Wishing everyone a happy and healthy New Year!
Ways to keep sane at the beginning of the new year.
- Find some balance. Just because we overdo it over the holidays doesn’t mean our guilt has to take over now. The bell already rang and we can’t take back having overdone our fun, eating, drinking, or lack of exercise. There’s a reason for what we did, we were supposed to break our routine. Just get back to a routine and then make changes gradually to meet new expectations and goals for a new year.
- It isn’t what we do or don’t do that’s the problem. It’s what we expect of ourselves. “…because our happiness isn’t just based on reality, but rather on the difference between reality and our expectations. …sometimes it’s enough to simply change your expectation.” (Alex Korb, PhD Expectations, Dopamine and Louis CK Why everything is amazing and nobody’s happy).
- Winter is when some animals (endotherms) hibernate and sleep the winter away, not a bad idea for those of us who feel we are hibernating all winter anyway. For people with various forms of depression this is an acute period of sluggishness. Respect your personal metabolic reactions to this time of year and adjust your rhythms.
- Plan what is possible to do and complete what you start.
- Have winter reading available to enjoy as if you were on vacation in a warm climate.
- Keep your internal self warm with heating foods; warm spices, stews and soups, heat anything tasty you might have eaten cold.
- Refrain from isolating by calling, face-timing, emailing/texting someone you like. Don’t pressure yourself to go out if you feel unmotivated to do it.
- Find pleasurable activities to do to feel better about yourself and keep sharing, giving, or volunteering after the “season of giving”.
Add to your own list of kindness to self and others. Remember the Golden Rule. It works.
Cynthia Sontag, MSWAC, LISW 