Managing Stress: When’s the Last Time You Went on Vacation? [Updated]
[Ed's Note Don't worry, friends! Alexandra wrote this before she left. She is not blogging while honeymooning! Psssssh.]
As you read this post, I am hundreds of miles from home, sitting on a beach, doing a downward dog, or enjoying a fruity cocktail. In other words, I’m on vacation. Actually, I’m technically on my honeymoon; it just took us over a year to feel like we could leave. Which got me thinking…
I can’t remember the last time I took a real vacation. Not to visit my parents or go see friends for a weekend, but a proper checkout from the world. When I was little, it seems like folks took these trips all the time. But these days? Not so much.
Of course, like many people, one reason I’m not always flying the coop to some faraway islands is finances. Money’s been tight these past few years (I know I’m not alone there), and until recently I didn’t have the security of a steady income. And yet, still. I could have gone camping just up the coast, or found a cute little bed and breakfast for a long weekend and turned my phone off. In fact, my husband and I had a honeymoon fund instead of gifts, so the money for this trip has been there.
I think the real truth is, I always felt too guilty to take vacations. Either I didn’t have full time work and felt like I didn’t “deserve” one, or I worked around the clock and lived in fear of angry bosses. Anyone else feel like this?
We talk about stress a lot, but this is a bit of a weak spot for both of us. Siobhan even made “taking a real vacation” one of her New Year’s resolutions. (And I plan to hold her to it.) So what about you? When’s the last time you threw a bikini in a bag, took a road trip, or camped out somewhere with no cell reception? I’ll let you know if it’s as good as I remember.
Oh, and here are some handy natural-breauty tricks to take with you when you go.
Remember that part in Kindergarten Cop when Arnold says “I need a va-ca-shon”? That’s how I feel right now.
I took my first one in ages this past September, to Rancho LaPuerta, but before that it had been more than two years since I’d packed my bags for those 10 lovely days in Rome. This is silly! As Alexandra says, vacations don’t have be long, expensive or fancy. They don’t need to involve airplanes, either. Time to get on this…
You’re on vacation — um, honeymoon — writing a post?! Say it isn’t so! You must vacate from this blog as well for a real vacation. I demand it! :)
I don’t get the angry bosses or too busy for a vacation excuse – you’ve earned your leave – TAKE IT! You wear a seat belt? Brush your teeth? Bathe? Eat Well? Exercise? Then take a vacation! It’s just as key to taking care of yourself as all of that.
I’ve traveled my whole life. Sure it began visiting family, who happen to be around the world, but it then it became about seeing the world. These days (as an adult), I have to plan trips, budgeting both funds and leave. I pick out places I’d like to visit this year and think about when. Then I set a fare watcher for that place and I watch and wait. If a good fare pops, I snag it, and watching helps me get educated on good fares.
Even with my planning and knowing I have a trip on the horizon, I still get that urge to get away, in which case I’ll do something more local, a day at the beach or a B&B in the mountains to unplug and reconnect. I also try to fit in an afternoon at the spa or even a day out alone when I visit family and friends, a mini-me break.
I leave for Hawaii, (Oahu and the Big Island) on Thursday of this week! I just finished your book a few weeks ago, I am still phasing out some of my not so natural products, but I am determined to take a few of my new natural favs on vacations, Physicians Formula makeup, Essence of Vali perfume, and my raw organic honey DIY face wash! Thanks for the tips!
If anyone is interested in a week long “Haitian vacation” in November, let me know! I only put it in quotes because it involves waking up early, heat, and running around with kids at an orphanage for a week, but it is stress-free and there are no distractions from back home!
This is such a great reminder. It’s so easy to associate vacations with spending lots of money and taking lots of time off work. (Sounds great to me! But realistic? Not so much). My last vacation was to Mexico for my honeymoon. I think I’m due for a weekend away with the husby again soon.
I hope your vacation is fabulous!
P.S. Love your blog and all the natural beauty tips that you provide!
….6 years ago. But, that was actually stressful (and resulted in a very messy break up), so…. um?
When do I get to take one again? Well, I’m 35 weeks pregnant, so I have no idea. Maybe a weekend or overnight in Galveston could be managed. I think I’ll make that a “must do.”
