Dublin: Usually the holiday season is a joyous occasion, but many people feel very sluggish immediately after the festivities. What is it about Christmas that makes people feel that way? Psychologists believe that this feeling of lethargy or bad mood is usually temporary and cannot be attributed to any specific reason. Sadness caused by bad mood, emptiness, and unmotivation is a long-lasting condition that can last for weeks or even months with people. If it is not relieved, it can lead to depression.
People think it is somewhat related to goals. It is a basic human need to set goals and then make efforts to achieve them. The feeling of reaching a goal keeps people motivated, excited and happy. More importantly, setting goals and seeing progress towards them can create positive emotions such as enthusiasm, enthusiasm, or pride, which is why preparing for Christmas can be so exhilarating. Organizing gatherings, decorating your home, planning dinner – all these activities aim to accomplish the goal of a good Christmas.
The problem with goals is that when they are achieved, they leave people feeling empty. The best way to fix this is to create a second target. Making an exciting goal for January or the new year can be a driving force for keeping your health in check. But setting goals is not enough to ward off negative emotion. You need to take care of your body too.
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A healthy body…
The effect the body has on the mind can make you feel sad even after Christmas. On average, people gain up to a pound (0.45 kg) during the festive season. Unfortunately, shedding this newly gained weight can be difficult. Also, overeating causes bad mood. Research has shown that to help you control your weight and prevent unnecessary pounds from accumulating, regularly checking your weight or fasting in between can help you eat less and maintain your weight during the festive period. can help.
Weight gain is not the only problem that people experience after Christmas. People change their routines significantly: they eat more, drink more and sleep more. They drink twice the amount of alcohol they normally drink during festivals. In addition, there is a change in bedtime, with people sleeping an average of 5% more than usual. All these changes can affect your mood.
In order to feel less euphoric after Christmas, establishing a new, healthier routine is essential. For example, switching to a plant-based diet improves energy levels and the ability to think and reason (cognitive function). It also reduces inflammation and has a stronger and more lasting effect than traditional diets, such as low-calorie or low-volume diets. It can also improve mood, which will remove the feeling of lethargy. weekend effect
Feeling lethargic can also be due to the weekend effect and the feeling of returning to a normal work routine after the holidays. People’s mood becomes good due to the opportunity to spend their time on their own in the weekend and meet people. But once the weekend is over, the mood gets very bad. The same goes for some people at the end of Christmas, especially those who urgently have to go back to work.
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Thoughts of Christmas being over and returning to old routines can add to the feeling of sadness. Several activities can help you think about the future with more optimism rather than fear or anxiety. One such activity is the “best possible self” exercise, where you envision yourself in a future in which everything turned out to be the way you wanted it to be. This leads to an immediate increase in positive emotions.
Studies have shown that people who do this have fewer visits to their doctor after five months. Here’s a customized “best possible self” exercise that you can try after Christmas. Take a piece of paper and write down everything about your best possible self for ten minutes.
Imagine that you have excellent health. You take great care of your body and mind. You have worked hard to meet all your health related goals. Now write what you have done, what hurdles you have overcome, how you did it and what is your result.
Regardless of the reasons for feeling lethargic, it is more important in itself to acknowledge the feeling of aimlessness and bad mood. Only then can you make up your mind to do something about it. This includes increasing physical activity, exercising, eating nutritious meals, planning, being fully aware of how you feel and believing that it is okay to feel this way – many others feel the same way. After all, being well is a journey, not a destination. tomorrow is another day. (agency)