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Amélie Boukhobza (Clinical Psychologist)
You’ve enjoyed your summer vacation and it already seems like a long time ago. To avoid “post-vacation syndrome”, there is a solution that you may not have thought of: thinking about the next one! And here’s why it’s good for our morale, according to psychologist Amélie Boukhobza.
Whether it was by the pool, in the mountains or on a golden sandy beach, you enjoyed your last vacation. So much so that you miss it and are suffering, as we return to school, from “post-holiday syndrome”. But don’t panic, there is a solution to remedy this!
“Post-holiday syndrome” or difficulty returning to work
This famous syndrome is explained by the end of the holidays and the return to work. It can be expressed differently depending on the person but generally speaking, it results in a lack of motivation, fatigue and irritability.
To escape this, there is a solution: think about your next vacation! A fact confirmed by Amélie Boukhobza.As soon as the holidays are over, many people find themselves thinking about the next ones. This phenomenon, far from being trivial, actually reveals an interesting psychological process. By imagining our future escapes, we reactivate the pleasure of projection. This gets us moving again, with a positive perspective that contrasts with the return to routine. she analyzes.
Planning ahead to avoid the post-holiday blues
For our expert, projecting yourself in this way helps you deal with the famous post-holiday blues.By already having in mind a new parenthesis to come, we cushion the fall. The mind finds a refuge, a transition zone between the euphoria of the holidays and the rigor of everyday life.“. And it offers us both a pressure relief valve for stress, but also”a gentle, almost unconscious motivation: that of continuing to move forward, of persevering knowing that there is a future reward“, adds Amélie Boukhobza.
Thinking about vacations is also dreaming
Imagining your next vacation also allows your mind to wander. “Thinking about the upcoming holidays also means reconnecting with our ability to dream, to imagine a space-time where constraints disappear. It means keeping alive a link with our fundamental needs for rest, escape and discovery.”.
A real antidote to monotony, which feeds a broader dynamic of pleasure and motivation.Pleasure is no longer only in the present moment, but in the promise of a return to a form of freedom” concludes the psychologist.
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