Seasonal depression, also known as post-holiday blues, seems to affect many people and spreads quickly. With winter’s approach there is always holiday cheer and built up excitement. Yet, it seems that as quickly as those feelings were built up, they are knocked down. this is considered the post-holiday blues. These feelings of depression can cause by a plethora of things. Possibly because holidays are a stressful or disappointing, or the reuniting of the family reopens wounds and bad memories. With the quick shift of environments, it affects many people. Holidays pose many opportunities to move about and have a fun time, but after New Years the depth of January is often too dull for most to handle. As January is considered one of the coldest and darkest months to be in, it is very easy to become secluded and to not be as social. This will lead to seasonal depression, because it caused the feeling of loneliness and detachment. Another difficult part of January are the vacations. Many people want to escape the misery of cold, so they go on a long warm vacation. Yet when they return, they find it twice as difficult to adjust to their schedule again, once more leading to the development of sadness and loneliness. 

Some typical signs of this seasonal depression are fatigue, lack of focus, quick irritability and the feeling of guilt. These are typical symptoms, so someone may not see these specific signs but struggle with things related to them. Mental health is very important, so being able to combat these post-holiday blues is important. 

Listed below are some simplified ways to make yourself feel better and help decrease the feeling of the seasonal blues: 

• Make sure you eat properly and keep the body as balanced as possible – over the holidays we tend to overindulge which can cause imbalances in hormones, so it is important to be weary of how we treat our bodies 
• Staying active – getting up and moving around is essential. this doesn’t mean that you need to go to the gym and sweat enormous amounts. It means that your body is suffering from a lack of Vitamin D and you need to be active to keep your body functioning properly. You can go on walks, ice skating or simply go out and talk to other people 

• Keep it clean – keeping the environments around you clean will ultimately make you feel better. Studies have shown that more clutter can cause fatigue and stress. By keeping things clean you begin to feel better and can focus more clearly 
• Be social – Holidays don’t have to be a once in year occurrences, get together with family and friends. By simply seeing other people it will pick up your mood and you can feel better, plus by seeing them you can get up and get out of the house!