Beating ‘Blue Monday’ with the power of your mind.

Image taken by Tara Gabriel

The third Monday in January is said to be the most miserable day of the whole year. But who really gets to decide that this is the most miserable day? If we approach this day as the worst, you can bet it’s going to feel like it. Whatever you tell yourself about this day, you’re right because YOU are in control of the narrative of your thoughts. Remember, where focus goes, energy flows.

So… what are you focusing on?

You might not be able to control the fact that the festive period is over, the days seem shorter due to daylight, the weather is often grey and cold, your bank balance/ credit card statement/ savings balance aren’t looking too good after the festive splurge or due to the fact the cost of living has sharply risen in recent times and keeping warm and well fed is an expensive endeavour particularly in winter.

Perhaps you went into the New Year charging full steam ahead spurred on by the start of a new page, maybe ‘New Year, New Me’ energy, a perfect opportunity to make big changes and finally reach your goals: lose weight, stop smoking, drink less, exercise more, eat better or cut out *insert food related vice here*. Phew that was an exhausting list and so now maybe you feel like you’ve run out of steam after going so hard and fast toward what you want, leaving you feeling low, unmotivated, tired and fed up.

Mid-January doesn’t have to feel like this. Blue Monday is a ‘meaningless’ concept created in 2004/05 by psychologist Dr Cliff Arnall using an questionable formula to help a travel agent sell holidays. It’s our own thought patterns and beliefs that make it a reality brought to life – both are things that we can influence by taking small, sometimes even tiny steps toward where you want to be. So how about we forget about Blue Monday and make it just a myth of the past. You can use the power of your mind to beat Blue Monday and here’s how.

Below is a list of things you could do to increase your serotonin levels to help improve your mood, lower your stress and beat the ‘January blues’ so you can make the most of life no matter what day, month or season it is. You deserve it.

• Spend time with others

• Practice gratitude

• Physical activity & embracing nature

• Make the most of natural light

• Eat well

• Check your vitamin levels

• Get creative

• Set realistic goals with small steps

• Random act of kindness

• Find reasons to smile and laugh more

• Meditation/ Mindfulness practice

• Habit swaps - Swap mindless scrolling for something else.

·         REACH OUT - Links below.

Image taken by Tara Gabriel.

Read more about how you can do each of these things from the list above.

Spend time with others
Typically humans are sociable beings. Being alone can lead to feelings of isolation and low mood or depression. Feeling low or depressed can lead to people socially isolating themselves. See that vicious circle we need to be weary of, especially in the winter months when it’s darker and colder and the urge to hibernate takes over. Reaching out to family and friends for an outing or a cuppa and a catch up can be a real mood booster. Connecting in person with people we love and care about or share values can give us a real sense of community and belonging. Even sharing a hug can boost oxytocin, one of the feel good hormones. Volunteering is another way to connect with others and the best thing about that – you get to help others.

Practice gratitude – keep a gratitude journal for the 3 best things that happened that day
What you seek you shall find. If you’re on the lookout for things to be grateful for each day, you’ll expand your capacity to notice the positives in your life and naturally focus less on the negatives. Taking a few minutes to do this when you first wake up can set you up for a day of noticing and appreciating the positives. Taking the last few minutes of your day to do this before bed, can help you slip into a more restful sleep. Instead of getting stressed by focusing on what you didn’t get done or have yet to do the following day, any dramas that unfolded or generally negative thoughts. Reflecting on the good puts us in our intelligent brain and that makes for a much better night sleep. Overtime you might even notice when negative things happen, you’ll be less affected and more resilient.  

Physical activity & embrace nature
Getting active whether it’s in your home, outdoors, the gym, the local pool, an exciting new sport or physical activity you enjoy or something completely new to you, movement is well known to boost those happiness chemicals in the body and if you’re feeling blue this could be the perfect way to give your happiness a boost. Of course, activity in any form is better than none, even taking a slow amble in nature - being amongst green spaces and close proximity to water bodies has been shown to be beneficial for the mind and body. Science has shown that reconnecting with the natural world helps reduce levels of stress, anger and anxiety, boosts mood and concentration levels, helps us take time out and relax and can even boost self-esteem. So, something as simple as a short walk in the local park, woodland, nature reserve, river, canal or lake can help lift your spirits – if you wanted to make it social you could even join a local walking group.

