5 Ways to Get Past Those ‘Post Vacation Blues’

solo travel women 5 ways to get over post vacation blues

Thank you for your photography, Kate Devine.

 

It has been a long time coming for me to write a blog since my return from my European adventure.

Upon my return, I fell into an emotional jetlag. I had fallen in love with people and places on my journey, and returning home to the ordinary was just not enough. It took some time for the places and people of home to have the same sparkle to me. In the meantime, I threw myself into my work, the only thing that was keeping me sane, happy, engaged and fulfilled.

Looking back, these were truly the steps I went through to get past my depression or ‘post adventure blues’ and back into enjoying reality with a passion for every moment.

Kate Devine Photography Masha Brown

Moving forward means accepting your feelings.

Step 1. Accept you are in a funk.

Pretty much in any recovery program, the first step, whether it is getting over somebody, a death, or a substance, you must admit its validity; it happened, you feel it.

Accept those feelings, own them. They are your emotions and to feel anything in life is a beautiful gift, truly. Some people feel more than others, but I think it is something special to have deep emotions for and from life. The sooner you accept you are mourning something, the sooner you can make emotional breakthroughs with yourself and your emotions to move on and grow from that experience.

Get past your depression with these 5 tips

Choose to be brave everyday. Even the act of waking up is a gift. Getting out of bed to take a shower is an easy next step. Smile. That will help too!

Step 2. Throw yourself into your life, don’t hide.

Many times when people feel depressed they want to do nothing. They can often waste away. Don’t let that be you. Throw yourself back into your life. Your work. Your hobbies! The hardest thing is that you feel that everything has changed in your life and the outward appearance doesn’t seem so. But your environment does not define you. That is inside. So exactly true. You have grown, changed, evolved. That is still real, and even if you don’t feel that your surroundings reflect your change, it is your attitude towards it that is the true test to your new self.

Be gentle, be loving, move forward.

seattle blogger russian girl Masha Brown travels solo around the world as a female and blogs about her passion fueled adventures.

Maybe you don’t want to talk to people? Talk to nature, she will always listen to you. Perhaps you will hear her response.

Step 3. Share the fun stories with friends

Remembering those amazing moments will bring a smile to your face, and to your homies too when they hear about the trip you had. Whether it changed you or not, there were some special moments and sharing them will remind you of those happy, fun times.

Laugh about those drunken nights, the silliness, the adventures. Not only may you inspire your friends to travel, you will remember the happy moments and it can make you feel good again.

Step 4. Find a quote that inspires and supports you.

Here is the one that helped me the most:

“Don’t cry because it’s over, Smile because it happened.”

This one saved my life after my return. Any time I was sad, very, very sad, I would remember this and it would make me smile, even amidst all my tears.

Kate Devine photography is amazing, she is a talented artist.

Stop to smell the tulips! Enjoy every precious moment in life, even the moments when you feel deep emotions. It’s beautiful. Own that.

Step 5. Plan your next vacation.

No better way to distract yourself than to start thinking about your next trip. Especially after this last big adventure, I realized I like to plan a few things about my trip and then let the rest unfold organically. I like a little structure but still leaving room to change my mind if something better arises or I just no longer feel it.

Writing this specific blog entry has taken months. Most recently I booked a trip and it really did bring me so much happiness and peace to know I have something to look forward to, the same can work for you!

I hope this helps ease your post vacation blues and reentry to the everyday environment.

And if you don’t know where you should go, I encourage you to use sky scanner, plug in your home airport and for destination choose Everywhere. I love seeing the options around the world, and you can can also add Cheapest Month into your search to make that trip of lifetime budget friendly.

mashabrownseattle

Thanks to Kate Devine Photography for this shoot at the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival ’17.