Beating the January Blues
This week saw the passing of so called 'Blue Monday', supposedly the most depressing day of the year, which brought with it the usual plethora of popular media articles about the date. The date, the third Monday in January, is derived from a formula published by a former tutor at the Centre for Lifelong Learning in Cardiff. This formula was purportedly created to help a travel company analyse holiday booking trends, and is generally held as a pseudoscience in the scientific community.
However, the idea of winter days having a negative affect on our mood is not news. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is thought by the NHS to affect approximately 1 in 15 people in the UK during the winter months, with the worst months being December to February. The decreased hours of daylight means a reduced exposure to sunlight, which could mean a drop in the levels of a hormone in the body called serotonin. Serotonin has a known affect on our mood and low levels have been linked to incidences of depression. The majority of antidepressants prescribed in the UK are SSRIs, or Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, that work to keep high levels of free serotonin in the brain to help combat the symptoms of depression.
But there are other factors involved with why we might feel down at this time of year. I know from personal and professional experience that the Post-Christmas slump can have quite the effect on our mood as well. It's done now, the decorations are hidden in the loft and the droopy twig that used to look like a tree has been carted off by the bin men. The celebrations are done and it's back to work full time. We can spend a long time planning for Christmas and looking forward to it and the 'Christmas Creep' effect means that planning is being put upon us earlier and earlier by adverts. So after it's come and gone it can be easy for some people to feel a little empty.
All the planning for Christmas means we can build up high expectations of what this dream Christmas is going to be like, and if it doesn't all go according to plan we can feel like we've failed. Or perhaps even that it was derailed by something or someone else. The trials and tribulations of an extended period with family can be fraught with possibilities of arguments old and new souring the brandy butter. Perhaps this is a dynamic you'd like to gain more understanding of to open up the possibility of things being a bit different for you from now on. If so you might find therapy a useful opportunity for this exploration. If that's true for you, please feel free to contact me and we can arrange a free assessment session.
