Getting Over The Post-Travel Blues: Readjusting to life back home

post-travel blues

To travel is to truly live life – post-travel it gives us the feeling of freedom, a knowledge that can’t be taught, and a respect for the world we never else would have know. Travel completely changes a person and makes one’s heart that little bit more full.

However, constant travel can’t always last forever. Money doesn’t grow on trees and commitments cannot be swept under the carpet. Sometimes, things beyond our control happen, and we are put in an unprecedented situation where it is no longer safe or allowed to travel… 😢 There’s a very powerful message we once heard that goes something like this: “The more you see, the more you realise you haven’t seen”. Oh, how we can relate to that… Coming home from a trip is hard, and even more so when it is unexpectedly cut short — let’s not beat around the bush. Travel withdrawals are common, and the want to be back where you just left can sometimes be overwhelming. We’re all going through the same, and we all wish we knew how to cure those post-travel blues, so we’ve come up with a few things that can help:

Don’t Be In Denial

You’re feeling crappy about being stuck at home – that’s okay! Ride with it a little, don’t completely deny yourself those feelings. Trying to ignore those negative emotions definitely won’t help. Write down the reason you are feeling down about the situation. Once you see them written down it becomes a lot easier to digest. Keep reading them back when you are feeling down and start adding positive points next to them. For example, ‘I miss constantly meeting new people and being in new environments’ BUT ‘I love reconnecting with old friends and remembering what I love about my hometown.

Keep Your Adventurous Spirit Alive In Your Own Town


Heard the phrase ‘be a tourist in your own town’? If you can, do that.
Now you know what it is like to travel the world, I bet you’ve realised you’ve never really travelled much around your own country. Look at guidebooks, read blog posts, connect with a local Workaway host or chat with a Workawayer nearby through our online tool – all the things you would never think of doing because you live there. Take your camera, go and explore what is immediately around you. Who said adventures had to involve going abroad?

Can’t go outside at all? Here’re a few more great tips on how to stay inspired during self-isolation and social distancing. 

Start Something Completely New

I don’t know you, but I KNOW you learnt something new on your trip. I know you probably learnt how to speak another language (even if it was badly), how to finally get a good photo, or how to not feel awkward in a social situation. I KNOW I learnt something new, and you do too. So use that – in a way you never have done before – grab your camera and keep learning, the world is a blank canvas now. Or join a language class, laugh with others about mishaps, mistakes and travel memories.

Get Planning

So you know you love travelling, you know you want to be back, so what now? Get planning of course! Work out realistically a more thorough action plan based on what you want to achieve at where you would like to be travelling to once the pandemic is over! It’s never too early to start reading up on the history and culture of places you’ve always wanted to explore, learning the new local language, and reaching out to hosts in the area to introduce yourself.Planning is all part of the fun and a great way to beat those post-travel blues.

Share The Stories

With all of those travel stories inside you, it would be a crime to keep them to yourself. Share them with your friends, family and even strangers like us reading this now. Start a blog, a Pinterest board or just get Instagramming. You would be surprised how many people want to listen to your thoughts or what you have to say.
After all, you’ve just been somewhere that millions of others haven’t – never forget there is always someone that wished they were in your shoes – and if they can’t be, to hear your stories.

Let Travel Change You

Don’t be the same person you were before you left. Let travel improve you, let it soften you, let it make you less worried, less angry and less jealous. Let travel make you all the good things you saw in others. If you let yourself be kinder you will lose those blues a lot easier – mainly because you will realise that although you are home and you would rather be back on the road – you will only regret the chances you didn’t take, not the ones you did.
post-travel

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About Alicia

Alicia helps run Workaway mission control in Hong Kong, she's also our marketing whiz and helps with design. She has backpacked, travelled and volunteered extensively in many different parts of the w... show more...

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