There is a school of thought that views the widespread use of the term \u201ctherapy\u201d with great suspicion and distrust. Today, this word is tacked on as a suffix to any activity that is even vaguely related to rehabilitation, recreation, or even leisure. And so we have chromotherapy, sauna therapy, aromatherapy, hippotherapy, and pet therapy (in Italian, \u201ctherapy in the company of animals\u201d doesn\u2019t quite convey the same meaning)\u2026 As if any activity that is \u201cgood for you\u201d must necessarily cure a disorder, a discomfort, or\u2014worse yet\u2014a disease.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, this cultural drift cannot be stopped, and despite many important and necessary psychological interventions\u2014sometimes even by specialists\u2014we find ourselves confronted with \u201ccreative\u201d scientific contributions that seem more geared toward legitimizing and justifying the expert\u2019s presence than toward making a real contribution to the unfortunate patient.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":21630,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2007],"tags":[3151,3152,3154,3153,2057],"class_list":["post-21751","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-green-salus","tag-ferie","tag-malattia","tag-malinconia","tag-vacanze","tag-work"],"acf":{"categoria":[2007],"categoria_source":{"label":"Category","type":"taxonomy","formatted_value":[{"term_id":2007,"name":"Green\/Salus","slug":"green-salus","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2007,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":30,"filter":"raw"}]},"sottotitolo_h2":"A syndrome said to affect people when they return from vacation; as they face the stress of daily life again, they reportedly experience anxiety, depression, and restlessness. But are we really sure about that?","sottotitolo_h2_source":{"label":"Subtitle","type":"text","formatted_value":"A syndrome said to affect people when they return from vacation; as they face the stress of daily life again, they reportedly experience anxiety, depression, and restlessness. But are we really sure about that?"},"immagini_principale":{"ID":21630,"id":21630,"title":"PostVacanzeBallico1","filename":"PostVacanzeBallico1.jpg","filesize":116094,"url":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico1.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/en\/post-vacation-blues-do-they-really-exist\/postvacanzeballico1-2\/","alt":"","author":"89","description":"","caption":"","name":"postvacanzeballico1-2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":21751,"date":"2026-09-11 11:59:33","modified":"2026-09-16 14:46:59","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1024,"height":724,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico1-300x212.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":212,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico1-768x543.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":543,"large":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico1.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":566,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico1.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":724,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico1.jpg","2048x2048-width":1024,"2048x2048-height":724,"mailpoet_newsletter_max":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico1.jpg","mailpoet_newsletter_max-width":1024,"mailpoet_newsletter_max-height":724}},"immagini_principale_source":{"label":"Main images","type":"image","formatted_value":{"ID":21630,"id":21630,"title":"PostVacanzeBallico1","filename":"PostVacanzeBallico1.jpg","filesize":116094,"url":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico1.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/en\/post-vacation-blues-do-they-really-exist\/postvacanzeballico1-2\/","alt":"","author":"89","description":"","caption":"","name":"postvacanzeballico1-2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":21751,"date":"2026-09-11 11:59:33","modified":"2026-09-16 14:46:59","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1024,"height":724,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico1-300x212.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":212,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico1-768x543.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":543,"large":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico1.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":566,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico1.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":724,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico1.jpg","2048x2048-width":1024,"2048x2048-height":724,"mailpoet_newsletter_max":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico1.jpg","mailpoet_newsletter_max-width":1024,"mailpoet_newsletter_max-height":724}}},"introduzione":"There is a school of thought that views the widespread use of the term \u201ctherapy\u201d with great suspicion and distrust. Today, this word is tacked on as a suffix to any activity that is even vaguely related to rehabilitation, recreation, or even leisure. And so we have chromotherapy, sauna therapy, aromatherapy, hippotherapy, and pet therapy (in Italian, \u201ctherapy in the company of animals\u201d doesn\u2019t quite convey the same meaning)\u2026 As if any activity that is \u201cgood for you\u201d must necessarily cure a disorder, a discomfort, or\u2014worse yet\u2014a disease.\r\n\r\nUnfortunately, this cultural drift cannot be stopped, and despite many important and necessary psychological interventions\u2014sometimes even by specialists\u2014we find ourselves confronted with \u201ccreative\u201d scientific contributions that seem more geared toward legitimizing and justifying the expert\u2019s presence than toward making a real contribution to the unfortunate patient.","introduzione_source":{"label":"Introduction","type":"wysiwyg","formatted_value":"
