Are You Sad About Being Back At Work?

Feeling a little down today? You might be in the throes of a terrible depressive condition.

There are few studies or statistics on the end-of-summer malaise, but therapists, career coaches — even marriage counselors — report an increase in people seeking help in early fall. ‘Change is always hard and this is a time when both nature and our lives are changing,’ says Betsy Stone, a psychologist in Stamford, Conn. A big component is what some researchers dub Post Vacation Syndrome (PVS), characterized by a combination of irritability, anxiety, lack of motivation, difficulty concentrating, and a feeling of emptiness that lasts up to a few weeks after returning to work. Some people get a mild version every Sunday night after getting the weekend off. Surveys suggest that 35% to 75% of workers in Spain, where many businesses close for the month of August, suffer from PVS.

Sounds about right. Here at The Awl we view our mission as one of charity. We aim to help our readers better cope with the sadness and degradation that life heaps upon their already burdensome pile. While this article suggests taking little vacations throughout the year so that the end of the summer vacation is less painful, we realize that this might not be practical for everyone, so let us instead provide you with a simple way to rid yourselves of the agonies of PVS: Take a deep breath. Look around you. Remind yourself that no matter what happens, eventually you will die. Everyone does. The stress and anxiety you feel today (and, frankly, even when you are on vacation) is a temporary condition which one only experiences if one is deluded enough to believe that what one does is actually of value. It is not. Life is a succession of meaningless gestures which all end when you are lowered into the earth. None of it really matters. If, as they say, life is a ride, it is an endless, horrible Greyhound trip across a desolate section of the Midwest which is occasionally punctuated by brief sojourns at filthy rest stops and fast food emporia, with the final destination being the tomb. So cheer up. None of it matters. You are going to die. Now return to your spreadsheets and relax.

Photo by Francis Jimenez, via Shutterstock