Anticipating some much-needed time away? Here's how to make the most of your pre-holiday high – and how to avoid anxiety before setting off on vacation

You’re finally doing it. You’ve booked your holiday, and anticipation is running high. Vacation days have been approved, you’ve got your travel and accommodation sorted, and the countdown has begun. Here’s how you can make the most out of that pre-holiday high – and how you can avoid pre-holiday syndrome.

Waiting with anticipation: Making the most of your pre-holiday high

Who doesn’t love a good holiday? Whether you’re doing something lowkey and going camping in the local countryside for a few days, or you’re splashing out on a bigger vacation in far-flung places, the weeks ahead of a planned trip can be filled with excitement and anticipation.

Having something to look forward to isn’t just nice – it might actually improve our happiness and wellbeing. According to research by faculty members in The University of Alabama College of Communication and Information Sciences, planning a vacation can improve overall happiness. The study conducted by Dr. Jameson Hayes and Jay Waters surveyed over 1,000 travellers aged 25-55 and found that those planning their next vacation are happier, while those who travel between 15-21 days a year are happiest. 

“Anticipating any upcoming vacation appears to significantly boost happiness, regardless of whether it’s to the beach, the mountains, or a big city,” according to Waters. The study also found that those who kept souvenirs from past vacations were happier than those who didn’t. 

Planning – and waiting for – a holiday can help create a sense of excitement, anticipation, and joy. It’s a break in routine, something out of the ordinary to experience, and the opportunity to leave behind regular stressors around work and responsibilities. Having something to look forward to can help us to refocus our thoughts towards the more positive, help avoid dwelling on negatives, and can provide a much needed distraction. 

So, how can we make the most of these positive feelings – and avoid any pre-holiday anxiety?

Plan ahead. Planning ahead can help you not only to familiarise yourself with where you are travelling, but can continue to keep that pre-holiday buzz going. This could mean planning in what you’d most like to see, do, or try – be those unmissable sights, activities you’ve always wanted to try, local wildlife or areas of natural beauty, or even food that has your tastebuds tingling. 

Planning can also help dissuade any nerves that might be lingering about unexpected little details. The more you know, the more prepared you can feel. That doesn’t mean you can’t still leave time and space to be spontaneous! If you prefer to explore things and discover them as you go, that can be just as exciting – but having a very rough idea of what there is to explore can help to avoid missing out on key experiences or opportunities. 

Identify travel anxieties. We all get anxious about different things. Maybe you’re not a fan of flying, you have a sensitive stomach and have to be careful what you eat (or be mindful of finding the facilities), or maybe the thought of not knowing how you’ll get around when you reach your destination has you on edge. By trying to identify any things – little or big – that might be causing you to feel anxious, you can find ways to combat these worries early on, leaving you feeling more prepared and ready to face your trip without worry playing such a big role.

If you’re worried a bigger aspect of travel might be affecting you like a fear of flying, it could be worth seeking out help sooner rather than later. According to Anxiety UK, around 10% of us have a fear of flying. Working with a professional can help you to better understand your fear and learn techniques to help you manage travel-related anxiety. 

Hypnotherapist Nigel Jones explains that our fears can stem from feeling like we are losing control, from past negative associations, general anxiety, and even sensory triggers. Combining methods such as hypnotherapy and neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) can be helpful in reframing our perceptions, increasing our sense of calm and confidence, and promoting relaxation. 

“While self-help techniques can offer relief, working with a trained NLP or hypnotherapy professional ensures that approaches are adapted to an individual’s specific fears and experiences. Through personalised interventions, the fear of flying can be significantly reduced – or even eliminated entirely.”

Set your expectations early. Having something to look forward to is great! But setting expectations is key to avoiding putting too much pressure on every little detail being perfect. When our expectations get too high, we can risk disappointment when reality fails to live up to our imaginations. 

Setting expectations can help to avoid this. Ask yourself: What do I want to get out of this holiday? Do I want to feel more relaxed or more energised? What can I realistically see/do/experience with the time I have? Knowing what you want and expect from your holiday can help to set the tone ahead of time, and to even get into the right mindset as your trip approaches. 