Make the most of the natural light
In the northern hemisphere, winter months mean less sunlight. NHS inform updated an article this year suggesting that SAD (seasonal affective disorder) affects around 2 million people in the UK and more than 12 million across northern Europe. Getting outdoors, particularly around midday and on brighter days can help. If you can’t get outside, sitting near a window can help. If you find it difficult to get enough exposure to natural light, light therapy lamps used first thing in the morning can be beneficial in the short-term to supplement your natural light exposure.

Eat well
Having 2 or 3 balanced meals a day can really help your energy levels be more consistent and lessen fluctuations in mood that can be hunger driven – hangry anyone? It can be tempting to try restrictive eating to reach those New Year weight loss/ diet goals but this is likely to leave you hungry, irritated, obsessing over ‘bad’ foods and ultimately giving in to temptation. Remember, a little of what you fancy is ok –it’s all about balance. In the UK at this time of year we have many seasonal veggies as I recently discovered on this list of seasonally UK grown produce. Perhaps you could try something new from the list? Or maybe give mindful eating a go to help control what you eat.  

Check your vitamin levels – Are your vitamin B12 and vitamin D levels within normal range?
It’s vital to our health that our vitamin levels are kept within a healthy range. If our bodies are too deficient in vital vitamins and minerals, it impacts the efficiency of which our body functions and this can have severe consequences for our physical and mental health. According to the NHS if you are lacking in vitamin B12 or vitamin D here are some of the issues you may face:

Vitamin B12 – extreme tiredness, lack of energy, psychological issues like depression and confusion, issues with memory, understanding and judgement – changes in the way you think, feel and behave.

Vitamin D – Fatigue, not sleeping well, depression or feelings of sadness, more susceptible to illness.

Eating foods rich in vitamin B12 (leafy greens) and vitamin D (oily fish, egg yolks or fortified foods) as well as exposure to the sun for vitamin D help maintain good levels – remember to use sunscreen even on cloudy days for prolonged sun exposure. Supplements are also available to give yourself a vitamin boost; they come in tablet and spray forms and are available at most health stores and supermarkets – B12 can be given as an injection but please seek medical advice from a licensed medical practitioner such as your GP if you think you have a vitamin deficiency. Your GP can always check with a simple blood test and ensure you are advised or given the correct dosage to efficiently and safely increase your vitamin levels.

Get creative
Lets talk hobbies. Do you have a hobby? Something that gives you a sense of joy that isn’t for work or carries a sense of obligation. Maybe something you enjoyed when you were a child? It doesn’t have to break the bank; it just has to be interesting to you and fun. Drawing, painting, photography, writing, gardening, cooking, pottery, sewing/ crochet/ knitting, candle making, jewellery making etc… the possibilities are endless. Creativity is great for the brain, it provides a sense of accomplishment which can boost dopamine, reduce stress and anxiety and allows you to enter a ‘happy zone’ where you might find time passes in a different way – time flies when you’re having fun.

Set realistic goals and break them down into small manageable steps you can build upon
When setting goals it’s easy to think solely of the end result and hastily try do everything at once to accomplish this. Ask yourself, what is your current mindset and motivation level? Do you have the skills and abilities to reach the end goal? When do you want to achieve your goal by? Is that a realistic time frame? Imagine this, you came across a deep rushing river with a strong current and unseen rocks beneath the surface and you needed to be on the other side in one piece. You wouldn’t just barrel in from where you’re stood and hope for the best in the endeavour to get to the other side. You’d have to take time to assess the situation, check your resources and maybe gather additional resources, then plan before taking small, steady steps to get across safely. You might even have to reroute along the way. Taking a more rational, measured approach to your goals and breaking them down into small manageable steps will help you create a solid foundation which will support the building of new habits which will see you more likely to reach your goal. Solution focused hypnotherapy can help with that.

