Vacation Frustration: You Can Achieve that Stress-Free Feeling

Can you imagine going on a vacation and experiencing more stress than when you were at work? Or have you ever felt exhausted by Friday or develop a migraine or get the flu on the first day of your holiday vacation? There is a condition called 'Leisure Sickness' that consists of people developing symptoms of sickness during weekends and/or vacations.

When I worked as a newspaper advertising designer, I experienced this phenomena. There was a lot of pressure to meet several deadlines and a high degree of perfection was expected of my team. My type of person couldn't handle it. My physical health began to bend under the weight of the stress. It would start on Friday night where I was TOTALLY exhausted. So much so that I couldn't sleep. I am sure you have heard the phrase "so tired I couldn't sleep"? Well, with me it was an every week occurrence. Sometimes the entire weekend would be shot with me sitting on the couch in a zombie state with the tissues on one side of me and chicken soup on the other. And don't let me get started about any vacation time! During vacation days I would feel like I was a guitar string being very slowly loosened. And it would usually take at least the fourth or fifth day to feel even slightly relaxed! Although I've never been in the military, I used to refer to my condition as "shell shock" since it is how I pictured soldier's and the transitional stress they would feel coming back from a war! Granted my work wasn't as stressful as the battlefield, but sometimes it felt like it!

Actually 'leisure sickness' happens to thirty-five percent of Americans. Some of us don't even take a vacation because we believe there is too much work that needs to be done! According to the Harris Interactive Survey fourteen percent of Americans say they are nervous about being absent when something important might be happening at work.

Studies by Dutch psychologists show that 'leisure sickness' isn't unique only to America. They interviewed over a thousand men and women who were asked to disclose information about symptoms that they experienced during weekends and or vacation time. Of the studies they concluded that 'leisure sickness' is a relatively common condition. The men and women in the study reported symptoms of fatigue, muscle pain and nausea flu- like problems.

Worsening the condition for most of us would be not having enough time to ease up on the weekend. In an article on lhj.com, William Norcross, MD, professor of clinical family medicine at the University of California, San Diego, said that, "People work long hours [during the week], and then their time at home is almost as much work as their time at work." I certainly identify with that and you probably do too. The other work in our lives like laundry, errands, home projects, demands of family, piles up. WAY up. With all the stress there has to be solutions and there are.

Definitely you can ask any psychologist for some answers, but also I'd like to share with you three big things I've implemented from my own experience that dramatically lessened the stress:

1) Take time for yourself! During the week call a friend or go for a jog. Brown bag a lunch and get away from your workplace.
Enjoy your family time.
2) Schedule a weekly massage. Yes, you are definitely worth it. Tense muscles are toxic muscles.
3) Find a hobby that interests you, from stamp collecting to river rafting there is something for everyone.
4) Find a different job. Everyone is different. Everyone has different stress absorbing abilities. That's why there are jobs as diverse from each other as the stress that goes with them. From cops to postal workers to ministers to florists. If you are caught in this never ending cycle of stress and it is definitely related to your job, get out of there!

I challenge you to offer yourself a better balance in life (which is SHORT). Your weekends and vacations can be focused on relaxing and having fun. Without the focus being on what is or isn't happening at work. Believe me, they can live without you.