Distracting yourself with other activities after the holidays may be one of the more effective “cures” of post-holiday depression, though of course it must all be in moderation. This idea of distracting oneself is not new, considering my other articles suggested making “exciting plans” and creating one or more resolutions. However, those two articles focused more on specific ways of distracting, but there are so many ways to preoccupy yourself. Remember, though, that there may be a more serious problem at hand and that distractions aren’t always good if they make you hide real issues.
Anyway, one helpful distraction can be focusing on improving your performance at work. This, along with all other distractions, can also be considered resolutions in a way. Improvements at work can always lead to promotions later on, which make most people feel better, even if there is more work involved. Even just fixing one aspect of your performance can possibly make things easier on yourself. One tip on www.ehow.com suggests learning new skills that might be applicable to a job.
Another beneficial distraction can be exercising. This could actually be a tip in itself to avoid post-holiday depression, since exercise generally has many advantages when concerning the body. An article on Suite 101 mentions “making healthy choices” as one way to cope with post-holiday depression, and this includes exercise as well as eating healthy. The two go hand-in-hand and can help you lose that unwanted holiday food weight.
Exercise has been proven to improve your mental health, besides the fact that you’ll feel better about yourself when you’re back in shape. One article from CBS proves this point, but you can Google “exercise and mental health” and find a plethora of information. The article states that even 20 minutes of exercise a week can improve your mental state.
For those who are more severely depressed, a small amount of exercise or any of the above options might not show any improvement, depending on the person. However, personally, I have a more severe depression and have found that increasing my amount of exercise has helped me noticeably. This might be due to the fact that I am unhappy at my current size, but also, exercise is a way to release tension. An article on www.about.com said that exercise “triggers the production of endorphins.” This can affect the mood in a positive way, since it’s considered a pain reliever.
A few other distractions can be to hang out with more friends and plan more gatherings, work on a fun project and complete errands that you keep putting off. The list could go on, but all the above should urge you to spend your time wisely and not in bed thinking of everything that went wrong with the holidays.
Sources:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2199979_improve-work-performance.html
http://depressiongrief.suite101.com/article.cfm/understanding_postholiday_depression
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/10/health/webmd/main4005636.shtml
http://mentalhealth.about.com/od/depression/a/howexercise.htm