While the winter Holidays are often filled with joy and celebrations with friends and family, these highly anticipated events can often produce an emotional rebound once they've passed. It's quite normal for the first weeks of the New Year to feel more like a season of "Jeer" rather than "Cheer". There are many aspects of life over the holidays that can contribute to these post-holiday blues. Common factors like the lack of normal routines, disrupted sleep patterns, splurging on less nutritional foods and treats, and squeezing your "social battery" dry can lead to feeling low when January arrives.
Raven Daer, the Communications Specialist for Envision Counselling in the southeast, shared that these experiences are not unnatural and that many are able to relate to the contrast of emotions that can arrive after the celebrations end.
"Right now, as it is to be expected, we are noticing that some folks are just having a bit of a tough time, maybe finding it a little bit difficult or experiencing uncertainties while settling back into those daily routines," said Daer.
While already feeling low, a common pitfall that some fall into is adding even more pressure to this readjustment period through New Year's Resolutions. While some may benefit from the accountability of a Resolution, others might find the demand to be too much to handle amidst trying to pick up where they left off in 2023. Daer provided one possible solution to this dilemma which allows for improvement while removing the nagging influence of a hard-set Resolution.
"Now, we don't want to say to throw those Resolutions out the window as they can absolutely be beneficial for some people," she clarified. "But if you're finding that they are putting that pressure on you, try and reshape that and focus on setting intentions instead. This could be weekly or even daily, and they might look like just being present, being patient, or even just making conscious choices in terms of daily movement, eating well and all sorts of things."
Daily and weekly intentions such as these can act as more palatable reminders of the goals that one might have for themself and can help ease the transition back into normalcy. Whether you find Resolutions to help or hinder your emotional well-being, it is still important to remember that nobody has to navigate difficult times alone. For many, the best solution is to seek help with turning these feelings around and finding a clear path forward.
"I'd just like to provide the gentle reminder that there is no shame in reaching out," said Daer. "So, if you're already focusing on that basic self-care and you're still finding yourself to be struggling, please reach out to a professional, whether it be your family doctor, the 811 Health Line, counselling, Connect Sask., or any other available resources within our area."