I read the RS forums and the T/A forums. I learn a lot from others here through their tips and experiences. Always planning for the next trip or at least kicking around ideas of places I want to go. Too many places and not enough time.

We did start planning our next trip while on the last trip, so there is light at the end of this tunnel. But I think going onto this site and getting excited about everyone elses upcoming trips is helping me get over the blues.

Janet,

It is interesting that so many of us suffer from post vacation stress. Perhaps you have discovered a new psychiatric disorder. If we could get it included in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) perhaps our health insurance companies would have to pay a portion of our travel expenses.

But seriously, thanks for this post. I do feel better knowing I'm not the only one who feels this way.

Carole, what would that disorder be called as I have had it several times.
PVSD "Post Vacation Stress Disorder"
PEVSD "Post European Stress Disorder"
CBIOD "Can't Believe It's Over Disorder"

Also will there be a pill for any of the above?

Tony,
I like PEVSD. I don't think a pill will work. The cure will involve drinking wine in the country where the grape is grown. That will require a return trip to Europe for which health insurance should pay 85%.

Log on to this helpline as often as possible for a "fix," using the many ideas found here to help plan our next trip. Count my blessings that we have been able to take a couple of fabulous trips. Admire our travel photos and artwork from Paris and Italy. Wear my cross from the Vatican, my charm bracelet with charms from all over, or my Venetian glass necklace. Work on my picasa web album; I am still writing captions for the many photos from my June trip. Run my fingers through sand from Omaha. Read through the email updates I receive from travel sites. Smile as my monitor screensaver trip photos come and go, both at home and at work. Listen to Parisian music in my kitchen. Listen to Il Divo while on my conference periods at work. To cut down on the use of plastic bags, I use my Harrod's taxi-patterned tote bag for shopping. In my small town, the local store clerks now know that I don't accept plastic and automatically smile and put my things into my tote. Another big help is that I teach world history, so I can incorporate my travels into my classroom teaching. Lots of ways to beat the back home blues.

I am taking a health class right now (I am in high school) in which we are studying mental health and all of its disorders. So far we haven't come across PVSD, PEVSD, or CBIOD, but I will keep looking. :) Btw, I suffer from all of these disorders every time we get back from our annual European trip! I also suffer from AMED (Always Missing Europe Disorder) constantly, and have OED (Obsessing over Europe Disorder). I guess travelling is the only therapy!

For me, planning the next trip is the best medicine.