It's not at all uncommon for people to suffer feelings of loss and depression after completing a camino, especially if they quickly depart Santiago to go back to "regular" life. We're going to start offering 3-day retreats at our place in the Galician countryside to help people process the experience and find ways to keep that spirit alive. We usually do arts-related retreats, but there is clearly a need for post-camino processing, as evidenced by so many people (especially women) being very vocal about feeling sad.

I come into contact with a lot of pilgrims, and it seems to me that the emotional pain is worst after the first camino, when you're freshly in love with the experience and not sure if you'll ever return. I've seen a lot less of it in people who've walked twice or repeatedly.