Today it’s threatening to
snow, the temperature is hovering below freezing and sunshine is nowhere to be
found. The Christmas parties are over,
the bowl games have ended and the presents have long since been returned. The sun sets at 5:30. It’s cold and dark when I crawl out of bed in
the morning (and will continue to be for several more weeks) and in a few days
the mailman will deliver last month’s credit card bills.
It’s a typical January day
and I’m feeling down.
I am, however, not
alone. Regardless of whether or not
they’ve been diagnosed with depression or other mental illness, millions of
people experience January blues.
Therapists often compare the let down that occurs after a two-month
celebration to running a marathon. If
you’re like most people, you plan and prepare for the holidays and before you
know it, they’re over and you’re exhausted – even sad – for a number of
reasons.
For starters, there’s all
that time you spend with family. For me,
a family gathering is similar to a high school reunion when I find myself
worrying about what “loved ones” will think or say. My family is an odd lot, a group of people
who don’t always mix well. Over the
holidays, tempers flare, sarcastic comments are the norm and I find that I
don’t ever spend time with them without some sense of anxiety…and even
dread. When January rolls around, I’ve
already had plenty of time to mentally replay conversations, stew about an
insensitive remark and reflect on how I’m still stuck in the same place I was a
year ago. Adding to that stress is the
arrival of credit card statements and the start of my holiday spending hangover
(which means retail therapy is out of the question.)
In the past, it was easy for me to fall into the self-pity mode but recently I learned not to give into the dark moods. For me, three easy techniques work: exercise, something to look forward to and reconnecting with friends. There are some days when I just don’t feel like going to the gym so I pop in a yoga DVD and after about 20 minutes I feel both refreshed and relaxed. Although I can’t run off to someplace tropical, I can call a friend and start planning our annual 4th of July trip to the beach. Pouring over catalogs and choosing the perfect beach house for ’08 is a great way to talk about the good times we had in the past and the great times to come. If either of those fail, I pull out these pictures of my two favorite guys – my husband Bill and my son Justin. I can’t look at them and not smile.
Have a nice weekend!
---Danielle
