Summer vacation is just around the corner. Whether you go on holiday to a far exotic place, go to your country of origin or go camping in France, for many people, traveling often brings a lot of tension and stress. And that is not what we want! We are happy to explain how you can go on holiday completely relaxed!
Stress before the holiday starts
Often people want to finish all tasks at work and at home before they go on holiday so that they can start fresh after coming home or simply because they think their duties should be finished before they can go on holiday. This in combination with the preparations for the holiday can lead to you feeling quite stressed and exhausted when the first day of your holiday finally arrives. For some people, the stress is so big that they suffer from panic attacks, heart palpitations, headaches and muscle aches. In this situation, the holiday seems more stressful than relaxing, and that is of course not the purpose of vacation!
Tips to relax before, during and after your holiday
How can you prevent getting pre-holiday stress and ensure that holidays are relaxing? And how do you ensure that you come home more relaxed after a holiday than when you left? Here are a few tips:
To do before the holidays
- Start making lists of what needs to be done well in advance so that you don’t have to go to the drugstore or pack your suitcase a day in advance. If possible, take a day off before you go on holiday. The time you have to prepare will give you a lot of relaxation later.
- Avoid being extremely tired at the start of the holiday. If you are extremely tired at the start of your vacation it can result in you being more irritable than normal and have less tolerance if something doesn’t go as planned.
To do during the holidays
- Holidays don’t have to be perfect! All kinds of things can be disappointing during your time off. Don’t let your mood influence that, but try to be open to new experiences and enjoy the things that are going well.
- Give your body time to get used to the holiday rhythm and don’t start doing everything immediately after arrival. Don’t over do it, your body has to work hard to adapt to the new holiday rhythm and environment.
- Make agreements with the ones you’re traveling with! With good agreements you can prevent unnecessary stress.
- Are you going on holiday to your country of origin? Then make sure you have a good balance between family visits and relaxing activities.
To do after the holidays
- Don’t go back to work immediately! You’ll come back more relaxed knowing that you still have some days off to adjust and switch back to your regular everyday life after you holiday.
Don’t forget
Enjoy every moment of your holiday to the fullest. Don’t worry too much about your holiday schedule and don’t stress about everything you still want to do or see. Why would you go to that beautiful white beach when you’re not fully present? Be present in the here and now and find balance. Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
