You had been counting down to the break. A few days without meetings, deadlines, or the usual demands sounded like exactly what you needed.
Perhaps you enjoyed yourself. You slept longer, laughed more, or remembered what it felt like to have an afternoon without an agenda.
Then you came home. The inbox was waiting. So were the responsibilities. By Tuesday, you were wondering whether the vacation had done anything at all.
That disappointment deserves attention. What did the time away relieve, and what did returning bring back?
It would be easy to conclude that vacations do not work. The research gives a more encouraging answer.
A meta-analysis of vacation and employee well-being, published in 2025, combined findings from 32 studies. It found substantial improvements in well-being, with benefits lasting longer than earlier research had suggested. Mentally disengaging from work and physical activity during vacation were associated with better well-being.
Those findings do not mean every trip restores every person. They also do not establish that vacation resolves burnout. Feeling better during or after a break is valuable, even when the conditions causing exhaustion still need attention.
You do not have to dismiss the relief because it did not last as long as you hoped. In fact, could dismissing the relief you did feel actually be harmful?
The World Health Organization’s description of burnout focuses on chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It includes exhaustion, growing distance or cynicism toward work, and reduced professional effectiveness.
A vacation interrupts exposure to work. It does not necessarily change the workload, staffing, expectations, or relationships you return to.
If taking leave means doing extra work beforehand and catching up afterward, the break may be surrounded by demands that undermine its benefits. If you remain available throughout, you may leave the workplace without leaving the job.
Ask a concrete question: What would have to change for an ordinary week to become more sustainable?
The answer might involve fewer assignments, clearer priorities, reliable coverage, or a different role. Some changes require decisions from people other than you. Recognizing that matters.
There may also be a personal difficulty within the larger problem.
Perhaps you notice everyone’s needs before your own. You agree to something while already knowing you lack the time. You keep working because disappointing someone feels worse than exhausting yourself.
In The Satir Model, congruence includes honoring yourself, the other person, and the context. Your capacity belongs in that picture.
“I can complete this by Friday if the other assignment moves to next week” communicates information another person needs. So does “I cannot take responsibility for both.”
This can be challenging when being dependable has become closely tied to your sense of worth. Therapy can help you explore that connection and practice communicating your limits. The workplace still has responsibility for the demands it creates.
For some people, availability carries more than professional obligation.
An unanswered message brings dread. Someone else’s disappointment feels threatening. Even beside a pool, you remain alert for evidence that you have done something wrong.
These experiences do not prove that trauma is involved. When they connect with earlier frightening or overwhelming experiences, however, trauma therapy may be relevant.
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) is one approach to that work. A randomized controlled trial of Deep Brain Reorienting for PTSD found reductions in PTSD symptoms compared with a waitlist. That is evidence about PTSD treatment, rather than evidence that DBR treats occupational burnout. And yet, it brings to mind the question of whether it might.
The clinical question is whether trauma-related reactions are contributing to your difficulty stepping away.
Notice what actually helped. Was it sleeping enough? Moving outdoors? Having fewer decisions to make? Spending time with someone who expected nothing from you?
Then consider whether any part of that relief can have a regular place in your life. Also notice what returned immediately: a particular task, relationship, expectation, or fear.
If exhaustion persists across settings, or you are losing interest in things you usually enjoy, seek assessment rather than assuming burnout explains everything.
A vacation can provide rest and perspective. Lasting change begins with taking seriously what the contrast reveals about your ordinary days.
Anne Lindyberg, LMHC (Iowa), LCPC (Illinois), integrates the experiential therapy of Virginia Satir with Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) and the Alexander Technique. She specializes in helping adults with complex and developmental trauma create lasting emotional change through therapy.
This article and other informational content on this website are provided for educational purposes only. They are not a substitute for individualized professional care, do not constitute advice specific to your circumstances, and do not establish a therapist-client relationship.
This work is created on the traditional and unceded lands of Indigenous peoples; a fuller acknowledgment of the land, its history, and its peoples is available on this website.
If you are experiencing depression, schedule an appointment with your primary care provider or a mental health professional, and tell someone you trust how you are feeling. You can also review this resource. This practice does not provide on-call services or crisis response. If you are in emotional crisis or having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988in the United States for support at any time. If you are in immediate danger, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.
These blog posts are drafted with the support of ChatGPT. All posts are reviewed and edited by the author for accuracy, and consistency with the values of the author and this practice.
Grant, R. S., Buchanan, B. E., & Shockley, K. M. (2025). “I Need a Vacation: A Meta-analysis of Vacation and Employee Well-being.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39836131/
World Health Organization. (2019). “Burn-out an ‘Occupational Phenomenon’: International Classification of Diseases.” https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases
Satir, V., Banmen, J., Gerber, J., & Gomori, M. (1991). The Satir Model: Family Therapy and Beyond. Science & Behavior Books. Chapter 4, pp. 66, 68. https://bit.ly/SatirModel1stEd
Kearney, B. E., et al. (2023). “A Randomized Controlled Trial of Deep Brain Reorienting: A Neuroscientifically Guided Treatment for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37581275/
Midwest Center for Transformational Change PLC