The January Slump: You’re not behind, you’re human

Photo by Ailsa Anton on Unsplash

If you’re starting January with a sigh rather than a cheer, you’re not alone.

If it seems like the rest of the world is bouncing into the new year with “new year, new you” enthusiasm, and you just don’t feel that way, you can be forgiven for thinking that you’re being left behind.

But honestly, life’s just not like that for everyone. 

Festive burnout is real. And if January is expecting energy that you just don’t have, then that’s not inspiring, it’s exhausting.

There are so many reasons why the festive season is an energy-suck. If you’ve spent weeks masking how you feel to keep everyone happy, doing all the things with all the people, managing tricky family dynamics, or navigating cracks in your relationship, it’s understandable that you want to hibernate and recover from the December frenzy. But admitting that to yourself can be hard, especially when the pressure to start new things, be “a better you” and make life-altering changes seems to be everywhere.

These expectations are unfair, and it’s ok to give yourself permission to move slowly into the months ahead. The festive season is an emotionally demanding one, and recognising that you need to rest and recharge your batteries is self-care and an antidote to the burnout that can come from having spread yourself too thinly to meet everyone’s expectations.

I get that the idea of self-care can feel hard, and that life brings things that you can’t easily opt out of - like work, caring responsibilities, or study commitments - but you and your needs are also important. You are one person, you’re human and you’re doing the best you can. And sometimes that best is caring for yourself in the same way that you care for others.

There are many gentle ways you can care for yourself, to reclaim time and space to recharge

Photo by Rav-Nashmi Kalsi on Unsplash

• Give yourself permission to be unavailable sometimes

• Try to do something you enjoy every day

• Take a nap, or have a lie-down in a quiet room

• Say no to committing yourself to things that aren’t important to you

• Remember you deserve to take care of yourself, and don’t have to justify this

My hope for you is that you are able to give yourself permission to take the time and space you need to go gently into the new year. No new years resolutions, no berating yourself with “shoulds” or “musts” or “have to’s”, no pressuring yourself, just for a while. 

If this resonates with you, and you’d like someone to talk it through with, feel free to reach out to me when you’re ready.

Contact me

Contact me at counselling@tranquillo.group to discuss how counselling might be helpful for you. I work face to face from my therapy room in Falkirk, and online.

If self-care is something you would like to delve into a little deeper, my workbook ‘Self-care 101: a workbook for caring people who forget to care for themselves’ and my free ebook ‘Self-Care Tips for the Frazzled: Small steps to frazzle-free living’  are available here. 

I hope you find these blogs interesting and helpful. If you’d like to read more of my musings you can subscribe to my blog at https://www.tranquillocounselling.com/blog and follow me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/tranquillocounselling and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/tranquillocounselling

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