Travel for a summer holiday in August?

Dear Coaches,

I´m wondering what to do about my summer holiday. My husband and I were talking about going to a Northern European country for August. One reason was that in August, it is going to be very hot at our current home, which is in a Southern European country.
I´m having second throughts and am struggling to make a choice.

At the core of my struggle is the question of what I need to relax and recharge vs. if there is an environment in a holiday context that can deliver that.
Usually, I struggle with hotels and flats, because I have PTSD triggered by the typical noise in buildings shared with others. Also, it annoys me to see/hear/smell other people that I did not choose to spend time with. What I need is a lot of solitude, nature and some structure.
Here, the only reasonable option would be to book a house without neighbouring houses/street noise.
Another thing that comes up is that we usually avoid the summer time for travel – because this is when seemingly everybody travels and places are rather full.
The more I think about it the less excited I am about travelling in August at all. Maybe just hide in my house with the aircon on full speed and get work done.
My main concern is that this holiday trip might not add to my energy levels but consume energy. This would feel like a waste, because I don´t really see a purpose behind that holiday aside from getting away from the heat, and I don´t see the point of having holidays that consume energy.
I´m not sure how to decide and would love to get your insights.

Answer:

It sounds like your greatest concern is that you going on holiday in August would consume energy rather than restore energy. Explore this. Here is a model I’m seeing in your post:
C: Choice about summer holiday
T: This holiday trip might not add to my energy levels, but consume them
F:
S:
A: Go back and forth on whether to go or stay, feel less excited about travelling, consider hiding in my house instead, think about all the ways the holiday might consume energy, don’t make a decision
R: Let my energy get consumed by deciding about whether to go on summer holiday now

When you see this, what do you think? Let’s look at the other side of the equation, just to get a well-rounded idea of what is possible. You’ve already given what could go wrong on this holiday lots of airtime. What’s on the other side of the coin? What could be some positive parts of this holiday? If it were possible to have a restorative holiday in August, what would that look like?

Now, examine your reasons for going and your reasons for staying home. What do you notice when you write these out on a piece of paper? Pay attention to how you feel, how your body responds. What do these reactions have to say?