Avoiding the January blues

The finest anti-climax of them all is finally here, and it’s called January. Every year excitement levels seem to reach fever-pitch around Christmas, and then promptly drop off into nowhere the second the New Year starts. January has never been a kind month, and what with exam and essay season now very much in full swing, it can be a little hard to manage sometimes.

Fear not however, for out of the ashes of 2015 comes a fresh start and a new attitude. No longer does January have to be written off as a cavalcade of awful. There are plenty of ways to keep things cheery, and here’s just a few of them (the rest I’m sure will be made available upon request - just as soon as I’ve made them up!)

It’s all in the mindset

A lot of January’s misery comes purely from its reputation. In reality, it’s just a month like any other. Yes, it means going back to school/work after a lengthy break. Yes, it means getting on with all the things you said you’d do before but never did. But that doesn’t mean it has to be terrible.

Try even just saying to yourself 'This year, January is going to be good'. Even if you don’t fully believe it right now, give it a go every now and again; it might start to sink in if you do it for long enough.

Go outside

This sounds like a silly one but seriously, going outside at least once a day can raise your mood exponentially. Whether that means digging yourself out of the trenches of Hartley Library for a quick walk to the SUSU shop for lunch or snacks, or just leaving the essay-laden cove of your bedroom for a swift sprint up to the nearest supermarket.

Any sort of fresh air and exercise can help by opening up your airways and blowing away those mental cobwebs. True, it’s cold, but stick a jumper on and you probably won’t notice the difference. The cold might even help and distract you from the stress of work. You don’t know unless you try!

Eat as healthily as you can

Okay, this one is hard. Insanely hard. In fact, if you find a way to manage it, please let me know how, I’d love to be able to eat healthily and still stay focused. It might not always be a realistic idea, but it’s certainly one that will help.

A lot of the time when you start to feel a bit downtrodden, your diet could be to blame. If you’re only eating junk food and takeaways and missing out on vegetables, your body and, more importantly, your brain, is being starved of certain things it needs to run at full capacity. If you’re really pushing yourself to work hard when you’re in this state, you’re going to burnout fast. Sugar highs are a good pick-me-up, but remember, they come with their crashes too.

I’m not saying avoid all chocolate and go vegan - we all need our little incentives. I’ve had a triple pack of Jaffa Cakes sat on my desk to keep me powering through the essay I’m currently writing, but try and balance out the sugar with some good stuff. Clean body, clean mind as someone important probably said once.


So, you see, January doesn’t have to be awful after all. With a bit of fresh air and the odd carrot in your system, you can fight off those early-2016 blues and feel like a real person again.

Good luck to everyone working hard over the next few weeks, you can do it!

Ben