Are the January Blues Real?

January gets a bad rap. Think about it... it's the first month of a brand new year, a year full of awesome possibilities!

But then we then like to cram a lot of new beginnings into January! I'm looking at you... New Year Resolutions.

On top of that, it's one of the darkest, gloomiest months. The days are short. The nights are long. The weather is cold, wet, windy or snowy.

We've also just come off of the "high" of the holiday season. People travel. They visit family. They might go on vacation to sunnier climes. There are parties and celebrations and general joy and festivities. People get time off from work and school. Yay! And then... the reality of a return to "normal life" hits once January rolls around. Ugh!

And then we get combinations of all of the above. We commit to exercising more, after over-indulging during the holidays and we look out the window to the blowing snow or pouring rain and... nope... we will walk or run tomorrow! Always tomorrow.

It's like nature is against us! "But I really, really want to exercise more!" Except.. it's hard. So very hard. Much easier to just flop on the couch, and watch the latest hit on Netflix. Maybe with some popcorn and chips and... oh what the heck, let's have some chocolate too!! Who then heck gives chocolate at Christmas??? It sets us up for a horrible January!

Oh... and let's not forget that the credit card bills are all streaming into our inboxes. All that December spending is coming home to roost and we are looking at our bank accounts and wondering where all the money went.

And we know we should eat more fresh fruit and veggies but... have you seen the price of apples??? I used to be able to get a 5 lb bag of apples for $5. A buck a pound (yes, yes, I know we are metric but I've never been good with the weights part of that!). And now... a 5 lb bag of apples is $9. That's almost $2 a pound!!! That's absolutely insane. And oranges aren't much better. And let's not even talk about berries, mangos and kiwis. Or tomatoes - $3/lb. Ugh. And we are supposed to eat more fresh fruit and veg? How??? Oh... I get it... bananas... they're still $0.69/lb which is ridiculously cheap compared to everything else. Sigh... not my favourite fruit but... we can't live on bananas alone.

It's enough to make you want to throw up your hands in despair and track down some more chocolate!

January Blues

So yes... the January Blues are a thing. And this past Monday, January 16, was Blue Monday, supposedly the saddest day of the year. All of the above factors come to a heaving crescendo. The days are long, the weather is crap, good food is expensive, we are feeling pudgy and sluggish from too much holiday fare, the vacation is over and work is a drag... and the thought of going out into the cold makes us shudder. We stare at our bank accounts and wonder... maybe we should cancel the Netflix subscription... or the gym subscription.

So yes, it is perfectly normal to feel a bit blue... bleu... or just plain blah at this time of year. But telling myself that this is perfectly normal doesn't make me feel any better. I am feeling sad. I lack motivation. I want crap food. And everything just feels like... too much. I need a vacation to recover from my Christmas vacation!

Sigh. I know what I need to do... we all know what we need to do! It's the same things that makes a difference for us at any other time of year.

1. 
   Get outside and get some sunshine and Vitamin D - admittedly a bit harder when it's bucketing rain. But even some fresh air can do wonders. Even better if it's out in a forest where we can breathe in the good tree scents (terpenes and terpenoids).
2. Exercise more - even just walking around the house and up and down the stairs. Or doing weights. Or push ups. Even better... bundle up and go for a walk. It will make us feel better.
3. Drink water - Not beer. Not pop. Not coffee. Water. I'm still working on this. It sounds so easy and yet I can go hours and hours without drinking anything.
4. Eat healthy food - bananas (not my most favourite fruit especially when they are yellow... ewww) - And frozen berries are waaaaayyyy cheaper than fresh ones... and go great in oatmeal. Stay away from processed food. Eat food that is in season - cabbages and kale and squash  and root vegetables come to mind.
5. Get plenty of sleep - you'd think with the nights being so long, we'd get lots of sleep but... because it gets dark so early, we tend to lose all connection with our circadian rhythm. We stay up late watching TV or scrolling on the phone. "They help me fall asleep." Bullshit. Blue light is exceedingly bad for melatonin (sleep hormone) production. Turn off all screens 3 hrs before bedtime. But then what??? What to do in a dark winter evening?...
   
6. Do something creative - a hobby, a puzzle, knitting, woodwork, writing, games, journaling - do something that brings you joy and reduces stress. In which case... don't play Monopoly... guaranteed stress-inducer that one! But have some fun.
7. Socialize with Friends and Family - get out and see people! Meet for coffee... or games... or a walk. So many different options. Maybe don't go shopping though... depending on your credit card bills!
8. Ease up on the Resolutions - start small... or if you started big... dial it back to small. Small steps will win the race. And are likely more realistic too!
9. Make Plans for the Future - maybe a summer vacation... where will you go? How will you get there? What will you do when you are there? Something to look forward to generally boosts our mood, particularly when we are staring down the barrel of January and February! Or maybe you'll just explore your own city. I'm pretty sure there are places you haven't gone... and new things to see and do!

All of which makes perfect sense to me! And yet I still want chocolate. Sigh. But... let's take this one small step at a time. I'm slowly piecing together a morning routine that includes meditation, stretching, weights and journaling (on different days of the week). And yes... writing and blogging is part of that.