Random act of kindness
Acts of kindness undoubtedly make the world a happier place and can strengthen social connections. Being kind to others can reduce stress and boost feelings of happiness, optimism and self-esteem. It also has a ripple effect which can reach more than just the person you were kind to, by inspiring them to pay it forward or eve, be inspired to help others in a completely different way. Random acts of kindness aren’t just about big, bold, extravagant gestures. It’s often the small things in life that have the most profound effect. Making someone a cup of tea, offering a seat to someone who might need it more, letting the person in a rush go first at the checkout, check on someone going through a tough time, ask how someone is, offer help if someone doesn’t know how to do something you do, say good morning or afternoon to a neighbour or passer-by, smile and say hi to people you see regularly but don’t know personally or pay a genuine compliment to people you interact. No act of kindness is too small, so why don’t you make someone’s day whilst giving yourself a boost of feel good hormones. Win, win!

Find more reasons to smile and laugh more
Smiling and laughing decrease the amount of cortisol in the body by triggering happy hormones like endorphins and serotonin which can reduce stress and make us feel good. The ability to easily smile and laugh help you to cope with difficult situations and promote positive connection between people. Here are some small ways to start smiling more: smile as you open the curtains in a morning, as you step into the shower or sink into a lovely bath, smile when you hear the birds sing or; as you bring your morning brew to your lips – You get the picture smile at all the small, inconsequential moments, the simple pleasures of life. Or if you want to have a good laugh: watch a comedy, interact with a funny person, read a funny book or; play funny games.

Meditation/ mindfulness practice
It’s well researched and scientifically proven that meditation and mindful practices can make a huge difference to our mental wellbeing. The emotional benefits of meditation and mindfulness include but aren’t limited to: increasing self-awareness, managing stress, the ability to gain new perspectives on stressful events, focusing on the present, increasing patience and tolerance and; improving quality of sleep. What’s more, you don’t have to sit cross legged, on a big poufy cushion with your eyes closed, chanting om for hours on end to meditate or practice mindfulness. Meditation and mindfulness can be practiced at any time of day, anywhere and for a length of time you choose. Whether you opt for a 2-minute mantra, 5-minute breathing exercise, 10-minute body scan, 15-minutes of mindful eating, 20-minute yoga, Qi Gong or Thai Chi, 30-minute mindful walk or other ways like prayer, loving kindness mediation, reading, reflecting and journaling, meditation practice can help you feel a sense of calm, peace and balanced mind with mindful practices bring you into the present, becoming aware of what you’re sensing and feeling in the moment without judgement. You can start seeing the benefits quite quickly. Remember this is something that can be done anytime, anywhere. Mediation and mindfulness are ‘practices’, it isn’t about perfection.

Habit swaps - Swap mindless scrolling for something else.
Scrolling endlessly on social media can be a thief of time but more importantly it can be a thief of joy. It’s easy to forget when mindlessly scrolling that you’re only really seeing the highlights or carefully set up and created photos or videos people are choosing to share. If you’re already feeling low it can create feelings of insignificance and deepen the dissatisfaction we may feel within our own lives. There are ways to reduce your usage if cold turkey isn’t feasible (for example if you need social media for business). How about when you feel the urge to scroll, pick up a book and read a few pages or find something alternative you like doing maybe a puzzle, journaling, play a board game, a card game like solitaire, do a short breathing exercise, find a new hobby. Getting to the bottom of why we reach for the phone can also help us make better choices. Next time you go to pick up the phone ask yourself, could you be hungry, angry, bored, lonely or tired? Or set a timer for scrolling, give yourself a limit and stick to it. Most modern phones have inbuilt apps that show device usage including individual app usage – have a look, you might be surprised how much time scrolling takes up. Some of the device usage apps even let you set a time restriction on individual apps.

REACH OUT - It might be the start of a new year but that doesn’t mean that you’ve left behind problems of the past year or aren’t struggling with worries of the year to come. If you find yourself really struggling right now, stuck in a negative spiral of thoughts or losing sleep and you can’t find the motivation to try any of the things on the list above then Inner Sage Hypnotherapy may be able to help support you create small, manageable goals towards a happier you. Contact us by visiting my website, emailing info@innersagehypnotherapy.co.uk or DM @innersagehypnotherapy on Instagram or Facebook.

You can also contact one of the listening services listed by Mind on this link here. Alternatively, if you need help from a trained medical professional you could also contact your local GP.