Holiday Survival Tip #6: Post-Holiday Blues

CONTINUING my weekly series on how to stress less and thrive more through this holiday season. No matter how you celebrate, there seems to always be an additional stress component this time of year. This series will take us into the New Year and offer tips to move through the season seamlessly.

𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐢𝐩 #𝟔: 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭-𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐬. A little blue? Down, but not really sure why? Next week, the holidays are officially over, and you can finally relax and allow “normal” life to begin again. What a relief! Or…is it? What if a tender kind of blah takes over and you miss the excitement of looking forward to the holiday with family or the time off from work, etc.? What if you feel blue? Some symptoms of the post-holiday blues are fatigue, lack of focus, no motivation, listlessness, and irritability. Here are a few tips to smooth over the transition from the holiday season to post-holiday life:

🌟Give yourself time. If possible, give yourself a couple of days or more to softly get back into a more regular routine. If out of town, return home a couple of days early, or if home, just start edging back toward your usual routine and sleep schedule at least a couple of days before returning to work.

🌟Plan your first week back. Plan clothes, lunches, dinners, and your kids’ schedules for that first week back (and beyond, if you can!). Getting yourself organized for that return to work and school will help you to not be as overwhelmed. This takes away some of the stress and provides you more free moments to ground yourself during the busyness of the week.

🌟Get some exercise. Moving your body will help kick up those endorphins and get you started on the right foot for the new year. If you can, plan a walk outside in a park or a green space to help you connect with nature and improve your overall sense of well-being.

🌟Find some social interaction. If the holidays were joyful for you because you loved all the socializing, schedule some lunches or coffee chats with friends or loved ones to keep up that social interaction during the new year.

🌟Recharge. Alternately, some of us need more time to recharge after socializing a lot more during the holidays. Carve out quiet time to do some things that you enjoy and have not had a chance to do as much during the busy holiday season.

🌟Plan something to look forward to. Keep it as simple or extravagant as you’d like, but plan something to look forward to. A snowshoe outing with friends, a dinner at a new restaurant, a new class, or even a trip abroad. You do you--and consider using a visual reminder of that event to help you keep it in your mind. A visual can be as simple as an early calendar reminder on your phone or as complex as creating a vision board to help get ready for a long summer vacation.

The post-holiday blues are generally a short, situational feeling of being down. If you find you are experiencing a more serious feeling of depression, reach out to a mental health professional, or in the US, contact the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988.

I hope you enjoy this series and if you want to take stressing less and thriving more deeper, feel free to reach out!

1:1 sessions are available. Visit this link for more information or to sign up for a free discovery consultation: https://www.reneehagarsmith.com/coaching