Dealing with sadness since getting home.
Hello.
I came home a few days ago from an amazing 5 day trip to Chicago as a first time Solo Traveler. On the train back, I was so depressed and not looking forward to coming home. Exploring the city and the personal growth that I experienced all on my own has left me feeling very unsatisfied living in Kansas. Even before the trip, I have felt like I have outgrown my current life and the conservative culture here. I really love to travel but because of my meager salary as a public servant it doesn't happen very often
I never expected to feel so down in the dumps since getting home. Has anyone else felt this way? I feel like a brat because I am so grumpy and snapped at my best friend last night. What do I do? I feel more stressed then happy and relaxed like I should.
Reply to this Mary,
Welcome to Travelblog. Many people here will attest that becoming depressed after a trip happens often. Personally, I was in the dumps for three months after finishing a long road trip. Various techniques exist to work through the feelings. Here are the ones I used:
1. I had kept a trip journal and taken thousands of pictures, which I turned into blogs on this site. Going back through everything helped keep the trip, and my experiences, alive.
2. After coming back I found I spent more time seeking out things nearby that I had previously overlooked; museums, historic sites, interesting restaurants, etc.
3. Connecting with other travelers proved crucial, both to share my experience and travel vicariously through theirs. This site is a great place to start.
Reply to this Sounds like you have the travel bug. It might be curable, or you might have a strain that will last for life. It has all kinds of symptoms, including being grumpy with your life and spending a long time dreaming of your next destination.
You are right to come here and share your troubles with other sufferers. Ezra has some great advice for you above. There are a couple of other things you could do:
You mention being dissatisfied with your life in Kansas. Is there anything you can do to change that? Are there options to change your job, or to change your location i.e. move somewhere else? Could you do your job, or a different one, from abroad?
Could you add something more to your life to make it more pleasurable? It doesn't have to be travelling. As a Couchsurfing host you could meet other people from all over the world who are travelling. Alternatively, or as well, as Ezra says, you could seek things about nearby to visit that you have overlooked You could start blogging about your hometown and what is around there. It could mean that you explore places you've never been before, and connect with people visiting the area. You could learn a new skill, or volunteer with a local organisation.
Would any of these things work for you?
Reply to this Hello Mary and welcome to the wonderful world of travel!
Travel is fun and exciting--- and addictive. There can be a bit of a let down after a trip but those of us here on this site should be able to help pull you out of this.
You asked for advice and so I am going to give it.These are my personal opinions. Some of it will be easy and hopefully you will embrace it...the rest you will have to decide what you want long term.
First off it sounds like you are not in love with your work. We spend too much time at work not to be happy. I would recommend going back to school. In a couple of years you can have a career that will pay you a higher wage and allow you to travel frequently. Consider the IT world or the medical field. I'm a nurse and it has allowed me to travel the world. You could become a teacher and get a certification so you can work in foreign lands.
Would you consider getting a second job and save all the money for travel? Bar tending or waiting tables is a good skill when traveling the world. Some travelers get jobs cleaning rooms when traveling.
The above comments from Kris and Kate are right on. Is it possible to transfer with your job to another location? Moved to another city and live with a family member?
I know you are looking for immediate gratification so hopefully some of my other ideas will help.
I absolutely agree with Ezra that you should check out things that are close by that you would visit in another city but probably never went to because it was home to you. Please publish a blog about your local area as you can become the expert! We want to know what to do when we come to Kansas. Learn the history of Kansas...honestly there is a lot of interesting stuff that happened in Kansas.
Start saving, saving, saving. Make list of all the things you spend money on and decide what you can live without. Ask family members to give you money for holidays for a gift certificate for a hotel.
Look in the news paper and see if you can find any local cooking classes or travel seminars. This will introduce you to people who have traveled and their stories will excite you.
Buy a travel guide for a country that you would like to visit and learn to cook the food from that land. Greece, Japan....the world is your oyster. Watch the travel channel....make lists of places you want to go. Map out an itinerary...I find once you start putting things on paper you will want it badly enough to make it happen.
Love to hear what you decide to do.
MJ
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