11 Ways to Prevent the Post-Holiday Blues
Dr. Erica Volk, ND
**Disclaimer: This article is intended as information only and is not intended as personalized medical advice. Always discuss any changes to your health care and daily routine with your doctor.
If you love the buildup and anticipation to Christmas but find yourself crashing into a post-holiday funk when it's over, then keep reading. Maybe you don't enjoy the holidays at all and simply experience high stress and overwhelm through December and then crash into burnout and depression around December 26th. No matter how or why you end up with the post-holiday blues, here are 11 strategies to prevent them this year.
1) Choose to make Christmas Day mean less
I'm not suggesting you opt out of Christmas altogether––unless you want to. Christmas Day can be really fun. Most people have the day off of work or school so it's a great excuse to meet up with family and friends and to show the people you love that you care about them through time spent together, a nice meal, and maybe giving a gift or two.
But if you can, consider acting as though Christmas Day is just another day surrounded by other equally wonderful days. Doing so might help decrease the buildup and crash around Christmas Day itself. What I'm suggesting is making a subtle energetic shift. Just changing your perspective from "I have to have everything perfect for Christmas Day because it's the most wonderful day of the year!" to "I look forward to seeing my family/friends on December 25th" is a subtle change that can reduce the pressure and importance of the day . Allow yourself to enjoy it but recognize it's just 1 of 365 other amazing days of the year.
2) Choose to make the days after Christmas Day mean more
If Christmas Day has become for you the "big event" after which you feel a bit lost, it's time to infuse excitement and importance into other random days following Christmas. For example, maybe it's time to make January 5th Group Craft Day or to make January 13th Family Snowshoe Day or December 30th Spa Day.
Maybe you take a mini vacation at the end of December or early in January so you have something to look forward to following Christmas Day. You get to be creative here. Try to come up with two or three fun and exciting events after Christmas that you can also start planning for and start infusing them with a much excitement as you typically devote to Christmas Day.
If Christmas Day has become for you the "big event" after which you feel a bit lost, it's time to infuse excitement and importance into other random days following Christmas. For example, maybe it's time to make January 5th Group Craft Day or to make January 13th Family Snowshoe Day or December 30th Spa Day.
Maybe you take a mini vacation at the end of December or early in January so you have something to look forward to following Christmas Day. You get to be creative here. Try to come up with two or three fun and exciting events after Christmas that you can also start planning for and start infusing them with a much excitement as you typically devote to Christmas Day.
3) Decorate your house in a special way for January!
I love decorating my house for Christmas! It's a great excuse to put my creative talents to work! Decking the halls for the holidays is satisfying and fun! But if you're like me, taking down the Christmas decorations and going back to the boring old normal house can feel depressing. But leaving the decorations up isn't the answer either! (It feels like clinging to desperation, which is equally depressing!)
I love decorating my house for Christmas! It's a great excuse to put my creative talents to work! Decking the halls for the holidays is satisfying and fun! But if you're like me, taking down the Christmas decorations and going back to the boring old normal house can feel depressing. But leaving the decorations up isn't the answer either! (It feels like clinging to desperation, which is equally depressing!)
This year, when you put away the Christmas decorations (if you even choose to put them up), allow yourself to decorate your house in a special January way that makes you feel good! Consider keeping clippings of cedar, fir, spruce, and pine in the house––these are still in season and they emit scents that have been proven to improve our mood! Snowflake decor is totally January-appropriate! Find signs, quotes, and artwork you love that are January-appropriate. January is the beginning of a new year.
|
Take this "new beginning" motif and run with it! Infuse some passion and inspiration into your January decor and you might even find yourself happy to put away the Christmas things this year and get to January––the most wonderful month of the year!
4) Keep up with regular exercise
Maybe this one is obvious but it's easy to forget! Keep up with your regular exercise routine through the holiday season and especially after Christmas!
I love a movie marathon as much as the next person but try to resist spending all day in your pyjamas watching movies! Most of us don't feel good if we do this for more than a day. Make a point of spending at least 30 minutes outside every day during daylight hours. Similarly, try to move your body 30 minutes each day in a way that gives you joy! Exercising for 30 minutes outside is a double-win.
If walking outside isn't possible due to ice, consider getting ice grips you can slide over your boots. (These are a complete winter game changer!)
5) Limit your alcohol consumption
It's easy to spend all day drinking cocktails during the holiday season. It's culturally encouraged! Many people use alcohol to relax and to cope with grief and stress. If you tend to drink more than usual over the holidays, try instead to stick to Canada's Low Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines to prevent alcohol from contributing to low mood. The guidelines recommend:
For women:
- 10 or fewer drinks per week
- No more than 2 drinks per day
- Plan non-drinking days every week to avoid developing a habit.
