September arrives and all kinds of media and “TV psychologists” begin to repeat one of the most widespread mantras of “popular psychology”: post-vacation depression.
Of all the disorders invented by click-bait media and self-help book sellers, post-vacation depression may be the most widespread of all.
In this article I am going to explain to you why post-vacation depression does not exist as such and what is the real problem we should pay attention to after finishing our vacation.
Depression is a highly studied psychiatric disorder that can reach levels of certain severity. Millions of people around the world suffer from it. That is why many psychologists are outraged that it is trivialized by putting tags like “post-vacation.”
If you didn’t have depression in August, it won’t fall from the sky just because the holidays are over. And if there were indeed symptoms of depression, it was probably already manifesting long before the holidays.
It is a very common phenomenon to coin a term to label people who suffer from certain very common symptoms. For example, the stress or the lack of desire for the summer or Christmas holidays to end.
The symptoms of the supposed “post-vacation depression” They are so ambiguous and common that the difficult thing is not to self-diagnose it when you return from the beach.
But is it really pathological that you feel little desire to return to work after the holidays? Can the label or diagnosis of depression be applied to me? Oh really?
The post-vacation depression provides material to write articles (like this one you are reading right now), get clicks and even sell the occasional self-help book.
But the reality is that There is nothing pathological about being a little sad about going back to work in September (or January). It is the natural result of the transition between phases and seasons. Most people really enjoy disconnecting from work and the usual routine for a few days or weeks. It is normal. It’s exciting, it’s relaxing.
Therefore, when that especially pleasant season (and expected for most of the year) ends, it is 100% natural that we feel a certain downturn, that we miss the good times at the pool or the photos we took in new places.
So no, if you feel little desire to return to the office after the holidays, you don’t have to suffer from any psychiatric pathology: you are probably the most worldly person in the neighborhood.
You don’t have to like your job
That we like our work (a lot) is a privilege, it is lucky. The culture of “motivational coaching” or “positive psychology” has been fueling people’s expectations to extreme levels.
When many people want to “find their passion” and for every day to be a roller coaster of emotions and successes… with those high expectations on top, The most normal thing is that we feel disappointment most of the time.
I am a psychologist, and I am aware of how immensely lucky I am to be able to work on something I enjoy. But if I had the choice, I would have also extended my vacation a little longer. I’m also a bit lazy about getting back into the routine. I don’t wake up every day with an immense desire to work. There are better days and worse days.
With work (and with almost everything else in life) we cannot blind ourselves to a black/white vision or all/nothing. I could like my job a lot, I could like my vacations in the north much more. Or what most people probably experience: your job doesn’t spark any particular passion in you, you don’t love it.
For you, your job is only a means to earn money so you can pay the bills and allow yourself time for the other things that you are passionate about or enjoy.
And that’s fine. There’s nothing wrong. It is the most common. Just because you’re not jumping for joy at the prospect of returning to the office, store or workshop doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong.
Normalize sadness and other unpleasant emotions
There is nothing wrong with feeling sad or not wanting to do something. On the contrary, the more we try to cover up or block those emotions, to convince ourselves that we don’t feel those things, the worse we will feel in the long term.
It’s not a failure. On the contrary. The sooner we accept that we do not enjoy something (and that this is natural) the sooner we can mobilize our resources to adapt to that unpleasant situation in the most dignified way possible.
I think that is precisely the challenge for many people: learn to adapt to the challenge with dignity without forcing yourself to be a Tony Robbins or any other “always motivated” guru.
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