Does anyone have the Post-Christmas blues?
It’s that awkward time of year when Christmas is over and New Year hasn’t happened yet and we’re just waiting. ‘Waiting for what?’ I hear you ask. Well, I’m not really sure.
A friend of mine described it as ‘the slubby time’ and instantly I knew that this phrase encapsulated my feelings perfectly. Another way to describe it is ‘the in-between,’ because this week always feels a bit like no man’s land. We’re stuck between Christmas indulgence and New Years resolutions; between work and play; between festivity and monotony. If like me, you feel as though your emotions are a pendulum swinging unpredictably between joy and sadness, contentment and restlessness and you find yourself getting teary for no explicable reason then take comfort in the fact that you are not alone.
The ‘January blues’ are a very real thing and they can set in as soon as Christmas is over and the decorations have come down. Others experience the blues from around mid-January when the weather is cold, resolutions have failed and people are stuck paying off their Christmas debt. It doesn’t help that many people put on weight during the festive period and all the indulgence that at first felt so good leading up to Christmas (too many mince pies and mulled wine) now leaves you feeling even worse.
It’s a classic sugar crash and I have definitely been experiencing it in the last couple of days. Generally, I eat a well balanced, wholefood plant-based diet. My one vice is baking sweet treats to have with a cup of coffee in the afternoon but even then, I make sure to use wholemeal flour, limited oil and no refined sugar. However, when it comes to Christmas time, I indulge as much as the next person. This year I made my own mince pies with puff pastry and because I didn’t add any sugar to the mincemeat, I felt justified in eating at least two in one sitting! I also made vegan rocky road with fresh blueberries (one of my 5 a day, surely?!) and gingerbread biscuits. The sticky gingerbread I made for Christmas day dessert seemed to last forever so I found myself eating it over three days with cream and ice-cream and I haven’t even started talking about the vegan cheese and biccies, crisps and dip and panettone and pancakes I’ve been scoffing! Yes, it’s been a very indulgent week and my body is certainly feeling it.
This is why I woke up on Monday morning and thought NO MORE. My body was screaming to get back to a healthier diet, especially one lower in sugar. The rest of the sticky gingerbread has now gone into the freezer and I am weaning myself off the guilty foods and embracing lots of fruit and vegetables. I want to get back on track so I can treat myself a little on New Year’s Eve as it’s going to be a sad one this year as we are unable to see friends and family because of the current lockdown restrictions here in the UK. If we can’t enjoy a night of naughty food, what else is there?
And that is why my ‘slubby time’ is so much worse this year. Normally I’m either in Australia spending time with my family and going to the beach or I’m about to go to Australia so I have something to look forward to. This will be the first year in a long time where I am forced to stay put and fully experience the entire English winter and let me tell you, I’m not looking forward to it one bit! When the days are so short, dark and cold it’s difficult to feel energised and inspired. Add to that, the fact that we are living through a pandemic and all the stress that brings and you have a recipe for serious depression.
But I will not be beaten! I have decided to change my mindset (as it’s pretty much the only thing I have control of at the moment) and I will stop thinking about all the things I hate about January and instead focus on nourishing my body, mind and spirit. This means eating healthy yet hearty food, keeping up the regular walks despite the weather, making an effort to talk to friends, devoting time to activities I enjoy (at the moment it’s knitting) and maybe even challenging myself by learning new skills (crotchet!) What else can I do? In fact, what is more important than self-care? I feel like in the coming months we will be facing our toughest challenge yet as the COVID pandemic creeps towards the yearly mark and the novelty of the first lockdown will be but a distant memory. Remember that time? When we had glorious sunshine and everyone embraced nature and made sourdough from scratch and created funny lockdown videos and started zooming friends and family? Back then we were so ignorant; we thought that by 2021 COVID would be a thing of the past.
But when Big Ben chimes it’s first bells on 1st January, the world isn’t going to suddenly shed it’s virus-ridden skin and ‘go back’ to the way things were. Just because a new year has begun doesn’t mean COVID will be left behind. No, it’s very much here to stay for a little while yet. Yes, there is light at the end of the tunnel; vaccines are being rolled out every day but it will be a long time before life completely returns to ‘normal.’
And what is normal? Surely 2020 has flipped the term ‘normal’ on its head and made us question who we are, what makes us happy, who is important to us and how we are going to approach the future. We have all had to navigate new ways to work, new ways to connect and new ways to cope emotionally with the constant stress of feeling unsafe and the reality of not being able to see friends and family. And these changes will be etched permanently into who we are. When we eventually step into the new world where COVID is no longer a threat, we will be stepping into that world as different people. Our habits will have changed, our interactions and relationships will have changed and maybe even our sense of purpose will have changed.
For me, this week was a long time coming. Over the last few days, I have experienced so much more than just the ‘Post-Christmas Blues;’ I have let myself grieve for everything that I have lost this year. The lost Christmas with my family in Australia, the knowledge that it will be two years before I can see them in person again, the loss of work and income, the challenges I’ve faced maintaining friendships that rely on face to face contact (something I took for granted before), all the hugs I haven’t been able to have and the feeling of safety that again, I took for granted.
I also know that through all this there is so much to be grateful for and I am, daily. But sometimes we just need to wallow. To sob and scream and let it all out and not feel like we have to get back up again. That emotional release is good for the soul. I know that the sun will shine again, just as I know that the birds will sing again, and I will get on a plane again, and go out for brunch with my friends again, and hug my mum again and be in a theatre watching a musical with hundreds of other people and not feeling unsafe again. But when that finally happens, will I be the same person as I was before?
Probably not.
And most of all, I grieve for that person left behind.
But without change, there is no growth, and without growth, there is no enlightenment so I will embrace this slubby time; cry all the tears, feel all the feels and then rise again in the new year and throw my arms around the world.
What other choice do I have?
What other choice do any of us have? It reminds me of Finding Nemo when the character Dory the fish is always chanting ‘Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.’ At the end of the day, all we can do is keep on swimming; upwards, towards the light.
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Love this Ash and I hear you. Even in the best of times that Xmas to NYE period was a bit of an icky one in London’s winter. I can only imagine how much it is intensified this year. Sending lots of love and you are SO bang on. We can change our mindset, and it’s from sobbing Sunday’s and the deep uncomfortable that we grow as people. Xxxxxxx
Thanks for this! I’m so glad you enjoyed the post and that you understand. It’s been a tough year and we’re all just trying our best.