You wake up after the weekend and surprise, you really do not want to get up and face the day. So, what are Monday blues meaning to thousands of people like you? How Do You Beat Monday Blues Meaning a Stress Free Week.
How do they, The Blues, manifest themselves, and how do you combat them, and what do you do to set yourself up to potentially avoid the Monday morning blues meaning you get your week off to a dread free start?
There is even an (un)official term to be found; Blue Monday, a defined term, is seen as a Monday that is depressing or trying, especially if you are returning to work and routine, particularly after a weekend or a holiday break.
There is even a national day named after it!
The Blue Monday in January, could be a pointer to a general down feeling, owing to several factors such as: gloomy weather, post-Christmas debt, maybe disappointment from not keeping a new year resolution, unease about going back to work and a general feeling of dread and despair at another (potentially) year of the same as before with no change appearing over the horizon.
However, Mental Health UK states:
January’s third Monday, “Blue Monday” is thought to be the most depressing day of the year. Spoiler: it isn’t. Let’s look after our mental health against commercial influences.
Mental health UK also says that the January Blue Monday is a PR stunt with commercial intent behind it, that is, to sell Holidays. (January is a peak holiday booking window).
For each of us, good and bad days are individual. I know from experience that I have had the Monday dread in the middle of July, I am sure I am not unique here, so with that in mind perhaps we need to look at other factors that can influence the way we feel on individual days… and not one prescribed by marketing companies.
Factors that influence how we feel:
Seasons
Diet
Body Changes
Life Event
Exercise (or lack of)
Career
The above, whilst not being the complete deal can all contribute to that Monday, any Monday feeling, which I would argue actually starts before Monday itself.… Here is the question for you, have you ever, or do you, on a Sunday evening, after a great weekend, sit back and go…” Oh no, Got work in the morning”? You start feeling down, maybe agitated, then become snappy or withdrawn. You might start by thinking that it is all related to your job, your career (or lack of), the people you work with, the pressure etc.
I found its not totally the cause of the Sunday dread/Monday blues.
Are You drinking 5 litres of Cooking Oil a year?
Its not all work related, as after all you might have a great career and job. Diet and health are huge to how we feel. For example, whilst I eat well, and have a balanced diet unfortunately I eat too many sweet snacks or packets of crisps. (crisps, I live in the UK so for any others…potato chips!) This all adds up. The British Heart Foundation found that eating a packet of crisps a day is the equivalent of drinking five litres of cooking oil every year and that Consuming an extra 150-200 calories per day can add up over time and contribute to weight gain and other health problems.
Now, I know that eating too many crisps is not good, as shown above, but combine this with other dietary deficiencies and a lack of exercise and its small wonder that we might not feel good. However, it is easier to blame the job than put the effort in to other areas such as getting up out of the chair, going outdoors, going for a walk, eating a piece of fruit instead of a candy bar.
Studies into seasons and seasonality are interesting and probably way beyond the scope of this article but suffice to say that some do experience what is known as Seasonal Affective Disorder, with feelings of depression that manifest in patterns that come and go particularly in times of low daylight hours such as winter. Also, body changes in our Hormones in winter can disrupt our sleep and eating patterns, all contributing to that evening dread of the morning to come.
Things We Can Do For General Wellbeing
Exercise more
Eat Healthier
Take up a hobby
Talk to someone
Make a plan
There are other things that you can do aside from the list but it’s a potential start. The benefits of Exercise and Diet are well catalogued and there are huge amounts of reading on the subject but to save you all that reading time just exercise a bit more, and eat a bit more healthily!
Small steps, literally can make a huge difference over time. For example, 30 minutes spent walking each day can increase cardiovascular fitness, strengthen bones, reduce excess body fat, and boost muscle power and endurance. Studies show that as we age, walking can also potentially reduce your risk of developing conditions such as heart disease, osteoporosis, and type 2 diabetes.
This is worth thinking about especially as we look more and more into Memory Loss, Alzheimer’s, and Dementia. The University of California, in a study by researchers of 6,000 women, of age 65 and older, found that age-related memory decline was lower in those who walked more. The women that were walking 2.5 miles per day had a 17% decline in memory, as opposed to a 25% decline in women who walked less than a half-mile per week.
In others words, just build in to your daily routine a 30-minute walk.
Even if you can’t get outdoors, but have a little space at home, a Treadmill or Exercise Bike for indoors might be a solution. My brother-in-law cycles regularly in the Alps, has done stages on the Tour de France and Mountain biked down Mt St Helens, all from the comfort of his home. His bike is an indoor exercise variety that plugs in to a laptop screen, and he can choose any where in the world to ride and the bike has settings to replicate the route in gradient, effort etc.
Should you buy that Train set?
University College London found that having a hobby links to fewer depressive symptoms and higher levels of happiness, self-reported health, and life satisfaction. This research held true across 16 countries on three continents.
The benefits of am hobby are not to be underestimated. Studies show that having a hobby, no matter at what level can: reduce stress, Hobbies that bring challenges improve our creativity in solving said challenges, build our confidence, can improve our physical health if combined with exercise and heck, even in some cases be a source of an additional income stream.
All the better if you can combine a pursuit or hobby with others.
We are social animals that need interaction and this also gives us a chance to talk. Talk to someone. If you have a problem just speak to a friend. Strangely if you are open with someone you might just be surprised at what comes back. On a couple of occasions, I have spoken with a friend where they revealed challenges they were suffering. What was surprising was that this was from people who I thought would never have an issue.
It just goes to show. You never know what is going on with people.
Plan
One of the best things I found to alleviate any blue Monday feeling is probably the simplest thing that you can do. Yes, all the above is important and will contribute to overall well being but for me (and maybe you) my biggest dread when I looked back at the causes of this feeling was a lack of control. By that I mean not knowing what was coming up, how was I to deal with it etc.
The Solution? Simply put I would write down a list of things needed doing, what resource required, who I needed to help. Now, this sounds elaborate but in fact it was (is) only 5 to 10 items that are the most important . I found by doing this I was in control (to a point, as there will always be unexpected things coming up) It meant that on Monday morning I knew what I was doing, who to see, tasks to do. Basically, in control. Yes, it required discipline to do, as does most things worthwhile, but if you were to do this consistently (weekends included) for 30 days it will dramatically improve how you will feel about your days ahead. Further if you combine the planning of your days with the benefits of some of the items mentioned earlier I am sure you will go someway to minimizing those Sunday dread, Monday Blues.
I hope that you found this article interesting and maybe food for thought. Let me know your thoughts, what do, or have you done to perhaps eliminate any of the dread feelings? Is there any thing above that sparks you or you see yourself implementing?
All the Best
Del
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