For men:
- 15 drinks or fewer per week
- No more than 3 drinks a day
- Plan non-drinking days every week to avoid developing a habit
In place of alcohol, stick to water, sparkling water, juice, a non-alcoholic cocktail mix, herbal tea, apple cider, or any other non-alcoholic beverage you enjoy.
If you have an addiction to alcohol and would like support addressing this, please contact me or reach out to a doctor in your area.
6) Limit sweets
If sugar is currently part of your diet, try not to increase your sugar consumption over the holidays. You can enjoy holiday treats without eating platefuls of cookies and a box of chocolates in a day. Limit consumption to the same amount you would normally have in a day. We often get as much satisfaction eating a few bites of a treat we love as we do by eating a plateful. Know your limit and eat within it.
7) Stay social
Fill your post-holiday calendar with social activities with people you love to be around. While many of us might feel tired after the holiday frenzy, spending time with people you love is good medicine that can uplift our mood.
8) Optimize your vitamin D before the holidays
Low vitamin D is a risk factor for development of depression. Testing vitamin D levels and supplementing if necessary is a great preventive way to tackle the post-holiday blues.
Vitamin D testing is available through your family doctor but in BC it is an out-of-pocket expense for the patient. Cost is usually between $65-100 but it is a helpful test. Vitamin D is also important for bone health and optimal immune function, which is often top of mind during cold and flu season. If you choose not to test your vitamin D this year, Canadian health guidelines recommend adults take 2000 IU daily. If you are deficient in vitamin D you may benefit from a higher dose than this.
9) Talk to a therapist
If you've worked with me you probably know I love me some therapy! I'm definitely not one to shy away from counselling! Talking to a professional can be so helpful and can help us navigate through all kinds of difficulties. Whether you find yourself feeling sad and empty when Christmas is over, or whether the holidays trigger a complex array of emotions associated with family, friends, or anything else, providing yourself some extra TLC during and after the holiday season might be just what the doctor ordered!
10) Consider "the cold plunge"
Cold plunging has become all the rage for one big reason––cold plunges and cold swimming helps to regulate the nervous system. The application of cold water can deactivate a heightened (aka stressed out) nervous system. At a time when most of us have spent the better part of the last few years in a highly activated state (think pandemic, war, mandates, etc) it's no wonder so many people have discovered the power of cold water! You might be asking WHY you would ever plunge yourself into cold during one of the coldest seasons of the year! I'm not suggesting you go jump in the lake but I am proposing the use of cold water as part of your daily routine to help keep your nervous system regulated. This could look like:
- Splashing cold water on your face once or twice per day
- Applying a cold wash cloth on the back of the neck when you feel down
- Ending your warm/hot shower with a blast of cold water (for as long as you can stand)
- Joining a group of people who are doing a cold plunge or cold swimming **
You might be surprised how the addition of cold water could improve your mood!
**I do not recommend cold plunging by yourself, especially if you're new to it. Find a group of people in your community who go regularly and start with just short plunges of 5-30 seconds at first. Bring a warm and dry change of clothes and hot drinks for after your plunge.
11) Continue to eat your fruits and vegetables
If you find yourself eating holiday feast leftovers for days or weeks after Christmas is over, consider freezing the leftovers instead and immediately go back to fresh salads and plant-centric meals. Starchy carbohydrates like bread and pasta are "comfort food" for many of us but eating too many of these foods and too few fresh fruits and vegetables can increase inflammation and worsen our mental state.
I don't know about you but with so many strategies to try this year, I'm actually excited about establishing my post-holiday blues prevention plan. I invite you to use these ideas and any others you can come up with to develop your own post-holiday blues prevention plan. What can you do and how can you set yourself up for success this year? After all, as they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. It's time to set yourself up for success!
If you find your mental health struggling this winter, please reach out. There are many tools and strategies we can use to help you optimize your mood.
Find out about my approach to mental health. Learn about working with me, learn about my approach, or click below to schedule an appointment.
If you find your mental health struggling this winter, please reach out. There are many tools and strategies we can use to help you optimize your mood.
Find out about my approach to mental health. Learn about working with me, learn about my approach, or click below to schedule an appointment.
**It can be difficult to find a doctor in BC to support you with your mental health. If you're looking for a primary care doctor in BC who is accepting new patients, I can help. Appointments are available in-person in Kelowna or virtually from anywhere in BC.