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Christmas & New Year can be a real emotional roller coaster of anticipation, joys and disappointments can’t it ?

It’s perfectly normal to feel a little down when it’s over and the last of the Christmas decorations have been packed away until next year. Did you know that, post-holiday blues actually start during the holidays with jam-packed days and nights of cooking, shopping, overindulging, and socializing???A constant roller coaster of highs and lows, expectations and disappointments.

Contributors to holiday blues can be summed up as the “Five F’s” —

  1. Finances – we are encouraged to Spend, Spend, Spend during the holidays. Billions of pounds are spent on Christmas presents alone!! Seriously!!
  2. Family -You get to pick your friends, but you can’t choose your family. If you have mixed feelings about your family, you aren’t alone! You miss them if you can’t get together during the holidays, but they disappoint you when you do. The holidays are like a magnifying glass, exaggerating dysfunctions that most families have – and once the holiday season is over, you have time to look back at how badly they (or you) behaved
  3. Festivities – During the holidays your calendar is full, probably too full! Even if you’re relieved when the holidays are over, your calendar may now look a little too empty.If you took time off work, clearing up the backlog may be the only thing you see on your horizon. Loneliness is a real problem too after the holidays.
  4. & 5 Fatigue and Food – Normal routines go by the wayside. You eat crap and drink way too much. You spend too much time in crowded shops, sitting in traffic or partying, and not enough time exercising, meditating, and sleeping. You almost certainly did a lot for those around you trying to create cherished memories — but ended up putting your own personal needs and health on hold in the process. This takes a toll on both your physical health and mental well-being.
It usually goes away on its own, but these tips can help you get back to your usual bubbly self sooner…..
  • Plan Something to Look Forward To – Call an old friend for lunch or a plan a weekend getaway.
  • Stop comparing this holiday to the idealized holidays of when you were growing up, Christmas films, or what you imagine others are doing.
  • Clean Up Your Diet. For many of us the carb fest starts at Halloween and continues through New Year’s Day. It becomes tough to stop. Check out my 28 Day Fat Loss BluePrint here >> http://million-dollar-fitness.myshopify.com/products/28-day-fat-loss-challenge
  • Get some Exercise. Even if you don’t like exercising, hopefully you can learn to LOVE “having exercised” FAT LOSS BLUEPRINT >> http://million-dollar-fitness.myshopify.com/products/28-day-fat-loss-challenge
  • Get more light. If you aren’t sure whether what you are experiencing is SAD or post-holiday depression, there is no downside to giving light therapy a try anyway.Research shows that using a light box is as good for treating major depressive disorder as the antidepressant Prozac. Get your vitamin D levels checked while you’re at it
  • Cut Yourself some Slack. Take active steps towards improving your health, but avoid setting yourself up for failure
Bottom Line .. Post-holiday depression generally goes away over time, but there is no reason to just tough it out. You can speed up the process by taking active steps to improve your mood, Following my diet guidelines, doing regular exercise, and getting enough light exposure
Happy New Year !!
Dee