The Ultimate guide to beating the January blues!

The January blues is a REAL thing, ( even the 20th of January is conned ‘Blue Monday’ and meant to be the most depressive day of the month) you can develop depression symptoms when we hit January, and if you suffer from depression, you may be more likely to develop depression during this month.

So why do we get the January blues? There quite a few reasons . . .

1) The holidays are over and all the excitement leading up to Christmas has passed. We have had so much to look forward two the last couple months that soon as new years day has passed it, we get that ‘back to reality’ feeling.

2) Debt – we may have spent all our spare money or money we didn’t have over Christmas celebrating and buying gifts, and now reality has kicked in we have to pay it back! (especially if you’re a parent you may feel this harder) and you may have been paid earlier from work in December so now you’re having to wait longer for the next pay check.

3) Family members and friends, you only see during the Christmas holidays have gone and naturally you will miss them.

4) Drinking and eating may have made you sluggish and put on weight, and possible may not have made you feel good.

5) This time of year, it is winter, the days are mainly dark and short and its cold outside (depending where you live in the world) and the lack of sunlight doesn’t help in how we are feeling.

6) New year’s resolutions – (argh I hate that term; I much prefer realistic goals planned for the next year)

7) ( Bonus) this is not for everyone but if you work in industry’s such as hospitality or retail, you may have had to work over the Christmas period and so haven’t had a break, your tired and feel like you haven’t enjoyed the holidays, then in January go back to work.

So how to combat the January blues? I’ve completed my list of top things you can do to help support you through the January month so you feel better and excited about the month rather than feeling blue!

1) Mindset

Changing your belief system to how you look at the start of January is the key to how you feel. Having the mindset that this is the start of a whole new year and thinking about all the things you can do this year is what can really help you to focus and be excited rather than down. This is why I don’t like new years resolutions because I feel that in the month of January, we should be taking it easy and going slow and planning for the new year.

There is two ways to help change your mindset. (Buy a notebook for this) Firstly, is writing down a yearly goals list and secondly is how you view this month.

1A) Goals list rather than unrealistic new year resolutions – in a notebook write down all the things you would like to achieve this year, this could be to lose weight, new job, planning a holiday or starting a new hobby. And brain storm when you would like to start doing these things and which months you want to focus on them. For example, if your goal is to lose weight, think of a realistic time to start, such as the first of February and then during January start getting everything put in place to losing weight, find classes, find meal plans and slowly ease into it ready to start. Sometime its easier to slowly go into something and plan. Or you may want to plan and start the first week of January, it is whatever is right for you.

1B) How you see the month – change the way you see the start of a new year. The year 2020 is so special as it’s the start of a new decade, so in your notebook write all the things you achieved in the last ten years and all these things you struggled with ( and with the struggles, write how you overcome them or a positive way of looking at it) after this jot down what you like to achieve in the next 10 years, no matter how wild they may be its just nice to think that you have no idea what may happen in the next days years! The possibilities are endless.

Remember the start of a year is a new beginning, new goals and you get to celebrate the holidays all over again!

2) Spring clean . . .in January.

Start developing the mindset of that this is the start of a new year, new possibilities but also new items will be coming into the home! So, what I recommend is to write a plan for the month of spring cleaning your home and environments. Decluttering and cleaning our home, the children bedrooms or work space during January is an amazing mindfulness activity that helps get us ready for the new year. It is probably the best time of year for a spring clean as it’s the month where your unlikely to have anything else going on major that going to take up your time, it will keep you busy and you will feel so satisfied after this is done. (and don’t hire anyone unless your going to clean with them as that’s cheating!)

3)Money, money, money its so funny in a rich man’s world

If you struggle with money or are worried about debt from Christmas, plan how you going to pay back this money over the next 6 months if possible (to save money in the remaining 6 months) or 12 months, so forth. I also recommend you focus on paying back debts rather than saving. There are loads of free resources online or YouTube videos explaining how to manage debt, how to save and also how to budget your finical life! Do some research, get it sorted and take that worry of your mind. And don’t worry if you have large amounts of debts, I have been there myself and trust me there is always ways to pay off money and still live a happy life. If you used money for things such as Christmas, be grateful you could do that to provide your family, children and friends with a lovely holiday celebrations and gifts.

4) Plan something!

Planning something to look forward to is the best thing in January. Me and my partner plan valentine’s day the start of January as something to look forward to. But you could plan anything for payday in January! It doesn’t matter if it’s a cinema trip, spa day or getting your nails done or planning a day off to binge watch Netflix the last day of January! something to look forward to will help with how your feeling and give you something to look forward to!

P.s if you work in hospitality, retail or a job where you had to work a lot over Christmas, remember to book some holiday I January to relax and unwind and catch up with friends or family. A lot of people will be back at work while you may be having time off but its important you get a respite period too so you can get focused and the mindset for the new year!

5) The days

How you start your morning makes a huge difference to your wellbeing in general. I myself get up at 5.30am, I have two kids which I have to look after on my own most of the time as my partner is away for work and I don’t drive. So, you would think getting up early for me would be insane but I actually recommend it to everyone especially those who have children.

And in January is a great time to start such a routine, by getting up early you have time to do things that help you to get in a mindset for the day, and January is the best time to start as this is probably when you will find it the hardest time of year to wake up. My best recommendations to get ready for your day is –

Working out – with some uplifting dance music

Yoga – morning energized yoga

Journaling (gratitude journal, affirmations or dream log)

Meditation – a positive mind guided meditation is the best for the mornings

Planning – daily planner of all the things you need to do in the day

Watching motivation videos on YouTube

Reading a few chapters from a book

You would have spent the morning spending time just on you and naturally you will feel better for doing this and it will put you in a better mindset and feel happier with high vibes for the rest of the day! This is really helpful if you’re a busy mom or have a stressful job!

P.s sometimes a 20min power nap in the afternoon may help if you decided to wake up earlier!

And lastly, go outside, if you can even if its in your lunch break, make sure you can get at least 20mins of fresh air and Vitamin D from the sun! if you can’t manage to go outside you can buy a Seasonal Affective Disorder lamp to help you be focused and energetic!

I hope my ultimate guide to beating the January Blues helps you to have a happy mindset and beat that feeling in January!

Love and light

Soulcoast

XxX