Post-travel depression; inevitable or not ?

Suddenly you have to wear socks, no more flip flops for you, no more sunsets, no more countless cocktails, no more “worrying” where to go next. Well, life can be pretty hard when you get back to reality.

Turns out there’s nothing quite like excitement of unknown road, people that you haven’t met before and hidden streets of the new city. Some of you may wander what exactly this guy talks about but post-travel depression can be real.

So vacation is over and you are back, feeling strange to see all the bills you have to pay being more expensive then monthly rent of a villa in Bali. After this who won’t be depressed.

You are used to getting your feet massaged for the price of a milk, not to mention food was so cheap and suddenly everything is gone and you don’t know when you will be lucky enough to experience it again.

The concept of routine just doesn’t work for you these days. Just a thought of a finding a full time job is soul destroying. And no one will convince you different. It’s so hard to focus on anything else except dreaming of coconut water drinks and enjoyment of sunset plays somewhere where wi-fi doesn’t work.

So here are 7 things that may happen and if you are ignorant enough you will be able to survive and fast forward the time to the next trip. Do I here the part “this time I’m not coming back” somewhere in between the lines ?

1. You will get asked million times which was your favorite place? Well let me think once again, this may take some time. Look, I rode horseback on the beach, flew to the sunset in the air balloon, climb down the hill to the hidden lagoon, I hiked up an ice glacier, I climbed a volcano and had a shower with elephants so basically haven’t had time to rank them all but you understand it.

2. Your conversation skills have suffered and you realized it now when you flew back to reality. Simple “hey, for how long you have been traveling ?” doesn’t work these days and you need to expand your vocabulary ASAP. Small talks used to be so much fun and you miss it.

3. Seems like even a clothes hunts you. Sand from pockets, broken flip flops, sunglasses near the bed and rubbish t-shirts all here to remind you of past days. Everyone around you seems to dress very smartly and you would change it all just to get a chance to put old clothes once again.

4. You’ve reached new levels of nostalgia. Someone would diagnose you with narcissistic personality disorder but your Instagram is the only thing that understands you right now and those sunsets shots just get you every time. You got to the state of mind that doesn’t accept any way of routine and every day it gets harder and harder.

5. And then you realize another thing; nothing really changed back home. You friends moved on, dealing with everyday problems, surviving life. Back then when you just started with traveling they were interested what’s going on but right now they appear to have got themselves jobs, flats, stable relationships and a sense of maturity. It’s nerve wrecking.

6. No one understands you. It seems like you and your childhood friends no longer speak the same language. You used to share same things and dreams and now all your words of inspiration can’t reach anyone’s attention. Like you were born on another planet and someone accidentally drop you to the wrong one. Everything seems different, yet exactly the same.

7. Every once and a while you wake up in the middle of nightmare. Half awake you’re starting to panic and hysterically look for passport and boarding pass. After of 5 minutes of delusion you are realizing that this time you aren’t lucky enough to be late for an airport. Dreams can be a nasty thing !

Don’t get me wrong it’s really nice to see all of your friends and family once again but the feeling just isn’t the same. I remember when I got back from New York City, felt so bad for more then 5 months. Just couldn’t get my things together. I have had this horrible feeling inside of me that I have not been able to completely understand. It was a feeling of sadness, nervousness and uncertainty. Was it wrong that I didn’t want to talk about any of experience I’ve had. At that time it was just too much for me.

Now when I look back I wouldn’t change a single thing. It was all there to build me up and make me a better person that I’m now. Now when I get back from a long trip I enjoy the experience and memories I’ve collected on the road. In many cases, changing the way you think about something can alter the way you feel about it, too. This type of cognitive shift may not happen overnight, but with a regular practice you can change your frame of mind to appreciate the experience you’ve had. Be grateful that you had the chance to experience your vacation. Remember that many people cannot afford to travel or are limited by other life factors.

And if all these tips don’t help just begin to plan your next trip as soon as possible. Having another vacation on a horizon, even if it won’t be for quite a long time, can help you adjust to being back to everyday life.

And remember world is full of wonders that are waiting to be discovered, so there is no place for depression.

Traveling open up your eyes, mind, heart and soul. It changes your world forever. And post-travel depression is something you’ll definitely overcome once you realize how lucky you were.