Blue January: How to tackle the darkest month of the year when you experience social anxiety
The festivities are over, the tree’s been put away, and we’ve counted down to midnight together. We’ve all been repeating, “Happy new year!” But how happy is it, really?
If you’re like many people, not very. Many of us go through what’s known as the “January blues” during the darkest month of the year. Although this isn’t a clinical mental health condition, it can impact your day-to-day life. You might feel “down in the dumps” or have less energy than usual.
If you experience social anxiety on any level, this could make the January blues even more challenging. But there is hope and support. In this article, we’ll go over some common reasons why we tend to get the January blues, and what you can do to cope.
What are the January blues?
Most of us feel like we’re in a slump at some point during January. The reasons for this are multifold: The days are darker, the holidays are over, and we’re back to our usual routine after an enjoyable break.
However, alongside the ‘back to the grind’ reasons, January also comes with a number of other challenges that impact on your mental health:
Less physical activity – it’s cold out, so you might be less likely to want to exercise
Social fatigue – December can be hectic, so you might be burnt out from all of the social events that you attended during the holiday season
Financial stress – With Christmas, and the new year sales, spending habits tend to increase during the holidays, with the combined concern of a cost-of-living crisis, this financial impact can cause anxiety. .
Post-holiday sadness – for some people, the absence of holiday excitement might make them feel down, and it starts to feel a long way off until Easter and the next break.
Sleep changes – if you had time off of work, you may have interrupted your sleep cycle
Lack of sunlight can also cause disruptions to your circadian rhythm, you might be getting up and getting to work before the sun breaks through.
January blues are even harder for those of us with social anxiety
Most people experience some level of the January blues. But for those of us who experience social anxiety, this month can be even harder to deal with.
For example, if you experience social anxiety you may be even more burnt out by all of the social interactions we had to have during the holiday season. We might be back at work or studies, which for some of us may mean that we’re back to having to interact with people on a regular basis. If we haven’t practiced socializing during the holiday break (or used safety behaviors like drinking to get through those interactions), then this can be a scary experience.
In other words, anxiety levels might be higher than usual on top of the January mood slump. And the combination of these two things can be a challenge.
How to cope with the January blues and social anxiety
There are healthy ways to beat the January blues and be gentle with yourself during the darkest month of the year. Try these tips:
Stay active
It’s cold and dreary out, and it might be less likely that you want to leave your warm home to exercise. But there are many ways to get a workout from the comfort of your own home, and it’s worthwhile to do so – research says that exercise is one of the most effective ways to boost your mood.
There are free and quick ways to incorporate exercise into your daily routine, using platforms such as YouTube to find free exercise classes, or have a look to find any January offers on workout courses - there’s often many suitable for beginners to get us back into an active routine, and paying for them often holds us more accountable to completing them.
2. Avoid alcohol
It’s tempting to reach for a drink when you’re down in the dumps, and this might be even more true if you’re also feeling socially anxious. Although alcohol may make you feel better in the short-run, it actually has many negative consequences for your mental health long-term – including increasing risk for anxiety and depression.
On top of that, alcohol can become a safety behavior for social anxiety, so it can keep us trapped in the social anxiety loop. It’s a good idea to try and develop a healthy relationship with drinking, and monitor our alcohol intake as much as possible.
3. Get outside
Part of the reason why we get the January blues is because the days are shorter and darker, meaning we’re not getting as much sunlight or Vitamin D as we do in other months. A sunny winter’s day might be hard to come by in the U.K. – but any time spent outdoors will help.
Spend as much time outdoors as possible during daylight hours. If it’s too cold or wet, even opening your curtains can help – let the light in.
4. Fix your sleep
Many of us have been thrown off of our regular sleep schedules during the holiday break. This can have a bigger impact on your mood than you may imagine.
Try to practice good sleep hygiene to get your sleep patterns and quality back on track:
Go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day - develop a routine that works for you, and stick to it as much as possible.
Make sure your bedroom is dark, quiet, and cool
Avoid alcohol and large meals before bedtime
Exercise during the day, but not too closely to your bedtime
Turn off electronic screens about an hour before bedtime
Try a wind-down activity such as reading, meditation or journalling before bed to switch your brain into wind-down mode.
5. Identify your thoughts
Cognitive-behavioral therapy, or CBT, is a therapy method that’s used to help people with all kinds of challenges, from depression to chronic pain to social anxiety. One of the main ideas behind CBT is that our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are interconnected. By identifying our unhelpful thinking patterns, we can start to improve the way we feel.
Try identifying thoughts or patterns of thinking that cause you to feel lower than you already do. For example, you might catch yourself having the thought, “I’m never going to have a normal social life because of my social anxiety.” This thought makes you feel worse. If you identify that this is an unhelpful thought, you can try to replace it with a thought that improves your mood – for example, “I am experiencing social anxiety now, but there is support available to me and it won’t last forever.”
You can practice this technique when you’re experiencing social anxiety as well.
Stay as connected as possible
This can be a tricky one if you’re experiencing social anxiety, but staying connected with close friends, family, and other loved ones can provide a boost in your mood. Research shows that people who have strong social connections have a lower risk of subsequent depression and anxiety. People who feel lonely are more likely to report feeling depressed or anxious.
Of course, when you experience social anxiety, putting yourself in social situations can be a challenge. But try your best to find ways to connect with others in a way that feels safe to you, perhaps connecting with online friends, such as in our Alena community. You can also use social events as opportunities to practice exposures. The more you practice, the easier it will get.
Social anxiety can make the January blues even more challenging, but none of us have to go through it alone. For more support and advice around how to get through the January blues – from people who know exactly what you’re going through – then join our free social anxiety community.
References
Prospective Associations Between Social Connectedness and Mental Health. Evidence From a Longitudinal Survey and Health Insurance Claims Data.