Anyone else's anxiety get worse when they come back from holiday or break?

[GingerFish]

I have noticed that every time I go away on holiday, a weekend break or even just a long day out, my anxiety can be bad when I am out but as soon as I get home, its always 10 tens worse than it ever was when I was away which is weird and very annoying as when I am out and feel anxious, all I want to do is be home but as soon as I get home, there is no relief at all.

I was away in Gretna for the weekend with my partner to view the blacksmiths as a possible wedding venue and on the first night away, I was very anxious and even cried to come home which I tend to do on the first night I am away and then for the most part over the next 2 days, I calmed down and only had some anxiety here and there and ended up having a great time. On the way home though, I was glad to be heading home as I was missing my own bed and my cats so I was excited to get back but as soon as I got home, I felt nothing but high anxiety and my OCD flared up really badly which was disheartening as I had just managed to get it under control again.


On the first night of being away I felt very disconnected and felt like I had left myself back in my hometown and now I feel like I have left myself down in Gretna. This even happened when I went on a long day out last week! Its so annoying. I know its probably just nervous fatigue but its very draining. Nowhere feels like my 'safe place' when I am in this mood. My mum tidied up my flat when I was gone and added new furniture and curtains and it looks great as its usually a pig sty but I feel like I don't recognize the place any more which is probably adding to the anxiety.

[SeaJay]

Not sure if this is completely relevant, but my daughter went to Greece for 2 weeks this year with her boyfriend.

She's a cherry individual, but when she came back home and went to work on Monday, that evening she came home and she was crying. She said she didn't know why but felt very down. She isn't a cryer either - I've never seen her cry since she was a small child.

This continued for about 2 to 3 days but eventually passed.

[Oosh]

Association maybe. Maybe when youre frequently at home you associate comfort and safety with it, so then leaving home and initially being away is anxiety provoking.

Then when youve been away for a while you feel the benefit of a change of environment, the extra excitement, stimulation, enjoyment, consequently feeling more yourself.

Then you feel the habitual thinking return as you anticipate going home and look forward to the safety etc. But then when home you associate being on holiday with the new positive things you felt and maybe feel a bit more negative about being isolated at home. Then after a while you return to associating home with comfort and safety.

I always gravitate towards home for some reason like that. But always found breakthroughs in moods and perspectives when i was away. Little things can happen when youre away from your safe places that have a big impact on how you feel due to it not being your usual environment.