Overcoming New Year Blues
The end of the year is a natural point in time for reflection and rumination on what happened in the time since you last sat down to think about it 365 days before. It could be on global events, your career, your personal relationships, your travel, your achievements – or, in some cases, your lack thereof.
Looking back at the year, it can be easy to skip over all of the positives, all of the happy moments in-between, and let self-criticism take the reins. This is especially true if you are tuned into social media, watching and reading about the highlights from others and feeling compelled to compare yourself to them.
Dredging up the times that you fell short – the promotion you didn’t get, the job you didn’t leave, the weight you didn’t lose, the money you didn’t save, the places you didn’t go – is not a healthy way to start the New Year. It might make you sad, angry, tired, frustrated, or hopeless; all-in-all, not great. These feelings that accompany the New Year can be difficult to escape for anyone. You are not alone when it seems that you can only pinpoint the negatives as 2024 rolls around! In fact, it’s common enough that there’s a whole name for it – the New Year Blues.
What Are the New Year Blues?
The New Year Blues are characterized by emotional lows that develop specifically around the holidays and the New Year. This could be because of factors such as change, stress, and negative rumination, but it can manifest as a result of many things. Two common contributors to the New Year Blues are:
1. Trying to compare or measure up to the expectations that you had at the end of the previous year.
The bittersweet nostalgia that we feel as one thing ends and another begins is natural, but dwelling too long can be unhealthy. As mentioned before, it can be an opportunity to see the failures in all of the things you managed not to do the year before, and that puts a real damper on your mood going into the new year. This can not only inspire negative feelings in the present, but can also make it more difficult to achieve any new goals later if you have a negative self-perception.
2. Feeling overwhelmed with your New Year To-Do List.
Many times, it feels like the New Year brings everything on at once. After having so much time off from work or school, going back right after you say “Happy New Year” can feel like a glass of ice water to the face. It can mean leaving family, friends, and pets, and backing off of the time you can spend on hobbies. It can mean having to make a budget to pay off holiday expenses, planning your PTO, tackling the build-up of emails, cleaning up your home from festivities, and maybe starting down the road to your new resolution. That’s a lot to digest at once, and it can lead to an emotional slump that has you feeling down, blocked, and unable to get anything done.
Tips to Overcoming the Blues
1. Anticipate Your Reflection and Reaction
If you know that you fall into bad habits around the New Year and that it negatively affects your mental health, make a plan to redirect your focus and minimize your reaction. Whether that be by finding a guided reflection to keep your thoughts on a good track, engaging in a new hobby, or joining a group to keep you in the present, such as a book club or discussion group, it can help to plan for your blues.
2. Start Small
Don’t keep your streak! If you have had difficulties keeping your expectations and resolutions in the past and it fuels your blues, tone your expectations for the new year down and start small with short-term or easily-achievable goals. And, if you’re feeling overwhelmed with your To-Do list, keep in mind your priorities, but start off strong with a sense of accomplishment by getting some of the small things crossed off.
3. Be Specific and Realistic
Not only should your new goals and resolutions be small, but they should be specific and realistic. Write down the steps you’ll take to accomplish the incremental steps of your goal instead of focusing only on the finish line, and then you’ll have a physical copy of your intentions and a way to keep yourself on-track.
4. Make a Gratitude List
The New Year is still a good time to reflect, but instead of focusing on the things you didn’t do, grab a piece of paper and a writing utensil and think about the things you did do. The people you saw, the places you went, and write down the parts of the past year that you’re grateful for and that helped you grow.
5. Consider Professional Therapy
If your New Year Blues are serious, turn into a prolonged period of depression, or are the continuation of a larger mental health crisis, consider seeking help from a therapist. It’s okay to seek help when you need it, no matter what time of year it is. Healthy coping mechanisms and self-reflection are not seasonal, and the right counselor can help you work around the blocks and obstacles that you face.
Dawn Pendleton Can Help
The start of a new year doesn’t have to be something that we dread, because it is not the consequence of the previous year, it’s a new one. A blank slate. A beginning. Start off strong by scheduling a free consultation call with Dawn Pendleton, a counselor based in Louisville, KY who specializes in individual therapy for those experiencing blocks and difficulties reaching their goals.
If you or someone you love is looking for a reliable, trustworthy counselor this year with specialties in the LGBTQIA+ community, sports and performance enhancement, and those affected by trauma, Dawn Pendleton of Pendleton Counseling Collaborative, EMDR-certified and Licensed Marriage and Family therapist, is currently accepting new clients. With over 20 years of experience working in both the public and private sectors of the mental health field, Dawn is licensed to provide in-person and telehealth services in both Kentucky and Indiana. Feel free to fill out an inquiry form with any additional questions, call (502) 377-1690, or visit her website to book an appointment.