Blue Monday and Beyond: 3 Strategies to Weather the Weather
It was Blue Monday last week, deemed the saddest day of the year. I have been reflecting on my interactions with people during January, and I have to say the world seems particularly down. Hardly surprising given the ongoing COVID restrictions. Additionally, in this part of the world, the weather is gloomy, so it is a mental hurdle for people to head outside and participate in outdoor activities. Everything feels hard. I can’t count the number of sessions I have had where clients have said they lack motivation.
As Blue Monday suggests, this dip in mood seems to happen each year. Low mood is more pronounced since COVID arrived on the scene, but it is not new. The hype of the holidays is over, the days are still short, and summer vacation is far away. No wonder we have a hard time sticking to our New Year’s Resolutions when we hit the slump after the holidays.
Perhaps we set ourselves up for failure each year, thinking this year will be different. We diligently set goals for the coming year on a champagne-fuelled high, forgetting the dark days of winter ahead.
How do we dig deep to find a way to move forward?
Check in with yourself. What can you do to take care of yourself and tolerate your lack of motivation for the next while? You know you don’t feel unmotivated for the whole year. You know you will feel better, even if it will take a couple of months to get there. Perhaps we don’t need to feel our best every moment of every day. Even writing that sounds unrealistic. Sometimes it is okay to just be okay, or even less than okay. If, however, you find yourself losing hope, that is another thing. Check in with your doctor. Cover your bases. Don’t let a low mood get away from you.
Be kind to yourself. Keep a list of activities, both indoor and outdoor, that help you get through the winter months. Booking yoga and massages helps me. Knowing I have the appointments gives me something to look forward to. Afterward I feel better, giving me another boost. If you aren’t comfortable with those activities during COVID, or they are inaccessible to you, grab a special coffee or tea, choose a picturesque walk or hike, or get up a mountain for a snowy escape. It takes some effort to compile your list of activities to boost your mood, but it is easier to refer to a list than to come up with ideas when you are feeling unmotivated.
Connect with others. We are all losing patience with the pandemic. The ongoing isolation feels criminal. Many people have lost their inspiration to come up with interesting ways to meet with friends. I would argue we need to make the effort – even if it is once a week or every other week – to connect with humans outside our household. Once again, it may take more effort than you feel you can muster but the payoff will be worth it in the end.
The winter months can be challenging, especially these days. As soon as we feel like we can start making plans the world shuts down again. Our resilience is at an all-time low. Our creativity and inspiration are at all-time lows. Our patience is at an all-time low. I hear that from clients, friends and family everyday. And I see it around me. I know you are stressed and fed up. I know this because I am stressed and fed up. I also know that spring will come. Not soon enough. But it will come. Like so many tough, tough times in life, how we wait is what matters. We can’t hold out for the day that things are better, because, as we have seen, that has been promised and then dashed multiple times in the last two years. We have only our day-to-day to keep us going, so we need to continue to make the most of it. Take care of yourself, take care of your loved ones, and look for joy in the small moments.