Quote:
Originally Posted by Jen
Oh my GOD, do I hate after Christmas and New Year's. The last week of December through til about late February sucks ass for me. I am tired all the time, all I want to do is sleep and/or eat, I feel totally depressed and out of it and can't wait until summer.
I can't afford to jump on a plane and go somewhere warm which would be the ultimate mood picker upper (cross your fingers for me and the 32.5 million dollar lottery tonight though!).
Does anyone else gets these post-Xmas/NY blues? And what do you do to make yourself feel better during the gloomiest and most disease ridden depressive time of the year?
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I do. It is a holdover from the days when your ancestors were primarily farmers or hunter-gatherers, so in the winter, it was important to slow down and expend less energy while there was less food to be found. Approximately 25% of US adults are affected, lower in areas that get a lot of sunlight and higher in those that don't. Do a search on "Seasonal Affected Disorder" for more information.
So what do you do about it?
1. Light therapy. I suggest a GoLite by Apollo Health. I use mine every day, and it makes a huge difference for me. It sounds cheesy that staring at a light every day would help, but it actually causes hormonal changes in your body. They are $250 online, but only $120 at Costco, and because they are sold in the pharmacy, you don't need a membership AFAIK. Trust me, it will be worth the money if it helps you.
2. Exercise. I know it is even harder than usual to commit yourself when you feel this way, but most people only have to commit to two weeks of working out 3-4 days/week before they find themselves easily in a new routine. I won't go into goal setting and motivation beyond that, you can find that at plenty of sites.
3. Therapy. This is extreme, but you could do a short-term arrangement with a counselor, where you go in setting an 8-10 week limit.
4. Escape to somewhere warm. Got any friends in nicer places? See if you can get away for a weekend trip. Fares are low in January and February, so if you can afford a few hundred to get away, do it.
5. Drugs. More extreme than therapy, but necessary if you are so blue you can not function. Please, use this as a last resort if you can, and be sure you are getting a proper evaluation from a qualified doctor (i.e. some GP's are really well-versed in psychiatrics, but many will prescribe too quickly and too much). Trust me, side effects are not fun, if you can avoid drugs, you should.
Hope you feel better, and feel free to PM me if you need more info. I really stand by 1 & 2 though, as solutions to a lot of things.
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