There is a school of thought that views the widespread use of the term \u201ctherapy\u201d with great suspicion and distrust. Today, this word is tacked on as a suffix to any activity that is even vaguely related to rehabilitation, recreation, or even leisure. And so we have chromotherapy, sauna therapy, aromatherapy, hippotherapy, and pet therapy (in Italian, \u201ctherapy in the company of animals\u201d doesn\u2019t quite convey the same meaning)\u2026 As if any activity that is \u201cgood for you\u201d must necessarily cure a disorder, a discomfort, or\u2014worse yet\u2014a disease.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, this cultural drift cannot be stopped, and despite many important and necessary psychological interventions\u2014sometimes even by specialists\u2014we find ourselves confronted with \u201ccreative\u201d scientific contributions that seem more geared toward legitimizing and justifying the expert\u2019s presence than toward making a real contribution to the unfortunate patient.<\/p>\n"},"paragrafi_articolo":[{"titolo_paragrafo":"My return to work was normal\u2014is it now considered a sick leave?","testo_paragrafo":"We often come across or read reflections that reek of psychological nonsense\u2026 Oh well! If that\u2019s the way it is, we\u2019ll just have to go with the flow, so today we\u2019ll talk about a health issue of primary importance.\r\n\r\nA rather complex syndrome, which I\u2019ve been aware of for some time now, is \u201cpost-vacation blues\u201d or \u201cpost-holidays blues\u201d\u2014in Italian: post-vacation melancholy\u2014which, obviously named in the Anglo-Saxon tradition, has emerged as a significant condition of psychological distress, complete with a whole host of symptoms and related advice on how to recover.\r\n\r\nThis debilitating syndrome is said to affect people upon returning from vacation when, as they face the stress of daily life again, they experience anxiety, depression, and agitation that are even worse than the very issues for which the vacation was planned in the first place. For this reason, esteemed specialists weigh in through the press or on social media, proposing specific recovery activities: relaxation, problem-solving, meditation, and so on and so forth.\r\n\r\nI believe that any of us, after a peaceful period of vacation and relaxation, at the thought of returning to the frenzy of daily life\u2014intense, stressful, and competitive, as is typical of our Fordist society\u2014would have some temptation to stay hidden under a beach umbrella or a fir tree and never be found again. But what we, poor unsuspecting souls, thought was normal, we now know is actually a potential illness.","multimedia":"immagine","video":null,"immagine_paragrafo":{"ID":21632,"id":21632,"title":"PostVacanzeBallico3","filename":"PostVacanzeBallico3.jpg","filesize":128000,"url":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico3.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/en\/post-vacation-blues-do-they-really-exist\/postvacanzeballico3-2\/","alt":"","author":"89","description":"","caption":"","name":"postvacanzeballico3-2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":21751,"date":"2026-09-11 12:02:30","modified":"2026-09-16 14:46:59","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1024,"height":572,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico3-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico3-300x168.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":168,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico3-768x429.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":429,"large":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico3.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":447,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico3.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":572,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico3.jpg","2048x2048-width":1024,"2048x2048-height":572,"mailpoet_newsletter_max":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico3.jpg","mailpoet_newsletter_max-width":1024,"mailpoet_newsletter_max-height":572}},"didascalia":""},{"titolo_paragrafo":"But how much do we miss our home after a vacation?","testo_paragrafo":"
We often come across or read reflections that reek of psychological nonsense\u2026 Oh well! If that\u2019s the way it is, we\u2019ll just have to go with the flow, so today we\u2019ll talk about a health issue of primary importance.<\/p>\n
A rather complex syndrome, which I\u2019ve been aware of for some time now, is \u201cpost-vacation blues\u201d or \u201cpost-holidays blues\u201d\u2014in Italian: post-vacation melancholy\u2014which, obviously named in the Anglo-Saxon tradition, has emerged as a significant condition of psychological distress, complete with a whole host of symptoms and related advice on how to recover.<\/p>\n
