Beat the Post-Vacation Blahs

Let’s talk about beating the post-vacation blahs……or rather, this is about the ‘post-event’ blues or ‘post-vacation’ blues…or post wedding blues…could even be the post ‘new years’ blues because when there is so much excitement around an event, there is bound to be a let-down period. Going away in February is, of course, a great way to beat the Winter Blahs, but I think having an overall How-To-Beat-the-Blahs strategy is a great idea in general….any time of year!  I am all about having strategies for dealing with my life mindfully vs. using food to handle things mindlessly.

I just got back from a week in Disney World and I am sharing what I do to get over my Disney / Vacation blues. Please share how you get yourself back up after a trip or a big event.

So, I get back from Disney or a Cruise or any vacation at all…..

…what do I do to Beat the Blahs?  Here’s a short list:

1. 📆I try to pick a date for the next vacation…immediately. Why? Because that way, I immediately have something to look forward to!
2. 📸I download the photos and try to use them for fun…maybe I email them to family or plan for a holiday card or make them a screensaver or order a mug with a photo on them, or (gasp) have 1 printed from Shutterfly so I can actually frame it and enjoy the real deal!
3. 🎁I figure out how I will use any souvenirs I have brought back with me. Maybe it is a pad of paper with the logo of somewhere? I will start using it right away. Maybe it is a pen? I might put it near the phone where I know I will use it or put it in my purse. Maybe it is a snack or some coffee beans? I will make sure I eat / drink the item sometime within the first week back home.
4. ⏰I give myself a week to acclimate to life post-vacation. This way, I do not feel too rushed to unpack and run back into my routines. I try to start with the laundry and go from there. It feels less overwhelming that way. I used to try to get it all away within a day, but it would exhaust me and ruin that post-vacation happy feeling.
5. ☎️☕️Relive the vacation by sharing the experience with friends over coffee or by working on a digital photo album or calling someone who would share my glee over my travels.
6. 😎When I plan a vacation, I try to build in 1-2 days of recovery time…as in, if we have a whole week, I will not be away the entire 9 days, I will make sure we are back on a Friday, so we have the weekend to recover….or if it is a shorter time span, I would rather come back after 3 days and know that everyone has at least one full day to sleep in and ease back into life than spend every last moment at my destination and then head back to work or school. It is too much and that doesn’t help the vacation blues at all.

7.  🤗Be grateful. Whenever I take the time to focus on the fact that we can get away at all, I feel nothing by thankful and grateful. It is hard to be too mopey, when you are counting your blessings. I try to drill this home to the kids as much as I can.

Having a plan to beat the Blahs is key to not letting yourself get swept up into emotions or get too mopey. I eat more when I am mopey, so I have to be super-mindful post-vacations.

But I went away during this hard month of February, so no Blahs in Disney World. I will float on the memories as much as I can. The sunshine was wonderful! Wearing short sleeves was great, too!  We do what we can to fight the mopey feelings…instead of eating the emotions.