‘Walk around eccentrically with a large baguette’: seven ways to cope when everyone you know is on holiday in Europe

Distraction is key: ‘If you want to avoid seeing pictures of your ex sunning in the Greek islands, you need to take up a hobby that requires your full attention.’ Photograph: Mariia Boiko/Alamy

Right now everyone you’ve ever met is on holiday in Europe. It’s OK. It’s really OK. But wait, is it OK? Maybe it doesn’t actually feel that OK?

Of course you want your sister, your best friend, your old work colleague and the bloke who prescribes your dog’s medicine to have a wonderful time. But because we’re human beings, sometimes our noble impulses are overwhelmed by our own bitterness – even if it’s bitterness of the “trivial” and “obscenely privileged” variety. If we thought good thoughts all the time, what would Johnny Cash have had to sing about?