How To Overcome Post-Travel Blues

How To Overcome Post-Travel Blues
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.
Sydney, Australia
ALL photos provided by Bla Aguinaldo
Sydney, Australia

You are having the time of your life traveling the unknown and enjoying every second of it. You don’t even mind getting lost in a place you are exploring. You are totally out of your comfort zone, but for some reason it doesn’t bother you at all.

You’re back home with your loved ones. The passion from sharing your stories to your friends slowed down. The intensity of your adrenaline rush brought about by traveling is significantly reduced. You now realize you’re back home. You’re back to the reality of an 8-5 job. Stuck in the city traffic. You feel your day to day is on replay again.

Suddenly, you feel weird. You feel sad that you’re back. You are having post-travel blues. Yes, it is real, and most travelers can attest to this.

I remember telling my friend after I got back from a travel on how I wanted to take a week to just lay in bed, and ingest what I’ve just experienced. My mind is still in euphoria from traveling, but my body is now in the office. And how I found myself looking from afar as my mind wandered in another place thinking about the things that just happened.

And even though I tried to explain the best I could to him, still, my words fell flat. My friend could not understand what I was saying at that time. Not until he experienced it himself after traveling for weeks.

He asked me, “What do I do? I need to go back to work but my mind is still in another place. I miss traveling even though I just got back home. It’s like I need another vacation leave after my travel just to adjust to what I was used to. And why do I feel somewhat depressed that I am now back home?”

Then I told him the three techniques or ways on how I coped with post-travel blues.

Seoul, South Korea
ALL photos provided by Bla Aguinaldo
Seoul, South Korea

1. Plan my next travel adventure.

When I suffer from post-travel sadness, I usually find myself planning my next travel as this gives me something to look forward in the future. I search for the cheapest fare deals for my next target destination. I read travel blogs to get tips and tricks. I watch travel videos to get an idea of what to expect. And sometimes, I even draft a travel itinerary of my planned destination.

Also, planning my next adventure provides me with just the right amount of fuel to excite my adrenaline that just slowed down drastically.

In a way, this motivates me to move forward, and slowly accept that my travel adventure has ended. But at the same time, it forces me to focus in my reality, which is work. In order to travel, I need money. And in order to have money, I need to work.

Pyongyang, North Korea
ALL photos provided by Bla Aguinaldo
Pyongyang, North Korea

2. Allot additional days to adjust.

In one of my travels, I find myself arriving at the airport at night, and reporting to work the next day. My morning was unproductive because my body is still adjusting from travel mode to work mode.

I am in the office working, but my mind is still in shock about my journey. Three days ago I was in North Korea, and now I am facing my laptop, opening an excel sheet that I need to review. Imagine the intensity of what I just experienced, then suddenly shifting to a normal working life.

So in my next travel, I allotted additional two days after my return from travel so I can re-acclimate myself from the usual things that I do. It also gave me time to rest, and absorb all the things that I just experienced during the trip.

Mui Ne, Vietnam
ALL photos provided by Bla Aguinaldo
Mui Ne, Vietnam

3. Document my travels.

Another trick I do to help ease post-travel sadness is by documenting my adventures.

As I look through my travel pictures, each photo reminds me of different emotions and stories attached to it. I want to document the story behind the photos and videos of my trip.

Writing serves as an outlet for me to unload all the travel memories and stories I gained during my journey. By writing on my travel diary (blog), I know that even though my life will be back to its usual ways, I can always go back to my blog and remember all the travel adventures I had.

It is as if closing a beautiful chapter of my life that is full of wonderful memories and it gives me comfort knowing that I have my travel diary in case I want to relive it.

This article was first published on Bla Aguinaldo’s blog

Bla is a travel addict. He is a Certified Public Accountant by profession, and works as an SAP Consultant. He is an adventure backpack traveler, and plans most of his trips on a shoestring budget. He is currently on a journey to explore places that your parents warned you to stay away from, one vacation leave at a time.

Follow more of his adventures on his Facebook Page or Instagram

Close

HuffPost Shopping’s Best Finds

MORE IN LIFE