Major Melancholy – I Love January and February. “Yeah, okay…”

By Guest Author |
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Bill White, M.S. writes about ways to cope with major melancholy.

Major melancholy, post holiday letdowns? – what can you do if January and February leave you feeling icky? To answer that, please find the following guest post by Bill White, M.S., a counselor, author, mentor, blogger and speaker specializing in depression, anxiety and general mental health issues. He hosts a blog, Chipur, and does a lot of E.R. psychiatric emergency work in Chicago’s suburbs where he also spends time with his two teenage children.

This can be one brutal time of the year for so many reasons. Do I  really have to tell you that? I don’t think so.

Hmmm, let’s see. For many of us it’s bitterly cold, and when you throw cloudy and windy days on top of that you’re in for some major melancholy. And let’s not forget about the very short hours of sunlight (if there is any).

Then there’s the post-holiday letdowns. Now, for some, having the holidays in the rear-view mirror is reason to celebrate. But for others,  it’s the only thing that made life in any measure bright, and worth participation. Finally, there’s the small matter of facing a brand new year, which is likely to be miserable, just like the last one. Or so we think anyway.

Well, I don’t know about you, but I don’t like feeling icky. So what can we do to maintain a sense of, well, chipur (had to throw that in). How ’bout a few starters, in no particular order…

  1. Create and get yourself in the midst of as much light as possible. I know it may let a bit more cold air in, but keep those curtains and blinds open during the day (you can keep the doors closed, though).
  2. Avoid long periods of sleep, with the exception of normal sleep time (I know, “who sleeps?”). Keep regular sleep hours and get yourself up and get going.
  3. Burn scented candles day and night. Listen to comforting music. Soothing is the word.
  4. Take a warm bath with a scented oil. And don’t forget the candles.
  5. Exercise in some manner. You don’t have to join a gym or buy one of those body-slaying contraptions you see on infomercials. Get creative.
  6. Eat and drink well. You may be tempted to indulge in high simple sugar “comfort foods” and/or alcohol (or other substances), but it’ll only cycle around to make you feel terrible.
  7. Buy a plant and personalize it. Maybe you already have one that’ll work. A friend of mine has a plant his dearly-departed mother bought thirty-seven years ago. It’s “Pauline,” and it’s very much a loved one to him.
  8. Catch a movie, preferably at a theater.
  9. Start a project. Man, there are so many possibilities. Write,  craft, scrapbook, sew, crochet, genealogy, take a class, find a social cause.
  10. Absolutely do not isolate! Connect with family and friends. If you don’t have any, or you can stand the ones you have, find places where you can connect (preferably not online).

No doubt, this is a very tough time of the year for so many of us. And if we’re already enduring depression and/or anxiety (don’t really see how you can have one without the other…check our related posts on my website), our  situation can quickly spiral downward. Do not allow that to happen (yes, we’re authorized to intervene)!

I don’t care how desperate our circumstances are, we can improve them…if we choose (three key words). So get after it, will ya’? Get the job done!

This can be one brutal time of the year for so many reasons. Do I  really have to tell you that? I don’t think so.

Hmmm, let’s see. For many of us it’s bitterly cold, and when you throw cloudy and windy days on top of that you’re in for some major melancholy. And let’s not forget about the very short hours of sunlight (if there is any).

Then there’s the post-holiday letdowns. Now, for some, having the holidays in the rear-view mirror is reason to celebrate. But for others,  it’s the only thing that made life in any measure bright, and worth participation. Finally, there’s the small matter of facing a brand new year, which is likely to be miserable, just like the last one. Or so we think anyway.

Well, I don’t know about you, but I don’t like feeling icky. So what can we do to maintain a sense of, well, chipur (had to throw that in). How ’bout a few starters, in no particular order…

  1. Create and get yourself in the midst of as much light as possible. I know it may let a bit more cold air in, but keep those curtains and blinds open during the day (you can keep the doors closed, though).
  2. Avoid long periods of sleep, with the exception of normal sleep time (I know, “who sleeps?”). Keep regular sleep hours and get yourself up and get going.
  3. Burn scented candles day and night. Listen to comforting music. Soothing is the word.
  4. Take a warm bath with a scented oil. And don’t forget the candles.
  5. Exercise in some manner. You don’t have to join a gym or buy one of those body-slaying contraptions you see on infomercials. Get creative.
  6. Eat and drink well. You may be tempted to indulge in high simple sugar “comfort foods” and/or alcohol (or other substances), but it’ll only cycle around to make you feel terrible.
  7. Buy a plant and personalize it. Maybe you already have one that’ll work. A friend of mine has a plant his dearly-departed mother bought thirty-seven years ago. It’s “Pauline,” and it’s very much a loved one to him.
  8. Catch a movie, preferably at a theater.
  9. Start a project. Man, there are so many possibilities. Write,  craft, scrapbook, sew, crochet, genealogy, take a class, find a social cause.
  10. Absolutely do not isolate! Connect with family and friends. If you don’t have any, or you can stand the ones you have, find places where you can connect (preferably not online).

No doubt, this is a very tough time of the year for so many of us. And if we’re already enduring depression and/or anxiety (don’t really see how you can have one without the other…check out my website), our  situation can quickly spiral downward. Do not allow that to happen (yes, we’re authorized to intervene)!

I don’t care how desperate our circumstances are, we can improve them…if we choose (three key words). So get after it, will ya’? Get the job done!



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Posted in Help for Families | Secondhand Drinking | Codependency, Mental Illness | Co-Occurring Disorders and tagged , ,

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