This debilitating syndrome is said to affect people upon returning from vacation when, as they face the stress of daily life again, they experience anxiety, depression, and agitation that are even worse than the very issues for which the vacation was planned in the first place. For this reason, esteemed specialists weigh in through the press or on social media, proposing specific recovery activities: relaxation, problem-solving, meditation, and so on and so forth.<\/p>\n
I believe that any of us, after a peaceful period of vacation and relaxation, at the thought of returning to the frenzy of daily life\u2014intense, stressful, and competitive, as is typical of our Fordist society\u2014would have some temptation to stay hidden under a beach umbrella or a fir tree and never be found again. But what we, poor unsuspecting souls, thought was normal, we now know is actually a potential illness.<\/p>\n","multimedia":"immagine","video":null,"immagine_paragrafo":{"ID":21632,"id":21632,"title":"PostVacanzeBallico3","filename":"PostVacanzeBallico3.jpg","filesize":128000,"url":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico3.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/en\/post-vacation-blues-do-they-really-exist\/postvacanzeballico3-2\/","alt":"","author":"89","description":"","caption":"","name":"postvacanzeballico3-2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":21751,"date":"2026-09-11 12:02:30","modified":"2026-09-16 14:46:59","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1024,"height":572,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico3-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico3-300x168.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":168,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico3-768x429.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":429,"large":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico3.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":447,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico3.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":572,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico3.jpg","2048x2048-width":1024,"2048x2048-height":572,"mailpoet_newsletter_max":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico3.jpg","mailpoet_newsletter_max-width":1024,"mailpoet_newsletter_max-height":572}},"didascalia":""},{"titolo_paragrafo":"But how much do we miss our home after a vacation?","testo_paragrafo":"
This might even be understandable\u2014if not empathetically obvious\u2014for the countless people who have moved to some atoll in the Indian Ocean for a couple of months and who, upon returning and breathing in the refreshing, fragrant air of our lagoon\u2014perhaps near Marghera\u2014find themselves gripped by anxiety attacks, even panic, or worse, had to turn to specialists and copious prescriptions of antidepressants, exhibiting a state of prostration that is practically incurable.<\/p>\n
I do have some doubts, however, when I look around and see my patients who take, at most, one week of vacation\u2014where it might even rain\u2014in places where even the air is sold at a premium. Or who, after days of preparations, set off with children, dogs, fish, and bicycles and jostle each other at dawn to snag the last beach umbrella amid the crowd.<\/p>\n
Or those cheerful, culture-hungry families who, despite their online reservations, stood in line for an hour in some square for a museum in any art city\u2014without water and under the scorching sun\u2014with wonderful children who, with military discipline, waited while squabbling to get in and see some artwork that they had surely researched in kindergarten as essential to their development. Or, finally, those tourists stranded at some airport in some corner of the world, eager only to return to the smog of home and even willing to pay triple the ticket price.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","multimedia":"immagine","video":null,"immagine_paragrafo":{"ID":21634,"id":21634,"title":"PostVacanzeBallico2","filename":"PostVacanzeBallico2.jpg","filesize":152973,"url":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico2.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/en\/post-vacation-blues-do-they-really-exist\/postvacanzeballico2-2\/","alt":"","author":"89","description":"","caption":"","name":"postvacanzeballico2-2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":21751,"date":"2026-09-11 12:03:17","modified":"2026-09-16 14:46:59","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1024,"height":572,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico2-300x168.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":168,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico2-768x429.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":429,"large":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico2.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":447,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico2.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":572,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico2.jpg","2048x2048-width":1024,"2048x2048-height":572,"mailpoet_newsletter_max":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/PostVacanzeBallico2.jpg","mailpoet_newsletter_max-width":1024,"mailpoet_newsletter_max-height":572}},"didascalia":""}]},"parole_chiave":[],"parole_chiave_source":{"label":"Keywords.","type":"taxonomy","formatted_value":false},"autore_esterno":"Marco Ballico, physician, psychotherapist, and professor at IUSVE","autore_esterno_source":{"label":"Autore Esterno","type":"text","formatted_value":"Marco Ballico, physician, psychotherapist, and professor at IUSVE"}},"yoast_head":"\n