After spending a wonderful holiday over the Christmas and New Year
period, some people feel blue and find that it's difficult to
function normally in their daily rhythm. As defined by the DSM IV,
holiday blues, holiday depression, or post-Christmas blues, these
commonly used terms depict the mental distress occurring after the
winter holidays and festival season. This article is focused on
experiencing the "blues" since this term suggests mild mental
distress, a commonly occurring phenomenon when dealing with daily
life stress and change.
Below are some suggested steps to get rid of your post winter festive
season holiday blues.
!! Steps !!
Expect some letdown. The holiday season is both joyful and stressful
at once. There is family to get along with, gifts to buy and return,
people to visit, activities to throw yourself into, plenty of
festive food to eat, sales to rush to, and parties to plan and
attend. Topped off with the excitement [1] of New Year's Eve, your
adrenalin has probably been pumping a lot of the time during the
Christmas and New Year's period. Returning to the usual routine and
probably quieter workplace than normal can dampen your spirits just
by the absence of exciting things to do and look forward to.
Equally, if your Christmas and New Year's Eve period wasn't as
enjoyable as you had hoped, you can be left feeling down about the
lack of enjoyment you'd expected and this can sour your mood.
Expecting to feel a little low is a way of telling yourself that
this is a normal feeling and that it will soon pass once the routine
re-establishes itself.
* Look at your past experiences to enlighten you as to your normal
post-holiday feelings. Do you always fall into a slump after the
holiday season? If you have spent period after last two holidays
in despair, then the chances of this post holiday period
continuing in despair are high. Look carefully about what you did
last time and what relaxed [2] you. And realize that generally
this is a phase that is easily fixed.
Choose to see the benefits of post-holiday time. The good side to
the end of the holidays is that you've had a chance to rest, to
relax, and to enjoy yourself. The craziness prior to Christmas has
ended both at the workplace and in the home, and the restful time
after Christmas and New Year's Eve has hopefully given you the
opportunity to do things that are different from your usual routine
[3]. And any break in the routine is good for the spirit, providing
you with the chance to rejuvenate.
* Take it easy when you're settling back down into your usual
routine. Your more rested self is a good thing and gives you an
opportunity to take a renewed perspective on your work, routine,
study, or home life pace.
* Perhaps the break has given you perspective [4] on your life, job,
relationships etc. If so, this is a good time to consider making
changes to improve your situation, especially because not making
the changes can prolong your blues.
Take it easy Be gentle on yourself with respect to your New Year's
Resolutions. If you set the bar too high and you already feel as if
you're slipping, don't berate yourself. Instead, look at your
resolutions realistically [5] and assess whether they need some
tweaking to ensure that they're achievable. Discard the resolutions
that required you to be too harsh on yourself and reform them into
ones that can be met now that the heady atmosphere of New Year's Eve
is behind you. Think of it as a double checking of the details, and
simply fiddle with the fine print!
* Ensure that any goals [6] you've set are reasonable and most
importantly achievable. Taking weight loss as an example,
targeting for a size zero is unrealistic, but looking for 1 pound
loss in a span of week seems to be more achievable.
Keep being around people. Some of the post-holiday season blues
might be related to having been around many people over the
Christmas break and then suddenly finding yourself surrounded by
people you don't know that well, or even not by many people at all.
Lift your spirits by continuing to stay connected [7] with friends
and family, and getting out and about to do activities where other
people interact with you.
Do things that give you cause to look forward [8] to something.
Revive the excitement of anticipation by arranging fun things, such
as having dinner with friends, starting a new class for a hobby or
interest, attending a sporting event regularly, going to the movies
[9], etc. Choose activities that meet your budget and interests, and
that you know will give you a thrill.
Make healthy choices. After the many indulgences over the holiday
period, it can leave you feeling a little out of shape and worse for
wear in the nutrition department. Aim to return to eating healthy
food [10], drinking healthy drinks, and ensuring that you keep
getting a good amount of exercise. Eating well and keeping up
regular exercise will enhance your mood and help you return to good
shape and fitness levels. If you're worried about not keeping warm
enough during the colder weather, have more healthy chunky, warming
soups that will both warm and fill you up without carrying lots of
calories. Warm salads are also an excellent choice during winter.
* Eat away your blues. Eat foods that boost your serotonin (feel
good) neurotransmitters. Suitable foods containing tryptophan (the
building block for serotonin) include bananas [11], poultry, dairy
produce, and peas.[1] [12]
* Keep exercising no matter the weather, lethargy and weight
excuses. Exercise will give you the mood-boost you need and gets
you moving again. If you're living in a cold climate, there are
plenty of winter exercising options such as walking, skiing, and
gym workouts, and for those in a hot climate, swimming [13],
hiking, and water sports are ideal mood lifters.
