The last days of the holidays don't taste the same anymore. You're still away, but your head has raced ahead: the to-do list, the alarm clock, the inbox full of emails. And in your chest a kind of knot appears, somewhere between reluctance and dread, at the thought of going back. If that's you, you're probably experiencing what we commonly call the post-holiday blues.
It's worth being clear from the start: the post-holiday blues aren't an illness or a sign that you hate your job. They're a perfectly normal adjustment reaction: body and mind have to adapt to the change of pace, and that takes a few days. I'll explain what they are, why they happen, how long they last, how to prevent them and when it's worth looking more closely.
What the post-holiday blues are
The post-holiday blues (also called post-vacation syndrome) are the set of complaints —tiredness, apathy, low mood, irritability, some anxiety— that appear when we go back to routine after a long break. They aren't a clinical diagnosis; the manuals don't list them as a disorder. They're rather a passing adjustment reaction. According to the American Psychological Association, change and transitions are one of the most common sources of stress, and coming back from holidays is a clear one. It affects a lot of people to some degree, and it has nothing to do with being strong or weak: the sharper the contrast between rest and routine, the more likely it is to show up.
Symptoms of the post-holiday blues
You don't need to have them all. If a few ring true these days, it's quite likely this is it:
- Tiredness and a sense of not having rested, despite the holidays.
- Apathy, reluctance and little energy to get going.
- Sadness or a lower mood than usual.
- Irritability and being more sensitive than usual.
- Anxiety or unease when you think about everything waiting for you.
- Difficulty concentrating and getting back into the rhythm.
- Trouble sleeping or getting up in the morning.
- Some physical complaint: headache, stomach ache, tension.
Why they happen
They happen, above all, because of the contrast. During the holidays the body gets used to another rhythm: you sleep more, you set your own timetable, there's no pressure. Going back means moving from that freedom to a heavily scheduled day, and all at once. The sharper the change, the more you feel it. Anticipation weighs in too: we often suffer more imagining the return than living it, and by Sunday afternoon we're already carrying the weight of everything to come. And there's something subtler: on holiday we're a more relaxed, more present version of ourselves, and going back means leaving that behind for a while. It's not strange to miss it.
How long they last
The good news is that they're usually brief. Most people feel well again within a few days, at most one or two weeks, as the body readjusts. If after that time the discomfort doesn't ease, or even gets worse, it may not be the post-holiday blues, but something else worth listening to. It's also worth saying that not everyone experiences them the same way: some barely notice them and some need a long week to get going again. Both are normal.
Not the same as depression or burnout
Here's an important distinction. The post-holiday blues are temporary and tied to the return. If the discomfort lasts more than two weeks, is intense, or if you were already carrying a tiredness that wouldn't lift before the holidays, it may not be post-holiday: it could be depression or work-related stress or burnout that the holidays only covered up for a while. The Better Health Channel notes that sustained work stress has real effects on health, and isn't fixed by a few days at the beach. A simple clue: if Sunday evening already weighed on you before summer, the problem probably isn't the holidays ending, but the daily life you're returning to.
How to prevent them
Even with the holidays nearly over, these ideas help soften the return:
- Don't go straight from the plane to work. Leave a day or two to land back home.
- Ease your schedule back over the last few days, especially your sleep.
- Go back on a Wednesday or Thursday if you can: a short first week feels less steep.
- Plan pleasant things for the following weeks, so it isn't all obligation.
- Don't idealise the holidays. Comparing every day to the beach only widens the contrast.
How to overcome them if you already have them
And if you're already there, with the knot in place, these things make it more bearable:
- Be patient: it's temporary, and reminding yourself of that already takes off pressure.
- Return to routine gradually, without trying to catch up on everything the first day.
- Look after your sleep and the first hour of the morning, which sets the tone for the whole day.
- Move your body and seek daylight: some exercise and sun help your mood.
- Don't make drastic decisions in the heat of the moment in the first days; wait until you've readjusted.
If unease is what dominates, the article on how to manage anxiety can give you concrete tools.
The role of sleep and schedules
One of the engines of the post-holiday blues is sleep. On holiday we tend to stretch our nights and mornings, and the body takes on a different schedule; going straight back to early starts throws it off. Recovering a reasonable schedule a few days beforehand, and looking after your sleep hygiene, is one of the things that helps most. If the sleep problem goes back a long way, it's worth calmly looking at sleep disorders and insomnia. One trick that works is to bring the alarm forward fifteen or twenty minutes each day over the last few days, rather than jumping from getting up at eleven to doing it at seven.
When the discomfort hides something more
There's a case not to be confused with the post-holiday blues: when the dread of returning isn't about the change of pace, but about the job itself. If your stomach hurts every Sunday, not just in September; if what wears you out is a toxic environment or an unsustainable workload, no break will fix that. The World Health Organization notes that working conditions have a direct impact on mental health. In those cases, the return from holidays only puts a name to a discomfort that was already there.
How therapy helps
If the post-holiday blues drag on longer than they should, come back strongly every year, or you discover that underneath there's anxiety, burnout or a persistent low mood, it's worth asking for help. In therapy we look at what's really behind that resistance to returning and find a more sustainable way to live day to day, not just to survive until the next holidays. I work on this through online therapy, at your own pace.
If this sounds like you, get in touch for a first no-obligation assessment. And hold on to one idea: finding it hard to go back doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong; it means you truly rested.