Wrap up any work worries. One of the biggest parts of planning a holiday is ensuring you have the time off from work. Booking time off and actually switching off are two very different things. You might find yourself worrying about your inbox building up when you come back, struggling to remind colleagues you won’t be available between set dates for new projects, meetings, or overtime, or even worrying about cover while you are gone. 

Communicating with your boss, colleagues, and/or team can be a big help – as can wrapping your mind around what needs to be done, versus what would be nice to have done. Having a list of anything time sensitive you may need someone else to help cover while you are away can help you to handle the issue sooner rather than later, helping avoid that limbo of worrying about things before they happen. Using your out of office and redirecting urgent enquiries to your team while you are gone can help to avoid things building up too much in your absence if you are planning a longer vacation. 

If you find yourself dreading your return to work before you have already left on holiday, it can be helpful to plan your to-do list for your return. Giving yourself a clear idea in mind of what you will be doing your first few days or week back can help take out some of the anxiety from your return, while allowing you to ease back in to things rather than feeling like you have to jump in at the deep end. 

What is pre-holiday syndrome?

Not everyone feels great in the run-up to their holidays – and that’s okay! Some of us not only feel anxious in the run-up to changes in our routines, but according to research from the University of Portsmouth, pre-holiday stress can actually make us sick. 

According to research from travel and tourism lecturer Liz Sharples, we can often feel worried, stressed, and even disappointed as our holidays approach, particularly in the last few days before departure. Research suggests 44% of women report an increase in stress during the build up to their holiday, versus 31% of men. With so many things to prepare for before switching off and going away, it’s no wonder many feel stressed. 

Pre-holiday syndrome, or pre-holiday stress, is a kind of stress we feel physically or emotionally in the run up to a vacation. You might find yourself feeling irritable, tired, having trouble sleeping, or difficulty disconnecting from work. You might also feel overwhelmed with packing, preparing for departure, double and triple checking details, and if travelling with a partner or family, ensuring everyone else is ready, too. 

Pre-holiday syndrome can happen when you feel overwhelmed by work due to a high workload or high levels of stress, from feeling worried or uncertain about what to expect when returning to work, as well as feeling pressured to still be available to check your inbox or answer ‘just one quick phone call’. 

By what can you do about it? 

Prioritise. Prioritise. Prioritse. It can feel like our to-do lists are never ending, both at work and at home – and that’s often because they are. We’re always going to have laundry to do and things to clean at home, and there’s always going to be one more important task, or new project, or colleague to help at work. Chances are, you aren’t going to be able to get everything done. 

You might feel like you can get a lot done before you go away, but while that might be true, winding down in the days before you go on vacation can help to ease stress and overwhelm – and hopefully help you to avoid burnout. Identify what is most important to do, and start prioritising. The rest can either wait for your return, or be passed on to colleagues. 

Plan for a digital break. Counsellor Laila Hamade suggests avoiding putting too much pressure on yourself – and your holiday – while taking a much-needed digital break.

“Unrealistic expectations to create amazing memories on holidays can lead to extra stress and disappointment. We live in a society where comparisons are almost the norm, aim to try not to compare your holiday with friends, do this by taking a break from social media and your phone. Be mindful of what you would like from your holiday together and share this with your partner. Be realistic too, not everything will be perfect.”

Try to take time off before (and after) your holiday. Having a buffer before you travel and when you return can help avoid any last-minute rushing, allowing you to take things at a more relaxed, leisurely pace. Giving yourself the same kind of buffer for your return can help ease some of the post-holiday worry that may leave you feeling anxious about your transition back to work. 

Share the load. It can be easy to get caught up in being the one person who organises everything. Maybe you feel like you need to be the one to take charge so things get done, or perhaps the role has fallen to you as you’ve done it in the past. Whatever the reason, if the workload of actually getting ready to depart is building up and you are travelling with others, see what tasks could be shared – or passed off to others. Holidays are supposed to be relaxing for everyone involved. If you feel like it’s all falling to you, it could be a sign that something needs to change.