This Is How To Practice Self Care On A Family Vacation

Tips for introverts

Zurich, Switzerland. Photo By Me.

As I sit in front of my laptop right now, I am looking over a blue lake and sharp green hills in Lake Como, Italy. I am on vacation with my family.

So far, it has been an amazing trip.

We have really enjoyed our time together and our adventures.

Family vacations used to be a lot harder for me.

I am an introvert, and I need a lot of alone time. Time to think, time to breathe. Time to let my mind wander.

I used to try to push my introversion aside when I was on vacation. I felt that I had to spend every moment of every day with my family. That I had to do what everyone else wanted to do, when everyone else wanted to do it.

I would be okay for the first day, or the first few days. But then all that pent up stimulation and exposure would build until it reached a breaking point. I would then explode like a volcano, pouring the burning hot lava of overstimulation all over my family. And they had no idea what they did wrong.

When in fact, they did nothing wrong. It was me.

But over time, I learned to practice self care while on vacation.