How to cope with post-confinement vacation anxiety

Some tips for emotionally managing post-confinement vacations.

With the arrival of the good weather and the summer months, there is usually an important motivation for the preparation and enjoyment of vacations.

The search for a destination, the organization of plans and the packing of luggage has never been as uncertain as this year.. On the one hand, it is likely that the confinement has left a greater need to enjoy the freedom lost in these months, but on the other hand it is reasonable that at an emotional level we are not at 100% and we feel certain fears or concerns never experienced before.

In the same way that during quarantine we continually heard the figures of new infections or the time that could be left to reach the desired flattening of the curve, now a new word is part of our days and can greatly affect the anxiety of the vacations: the "regrowth".

That's why we would like to explain a series of tips that will make this break tips that will make this break a real rest days, keeping worries under control..

Tips for the vacations in the new post-confinement normality.

Follow these guidelines to boost your emotional balance when it comes to managing anxiety in the post-confinement vacations.

1. Do not fall into continuous comparison with other vacations.

Just as it made no sense to compare this year's Holy Week with last year's, it is essential to continue along the same lines with the summer vacations. Only in this way adjust expectations to reality and avoid feelings of frustration if the situation is not as we had imagined. if the situation is not how we had imagined it.

If we are not able to avoid this confrontation between vacations, then it will be necessary to bring all the factors into play and therefore the comparison should also include all the limitations and deprivation of freedom that we have experienced during these months.. Thus, we will be aware that we may not be facing the dreamed rest but we will value that it is more than what we could have imagined in this last time.

2. Encourage agreement among all those who travel

To avoid tense situations during the vacations, it will be essential to agree on a series of points that favor an efficient organization. This, which should be expected regardless of the moment we are living, is especially important when traveling with children, where post-confinement life generates more significant changes that need to be anticipated..

Despite the fact that children have assumed with certain naturalness the fact that the previous freedom has been recovered progressively and even the use of the mask or new hygiene habits, it is necessary to explain to them that they must continue to comply with the preventive measures and warn them of those restrictions that will involve changes in their usual way of enjoying the vacations.

As adults, having a more developed emotional management, it is often difficult for us to assume it; therefore, the youngest children need clear orders and a certain degree of control. children need clear orders and a certain flexibility with situations that are new to them..

3. Accept your new concerns

Have you never had a problem riding in an airplane and now you are afraid just anticipating the situation? Are you afraid of crowds on the beach when you wouldn't have thought about it otherwise? Do you feel that the need to control compliance with the precautions of others overwhelms you excessively? If any of the answers are yes, don't worry, it is part of the emotional side effects that the coronavirus has left behind..

It is necessary to have patience with oneself and to understand that these worries appear after a period of great tension.

If everything continues to evolve positively at the health level, the stress will gradually disappear and the body will no longer be in a situation of alarm to respond to the threat. The best ally will be time, but if you feel that the interference in your daily life is significant, do not hesitate to seek the help of a professional psychologist.

4. Do not force yourself if you think that it is not the right time.

It's July, it's hot and your environment has organized their vacations, but if you feel that you are not ready to travel or that you will not be able to disconnect sufficiently, leave the social pressure aside and listen to yourself.. Everyone has their own timelines and level of concern and, unsurprisingly, there is no effective, proven model for recovering emotionally and preparing for a summer after confinement.

Traveling with the pressure that it is a moment of enjoyment when you are not able to disconnect from what you have experienced will have the opposite effect, and may produce in you a greater sense of disappointment. Start by normalizing your outings in your usual environment and remember that your destination will still be there when you feel better..

5. Choose the plan that makes you feel more secure.

The vacation offer has also undergone changes after the confinement, placing international tourism as a secondary option and prioritizing alternatives such as caravan trips or stays in rural houses within the country. The criterion that should have more weight in this decision is the security that you feel in each one of the possibilities..

It is necessary to remember that if your emotional situation begins to suppose limitations in your day to day life or is at a lower level than you would like, the help of professional psychologists will be fundamental, the help of professional psychologists will be fundamental so that you can recover your previous level of well-being..

In this sense, the distance or the vacation period is not a problem, since online therapy allows you to communicate with a professional in a non-face-to-face way. TherapyChat is the leading online psychology platform and the experience of its psychologists can be of great help.