After having a great Christmas and New Year holidays, some people feel down and find it difficult to get back to the daily rhythms. As defined by DSM IV, holiday sadness, holiday depression, or post-Christmas sadness are all common terms used to describe the mental distress that occurs after the year-end holiday period. This article focuses on being down as the term suggests mild mental pain, a common phenomenon when dealing with everyday stress and change. Below are some recommended steps to get rid of this problem.
Steps
Step 1. Expect some disappointment
The holiday season is both joyful and stressful together. There is family to get along with, gifts to buy and return, people to visit, activities to throw themselves into, lots of food to eat, clearance sales to attend and parties to organize and go to. To top it all off is the excitement of New Year's Eve, so your adrenaline has been circulating a lot during the Christmas and New Year period. Returning to your normal routine in a quieter office can dampen your spirits due to the absence of exciting things to do and wait for. Likewise, if the end-of-year period wasn't as good as you hoped, you may be feeling down on the lack of fun you were expecting and that can ruin your mood. Expecting to feel a little down is a way of telling yourself that it's normal and will soon pass once you get back into your normal routine.
Think back to your past experiences to remind you of your normal post-vacation feelings. Do you always feel down after the end of the year holidays? If you have spent the period after the last two holidays in despair, then there is a high chance that this behavior will continue. Think about what you did last time and what relaxed you. And he realizes that, in general, this is a phase that is easily surpassed
Step 2. Choose to see the positives of the post-vacation period
The good side of the holiday ending is that you have had time to rest, relax and enjoy. The pre-Christmas craziness is over both at work and at home, and the rest period after Christmas and New Year has hopefully given you the opportunity to do something different than usual. Every time you get out of the routine is good for the spirit, giving you a chance to rejuvenate.
- Take your time when you get back to your everyday routine. If you are more rested, you have the opportunity to see your work, routine, study and life at home from a renewed perspective.
- Maybe the break made you think about your life, work, relationships etc. If so, it's a good time to consider making improvements to your situation, especially since not making them will prolong your sadness.
Step 3. Be kind to yourself about your new year promises
If you have raised the bar too much and you already feel like you are falling behind, don't blame yourself. Instead, think about your resolutions realistically and determine if they need to be adjusted to make sure you stick to them. Forget about resolutions that require too much harshness with yourself and rethink them as others that can be kept now that the heady year-end vibe has passed. Think of it as double-checking the details, and just play with the small print!
Make sure that every goal you have set for yourself is reasonable and above all, achievable. Taking weight loss as an example, targeting size zero isn't realistic, but trying to lose a pound in a week seems more feasible
Step 4. Keep dating people
Some of the post-holiday sadness could be related to being surrounded by a lot of people over the holiday period and then suddenly you find yourself surrounded by people you don't know well, or even a few people alone, compared to the crowd before. Lift your spirits by continuing to stay connected with friends and family, and by going out to do activities where other people interact with you.
Step 5. Do things that create expectations
Relive the excitement of anticipation by organizing fun things, such as dinners with friends, starting a new course for a hobby or interest, going to sporting events regularly, going to the cinema etc. 'emotion.
Step 6. Make healthy choices
After many holiday escapades, you may feel out of shape when it comes to eating. Aim to get back to eating healthy foods, drinking healthy drinks, and making sure you get enough exercise. Eating well and exercising will improve your mood and help you get back in shape. If you're worried about not being warm enough during colder times, eat more soups with chunks of food that will warm and fill you at the same time, without having too many calories. Warm salads are also great in the winter.
- Make the sadness go away by eating. Eat foods that increase serotonins (feel good), which are neurotransmitters. Suitable foods that contain tryptophan (the base of serotonin) include bananas, poultry, dairy products and peas.
- Keep exercising, despite the weather, lethargy and the excuse of weight. Exercising will give you the mood boost you need to get you going again. If you live in cold climates, there are plenty of options for doing winter exercises such as walking, skiing and going to the gym, those in warm climates can swim, hike in the mountains and water sports; these are all great ways to improve the mood.
Step 7. This is the time to call in professionals to fix things that are bothering you
The holiday season tends to put everything on hold, even important things at work and in personal life because celebrations, meetings and preparations require your full attention. Once all this is over, you go back to thinking about your life and various problems, and this can be a good time to ask the professionals for help, with anything from fixing finances, painting your house or dealing with the sad feelings you are having.
If you haven't organized your holidays so well and you find yourself in debt, get financial advice right away to settle the accounts as soon as possible. It might mean cutting down on vices for now, but it is perhaps the best time to feel as little deprived of vices as possible
Step 8. Expect to enjoy the year ahead
Trying to stay positive and planning interesting and fulfilling things throughout the year is a good way to calm down the sadness you feel right now. Think ahead of the changing seasons and the things you'd like to do as the year progresses, and the type of activities and events you'd like to attend. Doing something about the things you would like to happen is the first step and once you are into organizing and doing it, you will be too busy to worry.
- If you want to travel, start planning your travel and budget now.
- If you have big plans waiting for you, like your wedding or someone else's, having a baby, renovating your house, taking the parents on a cruise etc., throw yourself into the organization.
- If you want some aspects of your life to change, such as going from being single to being a couple, use this time to plan how you are going to make these things happen, such as going out more, joining a club and surfing the net. more on certain specific sites.
Advice
- Sometimes a person suffering from post-holiday or post-Christmas sadness may behave extravagantly for the first few weeks after the holidays, doing things like walking at night and sleeping during the day. This type of behavior is due to the strong responsibilities that people feel during the holidays. Realize that switching and returning to normal routine can be a nuisance and try to calmly return to normal.
- Before you go back to work, school or your daily routine, it can help to make sure you've fixed the vestiges of the season. Put away the Christmas tree and decorations, tear off the greeting cards and recycle them or put them away, finish the leftovers etc. Leaving these reminders around can cause anxiety because there are things left to do and they can also bring a sense of sadness. Get other people in the house or family to help you clean up on a busy afternoon and then share a nice meal.
