If you’re a teacher/school staff

[Candlescoffeecake]

Do you feel a bit anxious/depressed the first few days of the school holidays? Before getting used to it and enjoying the break.

No, but I do wake up the first few days feeling like I've forgotten something!

No, the first day of the holiday is the best day of the year. The whole summer stretches out.

The last week of the holidays is laden with doom as the break is nearly over. Of course, as soon as I go back, it’s fine.

No but I always had kids as career change. So was up and about keeping them busy!

Takes a good week or two before I can feel like me and switch off. Then exam dates are looming and the anxiety starts all over again

Before I was a mum (had 20y of teaching under my belt first...) and when I was in a dodgy relationship I did, yes.

It was like everything that was important stopped suddenly and it took some adjusting to rebalance. Lots of sleeping and doing very little, feeling out of sorts.

Truthfully, now I'm 0.8 and a single parent to a small child, I haven't felt the same. Everything from now to September has had to be mapped out rigorously and I'm still exam marking 10 hours a day to pay for it, so it's less of a lurch into empty time than it used to be for me.

@Candlescoffeecake yes, definitely! Don’t get me wrong, I love the holidays but I think when you work at a million miles an hour and then it just stops all of a sudden it can take some getting used to. I also feel like I have to plan and structure my days so I don’t ‘waste’ them

I find the holidays a bit strange.

i look forward to them but then now they are here, I feel pressure to achieve stuff all the time. I have loads of jobs around the house to do, dentists and haircuts and all of the other life admin that can’t happen in term time, making sure my dcs are not spending too much time on screens and are occupied and then there is other stuff too- nice stuff, seeing friends, reading, etc. we are also going away for a couple of weeks.

but I think because at school life is so fast paced, I struggle to adapt to the pace of the holidays. I can’t seem to just be happy doing nothing and relaxing, I have to have a to do list to tick off just as I do at work!

Yes, absolutely. I’ve purposely made the first few days quite busy with various appointments etc because of this. I’ve been teaching decades and it’s usually by the second week in August I relax into it.

I'm a bit up and down. I've two kids to entertain and that can be stressful and also it can be boring too. I love the no alarm clock but I still find myself looking forward to the weekends when my husband is off and there might be something fun planned or an evening out. At the moment it's cleaning, scrolling and park trips/play dates. I'm in Northern Ireland so we've been off a few wks already. We went straight on holiday as the first week of July is cheaper which was lovely but then it's been a bit flat coming home. I had loads of stressful school dreams the first week.

Very much so, I can get quite low and beat myself up about not doing much when knowing that the most important thing to do is not much. My husband calls it the decompression phase and I think that is spot on! Be kind to yourself

Yes, I feel the same!
Takes me a couple of weeks to get off the treadmill, then I can enjoy the break.

Be kind to yourself and enjoy lots of fresh air and coffee and cake!

I find it really hard. I am absolutely shattered and so in need of this holiday but I always feel really flat at the beginning of it.

My husband works from home all the time so I don’t feel I can properly relax - I feel like I should be doing something all the time. It’s not him who makes me feel like that, he tells me to stop doing stuff but I feel some sort of guilt that I’m sitting down reading or whatever and he’s working.

When he used to go to the office (pre covid) I loved the 6 weeks summer holiday but I still felt flat at the beginning of it.

Yes! I think it’s just that I’m absolutely drained and also the fact that I do find the lack of routine difficult. My DDs haven’t finished school yet either which is nice but also isnt helping the lack of routine! 😄

Not really but my kids are both really overtired, argumentative and difficult to deal with which is sort of killing my summer holidays vibe to ve honest. They're always like this at the end of term....both need a good rest.

It's just the same as most things in life. The thought is always much better than the reality. The anticipation is the best bit!

No, not at the start but I struggle to adjust to a ‘normal’ pace of things. That normally takes me a week or so. I get anxiety when that has worn off that I’m not doing enough and that I’m somehow wasting the days if I’m then not doing things flat out. I also find that things I’d do at the drop
of a hat like making phone calls become so much harder when I’m not under work pressure to do them.

I have a few days where I feel a bit lost and find it very hard to adjust to the slower pace. I can sometimes have a lot of anxiety but I think that’s due to my body not keeping up with my brain like when I’m on the non stop treadmill at school

I feel a bit frantic. I have to make lists and do jobs in-between a never ending run of medical appointments that have been put off until the holidays. It is always a very strange 'come down' for me. I rush about and then have to sleep in the day before I rush about some more. Things will settle down after week one and then I'll start to panic about all the time has gone by!

I’m usually ill the first few days of any holiday, the adrenaline keeps me going until I don’t have to, then I collapse! I also can’t sleep as my mind is running over with everything I need to do during the holidays, hence why I’m here now!

I used to feel like this pre-DD, but it was usually just the effects of the hangover from the last day of term pub trip! Lots of appointments this week and then we’re off on holiday so lots to keep me busy. I’ll start feeling anxious a few days before GCSE results day, and then it feels like the holidays are all over.

I'm in work again anyhow, so no chance to feel flat.

Yes this is exactly how I feel, a bit low in mood and anxious. I don't know why I feel like this really though, it's like I need a week or so to adjust but then I worry that I'm wasting time not being happy with the time off.

It’s so weird.

I do have children myself but I’ve always felt like this.

I think it’s probably because I’m so used to going to 100 miles an hour, plus lots of end of term activities and anticipation, then all of a sudden just stopping.

I used to always get this but now I make a lot of plans for the first few days of holiday and don’t get it any more.

I feel really hyper and wired, like almost frenzied! I normally do a massive house clean or do stuff to get ready for next year while in this phase. Then after a few days I start having an afternoon snooze and buy some new books and by about a week in I’m chilled! I do maintain my normal waking up time though. I don’t want to waste the time being asleep or have ‘jet lag’ in September.