Moving Beyond the Holiday Blues

As the holidays come to an end and the excitement of the season begins to wear off, sometimes there is an unsettling feeling that begins to occur. The first week of January can feel jarring. We no longer have the parties and celebrations to occupy our time. We begin to look at full weeks of work and reality begins to set back in. According to the National Alliance on Mental Health 64% of people report being impacted by holiday depression. The emotional, physical, and financial strain that occurs during the holidays can cause what is commonly known as the holiday blues. This feeling is like coming home after a vacation and experiencing low energy, difficulty sleeping, irritability, anxiousness, and struggling to concentrate. It is believed that these feelings occur due to an adrenaline comedown. The holidays typically take us out of our routines, and we might experience intense emotion and stress during this time. As our mind and body come back to baseline it can be hard. Though holiday blues does not mean we are clinically depressed due to its short duration, we do need to be mindful of how long we are feeling this way.

What can we do to help ourselves? The connection of the mind, body, and spirit is important and can help us return to our regulated selves. To help the mind try doing things that help the mind relax and recoup. Meditation is great but if it is not your thing, try spending time journaling your thoughts or utilizing your five senses while going for a walk. You can even use guided mindfulness apps. Do things that help you get present to the moment. It feels like we are always told that we need to sleep more, focus on our nutrition, and exercise regularly. Well, it’s true, to get ourselves emotionally back on track we need to focus on returning to healthy routines that typically get thrown out of the window during the holidays. Just because the holidays are over doesn’t mean that we can’t spend time doing the things we enjoy with the people we love. If your calendar is feeling empty, try to schedule something that you can look forward to. Give yourself some grace. It may take time to come back to what felt normal before the holidays.

If you feel that holiday blues are not going away, and you need someone to talk to, reach out to Harper Therapy.

Call Harper Therapy today at 813-434-3639.

https://www.harpertherapy.com/