January Mental Health Tips

Blue Monday is often discussed around this time of year; however, the label isn’t a result of authentic research. About ten years ago, Blue Monday was made up as a PR stunt for travel. That said, it doesn’t mean January isn’t a rough time of year.

Depression, Seasonal affective disorder, and vitamin D deficiencies are all real, as are situational stressors at this time of year, such as family conflict from the holiday season, holiday bills coming in and faltering on recently set new years resolutions. According to the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) 2-3% of Canadians experience SAD in their lifetime, while 15% experience a milder version that isn’t often life disruptive.

Labelling the third Monday in January as Blue Monday becomes problematic as it can create a self-fulfilling prophecy. The narratives we hold matter. Thus, if we wake up thinking today’s going to be hard, it will feel all the harder. Cognitive behavioural therapy, touted to be the most effective evidenced-based psychotherapy modality for depression and anxiety, speaks to the connection between our thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Shifting our mindset about Blue Monday can make a difference.

We can use it as a touch point to assess our mental health, dialogue with others, make changes, and seek support if needed.

Here are three tips for maintaining wellness this January and throughout the year

• Getting started is the hardest part.

Try experimenting with a behaviour to create change instead of just self-talk or waiting for motivation. In therapy, we use the term behavioural activation to refer to this. Small-lived successes contribute to creating momentum in our motivation. In a nutshell, behavioural activation is engaging in the behaviours we know would be helpful, even if we are reluctant or don’t feel motivated to do them. Think of when you’ve felt like not wanting to go out with friends, make nutritious choices or exercise after committing to do so, often when we can engage in the activity we know will benefit us, it energizes us, and we can then use this lived experience to challenge the unhelpful thoughts in the future. This doesn’t mean not giving ourselves grace and self-compassion, which can be done by keeping it as an experiment. We can set up a self-challenge so we still respond to our needs and leave/stop if necessary.

• Self-compassion is essential to maintaining motivation.

If we deviate from our goals, judging/shaming ourselves takes away motivation and can negatively affect mood. By allowing self-compassion and remembering change is hard, we can channel our focus on recommitting to our positive intentions instead of getting stuck in shame.

• Lastly, start somewhere and start with what’s doable for you.

Think of wellness as a whole; there are many components of wellness though we typically think of nutritional, physical, and psychological. Some other components of wellness include financial, environmental, and social. So start somewhere with what’s doable and build from there. Negative domino effects can impact our wellnesses, ex., a financial struggle affecting relationships, mental health and so forth. However, we can also cultivate positive momentum with the awareness of the interconnection between the components of wellness. Small changes like de-cluttering our environment may help psychological health and motivation to make other helpful choices. A tip I’ve come across in the past and what my mother told me my whole life is, to make the bed in the morning; not only have you started the day with an accomplishment, but then no matter what happens in your day, you have the welcoming spot to end your day.

Remember, you don’t have to go it alone. If you need support, reach out. Private practice therapy can be a fast path to consistent mental health support. Still, there are sliding scale agencies such as family services throughout Ontario and helplines that can be called or texted. There are also many self-help websites, resources and phone apps, though you want to be discerning and mindful of the sources you’re reaching out to.