Make this a time for getting professional help and turning around
things that have been bothering you. The holiday season tends to put
a hold on pressing issues at work and in your personal life because
the celebrations, meet-ups, and preparations require your foremost
attention. Once this busyness dies down, you're returned to thinking
about your general life issues and this might just be a good time to
get help from the professionals, be it for anything from sorting out
your finances [14], redecorating your home, or dealing with the
unhappy feelings you're experiencing.
* If you didn't plan so well for the holidays and find yourself deep
down in the debt rack, get financial advice [15] immediately and
start to sort out the finances sooner rather than later. It might
reduce the indulgences for now but this is probably the best time
to feel the least deprived about indulgences!
Make plans for the year ahead Expect to enjoy the year ahead. Trying
to keep a positive frame of mind [16] and planning for interesting
and fulfilling events throughout the year is a good way to calm your
current blues. Think ahead to the changing seasons and the sorts of
things you'd like to be doing as the year moves on, and the sorts of
activities and events you'd like to be a part of. Doing something
about the things you'd like to happen is the first step and once
you're immersed in planning and doing, you'll be too busy to fret.
* If you want to travel, start planning the trip [17] and budget
now.
* If you've got big plans ahead like your own or someone else's
wedding, having a baby, renovating a home, taking your parents on
a cruise, etc., throw yourself into planning.
* If you're yearning for certain aspects of your life to change,
such as going from being single to being part of a couple, use
this time to plan how you'll do things to make this happen, such
as getting out more, joining a club, or spending time using
specific online sites, etc.
!! Tips !!
* Sometimes a person suffering from post holiday syndrome or
post-Christmas blues can behave in erratic fashion for the initial
weeks after the holiday, doing things like waking at night and
sleeping during the day. This type of behavior can be attributed
to heavy responsibilities which people experience during holidays.
Realize that the change back to a normal routine is disruptive and
ease yourself back into it.
* Before heading back to work, study, or your daily home life
routine, it can be helpful to ensure that you have dealt with the
vestiges of the season. Pack up the Christmas tree and
decorations, take down the cards and recycle or box them, finish
the leftovers, etc. Leaving these reminders around can bring on
anxiety because they remain tasks to be done and can also bring on
a sense of sadness. Get other members of the family or household
to help you clear this up in a busy afternoon and share a
delicious meal afterward.
!! Warnings !!
* The more severe form of post holiday syndrome or post-Christmas
blues is referred as depression [18]. This is an illness of
persistent sadness, and is not attributed to normal holiday
reaction. Seek professional help if you're concerned that you
might be suffering from depression.
!! Things You'll Need !!
* Healthy food choices
* Exercise routine
* Fun activities to do
!! Related WikiHows !!
* How to Recover from Back to Work Blues [19]
* How to Feel Happy During Cold Miserable Winter [20]
* How to Feel Happy when Christmas Is Over [21]
* How to Ease Depression With Relaxation Techniques [22]
* How to Beat the Blues [23]
!! Sources And Citations !!
* http://www.depression-guide.com/managing-holiday-stess.htm [24]
– research source
!! Article Tools !!
* Read on wikiHow
*
Links:
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[1] http://www.wikihow.com/Manage-Your-Excitement
[2] http://www.wikihow.com/Relax
[3] http://www.wikihow.com/Plan-a-Workout-Routine-with-a-Calendar
[4] http://www.wikihow.com/Gain-a-New-Perspective
[5] http://www.wikihow.com/Image:Happy-4th-of-July%3B-take-it-easy%3B-have-fun%21.jpg
[6] http://www.wikihow.com/Accomplish-a-Goal
[7] http://www.wikihow.com/Interact-and-Connect
[8] http://www.wikihow.com/Always-Have-Something-to-Look-Forward-To
[9] http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Movie-Review
[10] http://www.wikihow.com/Eat-Healthy
[11] http://www.wikihow.com/Bake-Banana-Bread
[12] http://bemoreconfident.info/#_note-0
[13] http://www.wikihow.com/Swim
[14] http://www.wikihow.com/Be-an-Expert-of-Personal-Finance-Basics
[15] http://www.wikihow.com/Work-With-a-Financial-Advisor
[16] http://www.wikihow.com/Image:%CE%A0%CF%81%CF%8E%CF%84%CE%BF-%CE%BB%CE%B9%CE%BC%CE%AC%CE%BD%CE%B9-%CE%B3%CE%B9%CE%B1-%CF%84%CE%BF-%CE%94%CE%B5%CE%BB%CF%86%CE%AF%CE%BD%CE%B9..jpg
[17] http://www.wikihow.com/Plan-a-Trip
[18] http://www.wikihow.com/Cope-with-Depression
[19] http://www.wikihow.com/Recover-from-Back-to-Work-Blues
[20] http://www.wikihow.com/Feel-Happy-During-Cold-Miserable-Winter
[21] http://www.wikihow.com/Feel-Happy-when-Christmas-Is-Over
[22] http://www.wikihow.com/Ease-Depression-With-Relaxation-Techniques
[23] http://www.wikihow.com/Beat-the-Blues
[24] http://www.depression-guide.com/managing-holiday-stess.htm
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