Everyone is overseas on holiday right now, and it is hard not to hate them for it.
You only have to scroll through your Instagram feed to see every influencer and their weirdly named child has boarded a flight and gotten out of Dodge, and Dodge is winter in Australia.
Yes, even that girl you didn’t like in high school is prancing around Rome while you’re stuck at your desk smelling that weird stir-fry your co-worker is having for lunch.
If there’s one thing famous people know how to do, it is take a holiday.
Most of us stuck at home are wondering if we should splash out and buy tomatoes. They are in their swimmers enjoying the sun while we are dusting off our puffer jackets and trying to locate our Kmart heaters.
At this point in winter we are all dressing like Scotty Cam from The Block.
The incredible Nadia Bartel has fled the country and left her infamous Kmart plate in the dust.
She looks incredible in a brown bikini in an exotic location in Europe that is looking nicer than my rental’s concrete courtyard.
Former Married At First Sight, star Jules Robinson has taken her family to Mykonos, and she is living the dream while the rest of us are living with trackwork and large electricity bills.
Radio icon Jackie O has trotted off to the South of France and has been posting about her fabulous time.
Meanwhile in Australia, we are stuck here just squabbling about the cricket, and Marcia Hines has taken to Instagram to admit even she’s having trouble getting Taylor Swift tickets.
Podcast Queen Michelle Andrews that hosts The Shameless podcast has also been posting about her European getaway, and it is becoming abundantly clear she’s having more fun than the rest of us did lining up for that dog vacuum outside of Aldi at 8am on Wednesday.
Fitness influencer Chontel Duncan is having the time of her life roaming around Bali and posting cute bikini snaps.
Do you know what I did last night? I tried to lure a mouse out from under my fridge with a single piece of cheese and a dream.
Crawling on your hands and knees on cold wooden floors in the middle of winter while you try and track down a rogue mouse has to be the opposite of a lavish holiday.
So if you are feeling jealous of people online, is that normal? Yes, thankfully very normal.
Clinical psychologist Dr Aileen Alegado explained that it is “natural,” so we can all sigh with relief.
We aren’t bad people; we are just human.
“It is natural to have these feelings when your entire feed is other people on holiday in Europe. Especially as its winter here, so we’re dealing with Seasonal Affective Disorder, or what’s called the winter blues – which is when the cooler weather can affect our dopamine production, leaving us feeling depleted,” she said.
Dr Alegado recommended putting down your phone, though, if it is getting too much to take.
“If seeing those images of people on holiday is giving you a twitch of envy, it might be a good time to check in with yourself. If you’re not in the headspace to see these holiday snaps take a digital detox or keep scrolling to a minimum when you know, you could feel triggered.”
She also advised that it is important not to “compare ourselves to others,” and to reflect on why you feel that way.
So what should you do if you are feeling super jealous of everyone’s holidays?
“I think the most important thing to do is find small things in your life that can bring you some joy. Take this time to focus on yourself and find meaning and purpose so you can run your own race at your own pace. Also, try and reframe the way you look at it, this is their time to have a holiday, and yours will come. Be inspired by it rather than feel down about your own current reality.”