The Top 8 Tips For Overcoming The Post-Christmas Blues

The Top 8 Tips For Overcoming The Post-Christmas Blues

When all the buzz surrounding the holidays has died down, the post-Christmas period can be a deflating and lonely time. The decorations are put away, and the Christmas tree is eventually discarded. You may be feeling empty and lonely.

There is little solid research behind post-Christmas blues, but adrenaline withdrawal may play a role. The abrupt withdrawal of stress hormones that occurs after a significant social event, such as a major family event, an important work milestone, or a holiday period, such as Christmas and New Year’s, can have a compound negative effect on our biological and psychological well-being.

January is an excellent time to assess and improve your positive self-care routine and social support structure. It’s also a good time to remind yourself that you need to have fun and incorporate some recreational time into your daily routine.

Here are eight of the best ways to beat the post-Christmas blues:

1. Sort and prioritise to-do lists
During the holiday season, the brain exaggerates the realities of daily life, making the return to one’s normal routine appear disproportionately more anxiety-inducing and depressing than it actually is. As a result, it is critical to get started with to-do lists. The void left by returning to your normal routine must be filled with forward planning. ‘Action’ should be your mantra as you strive to regain your previous level of happiness.

To-do lists should include short, medium, and long-term goals. Make them attainable and enjoy the positive feelings that come with crossing them off your list as completed.

2. Plan a trip
It is essential to have something to look forward to. Tell yourself that these low feelings are only temporary and will pass. Your energy levels will be boosted once you shift your focus to a future event rather than something in the past. It does not have to be a lavish vacation. It could simply be a future visit to a friend where you can try something new. The important thing is that you have something to look forward to in your calendar.

3. Increase your physical activity level
High-impact exercise is sometimes referred to as one of the holy trinity of physical health, along with adequate sleep and a nutritious diet. Good physical health leads to better emotional and mental health. High-intensity exercise promotes neurogenesis, the process by which new neurons form in the brain. Aerobic activities such as running, cycling, swimming, and even sex are effective neurogenesis boosters.

You have a better chance of maintaining stable mood regulation if your neurogenesis levels are increased. Christmas is probably the worst time for overindulging, which has negative effects on sleep, so a targeted plan to increase physical activity is critical to lifting your low mood.

4. Try something new 
Donald Hebb known as the “Father of Neuropsychology” reminds us that every experience, thought, feeling, and physical sensation has the potential to activate thousands of neurons, which can then be combined to form a neural network. When you repeat a behaviour, your brain learns to activate the same neurons each time.

As a result, after Christmas, try to learn something new and do things differently. By forming a new neural network, new behaviour can alter your mood.

5. Expand your social network
Feeling down and social isolation are frequent bedfellows. This is your chance to expand your social network. Perhaps people in your current network are too preoccupied with their families or jobs (or with themselves). Find a group to join where you can meet people who share your interests.

There is a significant difference between being alone and being lonely. People who are introverted embrace their aloneness and do not feel lonely, whereas people who are more socially focused feel lonely when they are alone. The important thing is to do what feels right for you.

6. Engage in mindfulness and meditation exercises
Regular meditation practice activates the parasympathetic nervous system and can result in a larger hippocampus, increased blood flow, and an increase in positive feelings, empathy, and reduced anxiety. You will feel better if you stick with your practice. The advantages include increased energy and productivity, increased personal power, increased self-esteem, perseverance, decreased anxiety, and increased self-confidence.

There are numerous resources available online to help you get started. But be careful not to set yourself up for failure. You should not try to clear your mind of all thoughts. That is an impossibility. Simply focus on your breathing and sit with whatever thoughts come to mind. Accept that you have a racing mind and negative thoughts rather than frustrating yourself by insisting on emptying your mind. True mindfulness occurs when you become aware that you have drifted away.

7. Clear the clutter
This could be an excellent opportunity to declutter and reorganise your belongings. You could donate unwanted clothing or gifts to a charity shop. Getting busy with these tasks will shift your focus from regret and loss to solution-focused behaviour.

8. Have fun!
Include enjoyable activities in your daily routine. Your brain, and thus your moods, will benefit from it. Fun things do not have to be extravagant events; they can be very simple things that divert your attention away from your cognitive function for a short period of time.