How to cope with the January blues
The holidays can be a difficult time for many, and the new year is no different. Many of us are grieving loved ones. While others are anticipating the new year while still coming to terms with the previous one. Anxiety, seasonal depression and general mental distress can be at an all time high!
Luckily, there are small, seemingly insignificant ways that we can help ourselves cope with the January blues. Here are just a few.
5 Ways to cope with the blues this January
Open up your curtains.
A lack of sunlight during the winter months can be one of the main contributors to Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). With so many of us being locked indoors unable to get our Vitamin D fix, SAD is now more prevalent than ever. Although I have the privilege of being able to take a relaxing and distanced walk around my local countryside, the same can’t be said for those within built-up areas. But there are other ways you can help yourself.
Open your curtains and put the window on the latch.
Get a therapy lamp to help boost your happiness.
If you’re still heading out to work and live within a decent distance, why not switch up driving for walking?
Take five minutes in the morning or early afternoon to stand outside and take in the fresh air.
If you’d like to read more about the positive impacts of lighting, check out How Lighting Can Impact Our Mental Health.
Don’t put pressure on yourself.
When the new year rolls around we often get caught up in setting goals or affirmations. You don’t have to, even if your friends are. Setting goals for ourselves that are unrealistic can be disheartening. Instead, if you’re going to set goals, settle for something simpler. Vow to read ten pages of a book each day or cook dinner twice a week. Start small and it’ll remain manageable.
But you can always set up a daily, weekly or monthly plan if you want to.
With the night creeping in so soon in the evening, it can be difficult to distract from the world around us. There’s less time spent in the garden and more spent on the couch. If you’re like me and constantly find yourself needing something to occupy your mind, why not set up your planner or calendar for the year ahead. Or you could get lost in a new hobby or an old passion.
Stuck? Here’s some suggestions to get you started.
Clean up your To Read list. Add new ones, tick off old ones, and get rid of the ones you’ll never read.
Set up your planner. It can be for just the week ahead, the month or if you’re ambitious, the year!
Join in on an online class or seminar like the ones mentioned above. You can also find lots of free classes in a variety of places.
If you’re into games, get online and find a new multiplayer game to get addicted to.
Research a new hobby like knitting, crochet, painting, clay modelling, or even glasswork (if you have the tools).
Colouring books are also a great way to keep your hands busy but with minimal effort.
Take a break
Taking time out for ourselves doesn’t make us lazy or selfish, it’s necessary. Self-care is NOT selfish, and that’s the real T.
Practice gratitude
Positive psychology research has long associated gratitude with improved feelings of happiness. It's thought to improve the positive emotions we feel, allows us to hold onto good experiences, enables us to better deal with adversity, and even helps us to build and maintain healthy relationships.
Now is the best time to start practising gratitude in your daily life. It’s all too easy to get bogged down with all the negatives around us. I’m certainly someone who is a natural pessimist. Or, was. My mindset has shifted since starting my gratitude journey, and although it can be difficult at times, I much prefer the positive outlook I’ve developed.
To get started with gratitude simply write down three things you’re thankful for every day. You can do this at night or first thing in the morning, and some people even do both. Nothing is too small. Thankful for that first cup of coffee in the morning? Write it down. Your cat? Write it down.
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Chloe Quinn is a mental health and wellness blogger from Northern Ireland. Her writing often focuses on eating disorders, anxiety, self-care, and post-traumatic growth among other things.
