Modern Dilemmas: Don't let the post-holiday blues spoil your enjoyment

Dear Alex – In the weeks leading up to our summer holiday, my husband and I spent hours planning our itinerary. We enjoyed every part of our two-week trip through the south of France. Almost as soon as we returned home, however, I got caught in a whirlwind of work and family responsibilities. Soon, that relaxed feeling was history, it was like it never happened.
By The Newsroom
Published 1st Jul 2010, 11:43 BST
Updated 1st Jul 2010, 11:43 BST

Your experience is not uncommon. The positive effect of most holidays does not last very long because you usually have to work hard before you go and then catch up with the big pile of work when you get back. A recent study on holidays and happiness, published in the Applied Research in Quality of Life journal, showed that holidays affect our happiness levels, but that people gained the biggest boost from the time before their holiday – an eight-week positive mood increase – which quickly dissipated after the holiday ended.

Although anticipation can heighten happiness, positive feelings dropped back to baseline happiness levels almost immediately after the return home. If the traveller had a particularly relaxing or pleasurable holiday, the post-vacation bubble might hold for up to two weeks; if the holiday was stressful or neutral, post-holiday happiness did not increase. The length of your holiday and your overall happiness apparently aren't related.

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Because many of us get most of our happiness boost from planning and anticipating, at least one of the holidays you take each year should be a relaxing one. Ideally, the place your staying in should be as relaxing as possible. I recently stayed in such a place in Cannes in the South of France at Villa-Beausite. What could be more relaxing than a having your own sauna, pool and cinema room? Instead of having to go here and there on day trips, we stayed at our base for a whole week because everything we needed was already there. Bliss!

We are so used to having one major holiday each year, instead of mini trips, we tend to put our all into it, so we can easily become disappointed should it not go to plan. Allow plenty of time to prepare your holidays and identify what worries you about them so you can avoid it. When you return, take a day off to allow yourself time to get organised and adjust. That way you can ease yourself back into work and family life with enough of a buffer to appreciate the time you had off.

For more information, go to www.Alexandra Watson.com or [email protected]

Related topics:France