Learn how to overcome post travel depression once & for all. 🌏 After an amazing trip abroad, returning home and trying to live a “normal” life can feel impossible. You can’t run down the street for that delicious panini like you did in Rome, you don’t get that nerdy thrill running down your spine when you correctly use the subjunctive tense, and instead of discovering something new every single day, life feels comfortable and, well, kind of boring.
As you try to settle back into the life you’ve always known, you might feel like something’s a bit off. Guess what? Something is off, and it’s totally normal to feel the way you’re feeling. Post-travel depression is a real thing, and after spending time challenging yourself abroad, coming home can feel like the hardest part. Luckily, you’re not alone, and there are things you can do to help ease the post travel blues.
Understanding post travel depression
Depression after trips like study abroad, volunteering, or interning overseas can range from mild post vacation sadness to full-blown post trip depression. Each person reacts differently to returning from abroad. If it seems that your friend has easily slipped back into college life while you’re struggling to get to class, don’t panic. Just like you got through all the challenges of living abroad, you can also get through the post abroad depression you’re feeling now.
Reverse culture shock
A lot of what people think of as post-travel depression is actually reverse culture shock, especially when you’ve spent a long time away from home. It can be tricky to get used to your home culture again, and you might begin to question things you thought of as normal before. You might feel extra critical of everything in your home country, or spend a lot of time searching for ways you can return abroad. Eventually, just as your initial culture shock gave way to a fantastic learning experience, reverse culture shock will lead to a new sense of equilibrium.
Post-abroad depression symptoms
However, sometimes these post-travel blues can’t just be attributed to reverse culture shock. Post-trip depression can feel similar to reverse culture shock, and it’s possible many of your friends and family will tell you to “just get over it”. But if you’re experiencing any of the following signs, take them seriously:
- Sleeping all the time or struggling with insomnia
- Having trouble concentrating on your daily responsibilities, including your job, school, or internship tasks
- Spending an excessive amount of time online engaging with your friends abroad instead of making time for those around you
- Feeling like your friends and family just don’t get you anymore
- Avoiding leaving your house because you don’t want to engage with others or deal with your home culture
- Spending a lot of time thinking about how to move abroad immediately instead of focusing on your life in the present
- Sudden changes in appetite or weight
- Constantly comparing your home and host cultures and criticizing how things are done at home
- Feeling sad, anxious, or upset most of the time
- Feeling like your life will never be as exciting or fulfilling as it was while you were abroad
If you found yourself nodding your head in agreement to many of these points, don’t ignore them. Making your mental health a priority is important. By getting yourself to a better place now, you’ll be able to keep making grand plans for more adventures abroad in the future. (You’ll also be better equipped to deal with post-vacation sadness next time you return from a big trip!)
How to overcome post travel depression
Whether you’re returning from teaching abroad in Spain or just wrapped up a year of study abroad in China, chances are things are going to feel different when you return home. Accepting your new reality is part of getting over post-abroad depression, but there are other things you can do to help make the transition a bit easier.
1. Learn about reverse culture shock
Pull out those study abroad materials or do some googling and read up on how to overcome reverse culture shock. It’ll still take some time to re-acclimate to your home country, but understanding that post-trip depression is normal can go a long way toward helping you get past it. Just like you got past your initial culture shock in your host country, you’ll also eventually hit your stride now that you’ve returned home.
2. Practice what you learned
Just because you’re no longer surrounded by Portuguese or Arabic on a daily basis doesn’t mean you can’t keep up your newfound skills! There are many ways to practice the language you learned while abroad, from reading local news online to watching movies in your target language. In bigger cities and college towns, there are conversation circles or cultural centers that host events where you can practice your language and get a soothing dose of your host culture, too.
3. Give back
Look for volunteer opportunities while you get your bearings in your home country. It’s a proven fact that helping others makes you feel good too, and getting involved in your local community will help you regain a sense of connection to the city and people you interact with on a daily basis. Who knows? Maybe you’ll enjoy it so much that you decide to take it on the road and volunteer abroad next!
4. Go explore your backyard
By now you should be a pro at discovering cool new places, right? After all, you probably spent your time abroad seeking out new neighborhoods, taking day trips to nearby cities, and learning all about what makes your host country special. Instead of lamenting the fact that you’re no longer abroad, do the same thing at home. Take a day trip to discover a new small town, go on a hike to someplace new, or find a cultural activity to participate in. There’s probably a lot that you’ve never thought to discover about your home country, so get started now!
5. Connect with others
One of the best ways to get over post abroad depression is to be around other people. Isolating yourself can amplify your post travel blues, so get out there and reconnect with your old friends. Check out a new restaurant that’s opened since you were away, go for a walk, or participate in a shared hobby. If most of your friends have moved away since you were abroad, find new ones! Look for community events, meetups, or cultural activities where you can find people who share your interests.
6. Plan another trip
One fail-proof way to get over depression after trips is to plan another trip. Whether you have the time and funds to take a two-week break on a sandy beach somewhere or you can only swing a weekend in the next state over, planning for some time away allows you to take a quick break physically and mentally. While not all problems can be solved by a road trip or hopping on an airplane, sometimes getting away can give you some much-needed perspective on your current situation. If money is an issue, check out short-term volunteering trips that are affordable and let you give back to the community.
7. Try something new
Instead of constantly refreshing your browser hoping airfares to your host country have dropped, consider finding a new hobby. You probably got really good at getting out of your comfort zone and trying new things when you were abroad, so use those skills to get psyched about something in your home country. Learn how to make that pastry your host mom always made for you, join a community sports league, or find a volunteering gig. Not only will you momentarily be distracted from how much you miss being abroad, you’ll also add some new skills to your repertoire. You might even discover a lifelong passion!
8. Practice gratitude
It can be hard to feel grateful when you’re bummed and missing your host country, but take the time to practice gratitude for the experiences you’ve had. Not everyone is lucky enough to spend time living in a different culture, learning a new language, and making friends from around the world. Your time abroad was exciting and enlightening, but at times it was probably confusing and really dang hard, too. Be thankful for the life skills you learned while you were abroad.
Additional resources when you feel depression after a trip abroad
If you’ve tried the above suggestions and you still don’t feel any better, even after signing up for a knitting class, going on a camping trip, and getting dinner with friends, you may need to pull in some additional resources.
Talking about your post trip depression with a therapist or counselor can help you pinpoint why exactly you’re feeling down and find strategies to make things better. If you’re a student, you can access mental health resources through your school’s student counseling center. For those who aren’t in school, there are also ways to find therapists in your community.
During your time abroad, you learned a lot about yourself and how to be an independent, strong, and resilient individual. None of those skills have disappeared, and you can still use them to get through this tough phase in your life.
Don’t let post abroad depression get the best of you
Post-travel depression can affect anyone, and it’s important to recognize when the post travel blues might be something more serious. In many cases, those who return from time abroad are able to reintegrate into their lives within a matter of months, but sometimes it can take some dedicated work to feel normal again. Living abroad is an intense, challenging, and enlightening experience, and it’s bound to change you in more ways than you realize.
The good news is that this time spent abroad isn’t an ending, but rather the beginning of a new life of travel. Now that you’ve seen another part of the world, going out there and doing it again doesn’t feel as intimidating. It’s 100% possible to continue living an inspired life after spending time abroad, and chances are, the best is still yet to come.
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