What effect can the summer and vacations have on the “return to normalcy”?
Since the end of the state of alert last May, there is a noticeable change to positive in people’s mood. Many of us have rushed to visit our loved ones, whom we have not seen for many months. This trend will increase even more in the summer season, already an exciting time in itself.
This summer of 2021 is expected to see a much greater increase in enthusiasm and motivation for activities that bring us happiness, such as meeting with loved ones, resuming activities that we have left behind in these months of pandemic, traveling and, in general, practicing everything that is rewarding for each one of us.
Experts are already talking about a return to the happy 20s, which also arose as a result of a crisis.
There is an enormous desire to enjoy and experience what until recently was forbidden. There can also be a “revenge” effect, what has been forbidden to us, we value it more and it comes back with more strength.
Why is it so important to take a vacation?
Vacations are important because they allow us to disconnect from daily obligations and routine. Let’s say that it puts “the counter to zero” to start again with enthusiasm and energy.
Normally, on vacation we are more in touch with ourselves and less in obligations and tasks that can be the result of stress. Summer vacation is a longer period of disconnection, so it gives us time to do many of the activities that during the year do not give us time: sleep more, read, socialize, be outdoors, visit a new place, go far away, etc.. Therefore, psychologically speaking, vacation is equivalent to mental rest, and this will have a positive impact on our state of mind.
Why do some people feel anxious?
In these cases it would be necessary to evaluate each case in particular to be able to determine the causes for which someone can feel anxiety in vacations. The first thing to rule out is whether vacation anxiety emerges from underlying problems that we do not resolve at other times of the year.
An example is the economic or couple problems. Normally, in a couple with unresolved conflicts, vacations are a double-edged sword: problems can improve, but also worsen. There can also be problems of loneliness: if I do not have company to go on vacation, this problem is put in front of us whether we want it or not, it becomes more evident.
Other cases of vacation anxiety are those people with difficulty to disconnect from the routine. It must be taken into account that people with a great need for control or with obsessive traits, feel good in the routine, feel that everything is in order and makes them feel that control and predictability they need to be well. On vacations all that disappears and personal deficiencies are revealed when the situation forces us to live other things that cause us to be out of control.
Does heat have any psychological effect on people?
The effect of heat on people depends on the tolerance threshold of each individual. Once the threshold of tolerability is passed, a series of psychological changes occur. The most common are:
- Fatigue, or sometimes exhaustion.
- Lack of concentration, especially to perform work functions, causing a decrease in performance, which, when we are aware of it, can generate anxiety and frustration.
- Lack of energy and motivation to undertake tasks that we would otherwise face with pleasure.
- Sadness.
What advice can we follow so that vacations do not cause stress?
The most important advice is to take vacations as what they always were: a period to do what everyone wants to do.
People with a high level of demand tend to put pressure on themselves and they do the same on vacations: the obligation to enjoy every moment, the obligation to make them very interesting, the obligation to learn a lot or to see many things, to take advantage of the time to do useful things, etc. All this makes us end up putting too much sense of obligation at that stage and we get the opposite effect. Therefore, do what suits you at the time.