Beat those January Blues
January is known as the most depressing month of the year and often people experience the onset of the ‘January Blues’. So here are some top tips from Dr. Barbara Mariposa, a medical doctor, wellbeing mentor and author of The Mindfulness Playbook, to help you get through the post-festive season comedown:
1. Don’t weigh yourself for at least a week. You know why! Any weight gain will soon melt away as you get back into the swing of everyday life, and this will happen easier, the less of a guilt trip you lay on yourself.
2. Eat sensibly and no booze! Even if you don’t feel like it, get some fresh veg, complex carbs and lean protein into your system. Porridge with seeds and nuts, toast with eggs, avocado or salmon. And no alcohol today. Your liver needs time to recover and it will, if you are kind to it. You need to steady your erratic blood sugar level, which, by the way, makes you feel moody and miserable. Don’t shock your body into submission by starving yourself or going on some crazy restrictive diet. This always boomerangs back. Drink plenty of water, at least 2 – 3 Litres, depending on body size. Remember that your brain functions poorly and your mood suffers when dehydrated. IQ drops by 5 points with even 1% dehydration. Keep this going tomorrow. And the next day.
3. Get out in the fresh air. Even if it feels like the last thing you need, get those boots on, grab your coat and head for an outdoor space, preferably a green one. This will speed up your metabolism, lift your mood, give you time to process all of the events of the past week or so, and help you gain some perspective.
4. Watch out for thought attacks. Don’t get sucked into the conversations that the shame/guilt/blame/regret monkeys are having, chattering way in your head. Thoughts are passing events but when you’re feeling a bit ropy they can seem very real indeed. Motto for today: “I am not my thoughts, I have thoughts.”. Recognise that the mood you are in now is also a passing thing. The kinder you are to yourself right now, the sooner the mood will lift.
5. Dial down any anxiety or stress regularly throughout the day by taking one minute once an hour to Unplug, Slow Down and Breathe – U.S.B. Focus your attention on your breath, breathing a little slower and more deeply. Imagine a wave of warmth spreading through your body. Even better, lie of the floor with your legs bent at the knee so your lower legs and feet are resting on a sofa or comfy chair. Now do the slow, deep breathing for five minutes or longer, relaxing your body into the floor.
6. Small steps you can succeed at are better than giant leaps where you run the risk of failure. Radical measures may seem like the only option or even a good idea at this point but are seldom sustainable. Empty out all your self-improvement ideas onto a piece of paper. Check it through to see whether these items are coming from self-loathing or self-love/care. Cross off all the former. Choose the top remaining three. Practise the C.I.S.S. of Life. Commitment. Intention. Structure. Support. How Committed are you to each item, truthfully? Is the underlying Intention coming from self-loathing or self-love/care? What do you need to change in the Structure of your life to make it happen? What Support do you need?
7. Dial down the pressure. If you’ve had a fabulous time, take that relaxing feeling with you into the New Year. Don’t feel you have to stop being nice to yourself because the holidays are over. Include more of the things that make you feel good into your daily life. Make sure that every day you factor in down time to dial down the pressure and shift for “doing” to “being” mode.
8. Forgive yourself any mess-ups. It’s over. If you need to make amends, do that as soon as is sensible, then let it go. Mess up. Clean up. Move on.
9. Dreading going back to work? Ask yourself what part of you feels unfulfilled? See what small steps you can make to shift the direction of your life towards a better fit with who you are, not who you think you should be. A small 5 degree change in a ship’s direction can makes the difference between landing in New York or Caracas.
10. Smile! As Thich Nhat Hanh said “Sometimes our joy is the source of our smile. Sometimes our smile is the source of our joy.” And science backs this up. Areas of the brain associated with feeling good are activated when we smile. Others react better to us, which creates an upwards spiral of wellbeing at every level.
