While vacationing in the warm sun or partying on the beaches of Miami may seem like the ideal spring break, not all of us can afford (both financially and mentally) to go away for the week. It may seem like a good idea to stay home or at school for your week off to catch up on sleep and assignments, but once you’ve scrolled through your social media feeds, you may second guess your decision to staycation—and even feel down about missing out on all the fun.
Instead of fearing, we spoke to Dr. Roy Michael Stefanik, psychiatrist and professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Georgetown University School of Medicine, about how to deal with FOMO.
1. Turn off social media for the week
It may seem like a cruel punishment to step away from all connections to the outside world, but when you log out of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc., you’re doing yourself a favor. It may be tempting to creep on #SpringBreak2019 and follow everyone’s vacation updates, but it won’t turn out positive in the end.
On the surface, it may seem absolutely harmless to scroll through your Twitter and Instagram feeds to see what the world is up to, but it can actually make you feel worse than when you started.
“[There have been] a number of academic studies connecting passive following on sites such as Facebook and Instagram (with vacation photos as a prime trigger) to activated feelings of envy and resentment,” says Dr. Stefanik. That so called social media envy? It’s a real thing.
Even if you think you won’t get caught up in everyone’s vacation photos, the most probable outcome is that you will be left feeling down about not going away. Trying a social media cleanse will not only stop you from becoming envious of getaways that are out of your reach, but it will also give you more time to focus on being productive.
2. Remember why you stayed home
You stayed home for a reason, right? Whether it was because you wanted to save your money (hello, high tuition fees!) or to get ahead on your school assignments, there’s more to staying home than just not being away. It sucks to have to stay behind while everyone else is having fun, but think of it this way: imagine how much more you’re accomplishing staying back.
You have the money you saved from not going away (check!), you have possibly completed an assignment or two (check!), you are well-rested and not completely sunburned (check!) and you don’t have to deal with the post-vacation upset of realizing you have class the next day.
3. Plan a staycation
You may think you have experienced it all in your city, but you’re probably wrong. There’s always something new or different to explore, and this is your chance to do so. Sydnee Lyons, a first year grad student at Florida Atlantic University, recommends taking a day or two to “staycation” in your city.
“I love finding cool/cute places in my area that I haven’t been to before. A simple Google search usually brings up tons of options. I love being outdoors, and that’s pretty easy to do wherever you are,” Sydnee says. “Some of my favorite things to do are a pizza picnic at the beach or at a park, hiking, biking around the neighborhood, going to museums/art exhibits, finding cute coffee shops or other cozy dining spots (I use Yelp for this) or just driving around taking pictures.”
If you haven’t had a day to explore all the tourist sights in the city, do that! Be a tourist for a day—pretend you’ve never been to wherever you are and make the most of it. Whatever you decide to do, pretend you’ve travelled to that city for a vacation and go all out!
4. Talk to someone
While having social media envy may not be something new (don’t we all want to take those perfect selfies à  la Khloe Kardashian?), continuously feeling this way over missing out may be a sign of something bigger. Dr. Stefanik recommends going to see someone if you’re feeling down. You can go the professional route and see a counselor at your school’s counseling center or just confide in a friend. Either way you’ll be able to get your feelings out, and who knows? Maybe the person you talk to has felt the same way you do.
Spring break is just another school vacation given out to break up your semester so you don’t go crazy with non-stop school. While the stereotype claims you need to go out and take a physical vacation, there are so many times in your life (even summer or winter break) where you can do that. Use this time to take a deep breath and remember that the school year is almost finished!