How I Manage to Conquer the Post Travel Blues Every Time
I have wanted to write about Post-Travel Blues for the longest time. When you read other travel blogs, you don’t see this topic often, and I believe this is important to discuss.
When I return from a trip, I get into a funk for a few days or weeks. It doesn't happen all the time, but rather most of the time. And sometimes it is more fierce than other times. I am that human who gets post-travel blues. I googled this phase a few years ago to understand what it meant and why I felt like shit when I returned from trips.
“Shouldn't I be glad I had this incredible experience?”
Signs of post-travel blues include but are not limited to:
loss of focus
mood swings
anxiety
lack of motivation
sleeping too much or not enough
fatigue
increased desire to be alone
appetite change
Shouldn't I be happy that I am coming back to my cats, my bed, my friends, and my everyday routine? Shouldn't I be glad I had this incredible experience so that I can get ready to plan another trip?
The answer is no.
I wasn't happy with any of those things.
Well, my cats, yes.
Regarding everything else, I was just sad.
Even my friends got tired of hearing me say, "Well, in Moab … Well, in Colorado … Well, in Iceland …" I was the person who kept bringing up her travels, not because I was showing off my travels, but because every minute I talked about what I saw or did, I momentarily felt the happiness return. And it brought me back to that person I was there.
“Travel is like air; if I don't travel, I suffocate.”
For those who don't know me yet, I live outside Washington, DC. My rat race life consists of:
Fighting traffic
Rushing to get things done 5 minutes ago
Working happy hours that aren't that happy
Being a whole different person for 8-12 hours a day
I do all this just to come home and breathe for maybe one hot minute, eat, and go to yoga to get my sanity back … just to climb into bed and start all over again.
As I mentioned on my "About Me" page, my current lifestyle isn't the one I should have. Like everyone else, I struggled as a kid, as a teenager, hell, even now as an adult. I shouldn't be this successful based on my past, but here I am.
Travel is like air; if I don't travel, I suffocate. I'm fascinated by new ways of life and cultures, seeing and experiencing new lands, and processing my life. This is one of the reasons I moved to DC. I could experience "traveling" without spending money since I could go to embassies, cultural days, etc. When I moved here for the second time nine years ago, I was lucky if I made it to the beach. I wasn't making much, and DC is an expensive city. But when I did start to take one trip a year, that was when I felt like I finally caught my breath for a moment.
I used traveling to escape my life and thought it was a great idea. I was escaping the traffic in DC for another city traffic, escaping aspects of my life for a "new life" of being unknown, wandering around a new city. Trading people in my life for new people I will probably never see again. I loved every aspect of the escape.
And then, coming back to DC, I felt like I was trapped again. How could I be so happy in a new place but so sad in a city where I worked my ass off and even risked my mental health for?
It just didn’t make sense to me…..
The more I traveled, the more I kept getting into the funk—not all the time, but most of the time. I remember my birthday trip in 2021, the one I have been writing about the past few months was the one I felt most strongly about.
“So, how do I combat this feeling?”
I drove through three states in 16 days, saw 7 National Parks and 2 State Parks, went camping and hiking, and transformed into this person I once again started to recognize.
And then I was back in DC traffic and an office setting, where I was fighting an office to allow me to do my job. The horrible dating scene was here, and I was back in my rat race. My excitement fled, and survival came back. This is funny since I was more relaxed in bear country than in my own life in DC.
So, how do I combat this feeling? I am still learning how. I have read articles saying you should start planning a new trip so you can have something to look forward to. Or they’ll advise getting back into your routine. Change your mindset about being home. Have something to look forward to when you get home.
I have tried all of these things, and the three that help the most are:
Allowing myself to feel sad. Feel the feelings and know that it's okay.
Move my body. I try to plan a day trip of hiking or paddle boarding, or I’ll just do something to get out of my house and have a mini-adventure within 2-4 days of coming home.
Remember what made me happy on that last trip and see if I can recreate it or incorporate that lifestyle into my daily life more often.
The great thing about traveling and doing more is learning your voice, what makes you happy, what makes you unhappy, and what items you like and dislike. The more I travel, the more I can handle my travel blues when I return.
I understand some people can't travel as I do, and I have been in your shoes. What I would suggest is that you get out in your hometown or city and just walk around. And if you can, try going to the next city or town and exploring that one. Be a tourist in your area. I do this sometimes if I can't jump on the plane. You’d be surprised how much being a tourist in your neck of the woods can make you feel like you are on holiday.
Tell me, have you had travel blues? If you did, what was it like for you? How did you combat it?