January Blues

17^th January 2025

It’s January and this month doesn’t have a great reputation as a ‘feel-good’ time of year. A few searches online soon reveal some of the reasons for this, with the month containing ‘the most depressing day of the year’ - Blue Monday 20th January. A combination of environmental and social conditions goes to the heart of this, such as the weather conditions, money worries, a long time until the next holiday, broken new year's resolutions which lead to low levels of motivation within people.

For several decades seasonal affective disorder (SAD) has also been linked to the winter months and although its exact cause is unknown, symptoms of depression are thought to be linked to less exposure to sunlight. One theory is that light stimulates a part of the brain called the hypothalamus which controls mood, sleep and appetite, affecting how you feel. Given that the winter solstice (shortest amount of daylight) only occurred in December it’s hardly surprising that SAD is really asserting itself this month. Although symptoms may reveal themselves differently in individuals some common experiences include:

• Lack of energy
• Difficulty concentrating
• Not wanting to see people
• Feeling sad, low, tearful, guilty or hopeless
• Feeling anxious, angry and agitated
• Being more prone to physical health problems, such as colds, infections or other illnesses
• Sleeping too much, or difficulty waking up
• Sleeping too little, or waking up a lot
• Changes in your appetite, for example feeling hungrier or not wanting to eat
• Losing interest in sex or physical contact

Experiencing any of the above can feel like a challenge for anyone, but layer on top life’s other ups and downs, then it can feel much more significant and overwhelming. Carrying difficult feelings or a low mood around is hard and this is where talking therapy can help, a problem shared is a problem halved as they say!

Go to the homepage on our website at https://drcs.org.uk/ for information about our talking therapy services, it is just a click away.

#DRCS #CounsellingServices #Derbyshire #Counselling #EMDR #TalkingTherapy #JanuaryBlues #MentalHealth #SAD

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