I am German and the Germans consider themselves the world champions of vacations. It is normal to take one big two week vacation a year. And everybody does it. We also have around 25 days off a year per law. So that makes it easy.
Since we live in Europe it’s pretty easy to visit other countries. If you have a free week-end you could drive to a nice place in France for example and it would only take you about two hours.
I don’t really go on expensive vacations, because I’m a student at university. But me and my friends go camping a lot.
Last years vacation was my honeymoon: 3 weeks in New Zealand.
This year’s vacation is going to be 26 days away (including flights) to Israel then France.
I view vacations more as a necessity to maintain a certain level of sanity. Now that I am married and my husband gets several weeks vacation time a year, it is very advisable to use it!
For some people, I know, taking a vacation means being bombarded with work when you return and just the thought of that alone can make the vacation time very stressful. It doesn’t exactly make taking a vacation seem very inticing.
My spouse and I, mostly because we are self-employed, take a lot of mini-vacations: long weekends, consisting of 4 or 5 days. We don’t always have to take a plane either; there are lots of great vacation destinations very close to where we live. For those who can’t take a lot of time off or prefer not to take a lot of time off, a mini-vacation can work wonders for your soul.
Outside of any vacation time though, we turn our cell phones off at the end of the work day; we don’t check email and try not to rehash our day. These things, along with hiking and other forms of exercising are our way of unwinding from the work world to create a more relaxing and serene environment.
I didn’t take a single sick day in 2011 and I still have 8 vacation days from 2011 that I haven’t used yet! I desperately need a vacation!
I’ve never had a vacation. I went camping last summer (2 nights), but camping is work so I don’t count that.
I didn’t take vacations for years (new to work force, unemployed regularly), & I wound up being unable to hold food down for almost 4 weeks, so unable to work at my relatively new job. My regular doctor couldn’t help, but my naturopath calmly congratulated me for exhausting myself to the point my body could no longer hold down food. He set me up on a gentle food plan (lots of soup & stews), and ordered rest in copious amounts.
(Sad thing? I was getting heavily into yoga then, & had IMPROVED how I took care of myself; obviously still had a ways to go!)
I now take my vacays (stay-cations, mostly, due to $$) for a week 2x a year, when my body tends to burn out & act up. November (after busy season here at the university) and in February. (My body hates February, I think it’s the vata-kapha transition.) A week each time helps sort me out. I dream of a trip, though, someday…
Travel is stressful to me, but if I feel like I have enough time I like to do stuff that’s not too far away. Luckily in California there’s lots to do in relatively short trips. I’m a teacher so I have very defined chunks of time I could go away for longer, but that doesn’t always work for the rest of the family. I don’t like to leave my pets too long either. I would love to do a really big long trip to Europe, which would be worth the hassle/stress of travel – but that’s a financial issue. It’s funny to me that other people think of a vacation as a way to de-stress. It stresses me out just to think of traveling any distance.
I find it hard to take proper vacations since I moved away from home (first to the other side of the country, then to another continent). I feel like any vacation time I have gets “used up” by visiting family. It’s not that that time is wasted, but it didn’t exactly count as checking out from the world. I’m planning a trip to Scandinavia in a few months, so happily this is about to change.
My husband and I used to say that we “work to travel”. That was of course before the days of 4 children…nonetheless, I still think that taking time off is a vital part of a healthy lifestyle. And I would say just about everyone following this blog is at least trying to follow a healthy lifestyle! Our favorite vacations are ski vacations. Everyday we head in from a day of skiing feeling exhilerated and refreshed! And our kids love it just as much as we do (it’s better than DisneyWorld according to them). Right now, the whole family is counting the minutes until the last week of February when we head west! 19 days to go! WOW, do I need it!
Experiencing vacation is a funny process. I am always so wound up before my overdue vacations, so when I actually arrive at my destination it takes me a few days just to ease my mind and smell the “roses”. Then I finally get into it and really start to get a feel for the experience of relaxing and pampering my soul and mind. But before you know it, it’s already time to go. I wish I had an on and off button to control my emotions so I can maximize my vacations days to their fullest.