Have you got the holiday blues?

Holidays are a great source of happiness and excitement in our lives. Much effort is put into the planning and preparation and we often look forward to our annual holiday for months in advance. In our busy lives our holidays are a time to relax, unwind and refresh and to have exciting adventures and see new places.

But let’s face it we all struggle a bit with the holiday blues. It’s normal to take a few days to adjust to our familiar routines and get back into the swing of things!

However, research shows us that over half of British workers feel demotivated, deflated or even depressed when it’s time to go back to work. 15% of people said the stress of going back to work cancelled out all the good feelings of going on holiday in the first place, whilst feelings of anxiety about getting back into normal routines of work hit 12% of workers.

A more positive statistic is that over half of us actively try to make ourselves feel better to get out of our holiday blues. But have we got it right? Are the things we are doing actually helping?

Over a third of people treat themselves to a gift or shopping trip to try and boost their mood. But research shows us that, although this might give us a temporary boost in mood it doesn’t last. If we want to spend our way out of feeling glum the best thing we can do is spend our money on other people. Buying and giving an unexpected gift boosts our happiness far more and for longer than any money spent on ourselves. Or better still use that same money to help someone and the benefits to your wellbeing sky rocket.

Spending on experiences rather than things is also shown to bring us greater happiness – we aren’t just buying the experience, we are buying the anticipation of the experience and the memory of it afterwards. And those memories get rosier each time we look back at them, unlike the shine of our new gadget or new shoes which actually diminishes each time we use them.

Around 13% of people admit to turning to food or drink to lift their holiday blues either with sweet treats, binge eating or finding themselves drinking more than normal. We do get an instant lift in our mood from eating and drinking but again, it’s short lived, we quickly crash and burn and find ourselves reaching for more of the bad stuff to bring us back up again. This is often a time where bad habits get formed that really impact on our health and can be hard work to shake off later.

A further 21% of workers admit to booking their next holiday immediately, but without checking with their boss that they can take the time off giving themselves more stress as they worry about what they have done!

So it seems we aren’t quite getting it right when it comes to helping ourselves lift the holiday blues. Some of us are on the right track but making just a few minor adjustments could make all the difference to how we are feeling.

So don’t worry when you head back to work this week after the summer holidays – it’s normal to feel a little blue as your holidays finish. But there are things you can actively do to ensure you’re in the 50% of people who are looking ahead in a positive way, motivated, refreshed and ready to go!

Check out our Top Tips for Lifting the Holiday Blues to find out what simple things you can do to get you back on track.

Inspired to Change Hypnotherapists are based across the UK in Bristol, Cambridgeshire, Devon, Essex, Kent, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Norfolk and Somerset. If you would like to find out more about how hypnotherapy can help you get back in the swing of things click here to find your nearest therapist and book your free initial consultation.

Inspired to Change Hypnotherapists are all recognised by the National Council for Hypnotherapy, the UK’s leading not-for-profit hypnotherapy professional association.

To find out how you can train as a solution focused hypnotherapist click here for our hypnotherapy school information.