The Christmas holidays are already far away, and the depression at the start of the year is already here.
Rotten weather, pandemic and morale at half mast: it is time for the January blues.
But with a few simple tricks and pleasures, "20 Minutes" wants to boost your spirits.
Dark night when you get up, dark night when you get out of work.
Relentless rain, freezing temperatures and morale in our socks.
No doubt, it is January, that time of year when the holidays are already far away.
The holidays are not for now and depression takes hold of us, against the backdrop of the galloping epidemic of coronavirus.
But the January blues are not inevitable!
Cocooning, sorting, prolonging the joy of the holidays… The readers of "20 Minutes" give us their tips and advice to chase away the post-holiday blues and keep the spirit cheerful.
"I make the pleasure of Christmas last"
“A lifelong fan of Christmas,” Anaïs has found a way to “make the holiday fun last” once the Advent calendar is over. “I am preparing a 'afterlife calendar' for my family and friends, starting January 1st. I fill it with cute little gifts. Every day, everyone discovers an inspiring or funny quote, a good memory or a small funny object like a cactus paperclip. Nothing expensive, but ultimately very valuable. The idea came to me a year ago, after all these gloomy months because of the pandemic, I needed something original to stay in the magic of the holidays ”.
For her part, Marine prolongs Christmas by keeping her festive decor.
“I love Christmas so much that every year, I install the tree in November.
And there is no question of putting it away the day after Christmas!
I keep it until the end of January, as well as all the trinkets, candles and other illuminations, and I enjoy the Christmas movies still in replay!
".
We go into cocooning mode
If there is one time of the year when you can comfortably curl up under a blanket in front of a good movie, it is now.
Thus, failing to be able to afford a trip to the tropics.
Nathalie found a much cheaper source of comfort: “I created a cocoon for myself in my room, by hanging a large paradise island poster next to my bed.
When I want a moment of relaxation just for me, I cut telecommuting for a few minutes and I sit down with tea in my bubble.
And when I am at work, I am in a hurry to go home to find my cocoon ”.
"I'm going to think my mouth a little!"
"
“Throughout Christmas, I was in family mode: I took care of the children, gifts, shopping and holiday tables,” says Julie.
It was nice to soak up this festive atmosphere, but it's exhausting!
Especially since normally, my mother's days are already timed between taking care of my daughters, work and the logistics of the house.
In fact, I never stop.
So there, I'm going to think my mouth a little!
I put on an RTT for the day of the sales, and the program is already set: I'm going to afford a pair of shoes and have lunch with a friend.
Treat yourself to a moment just for yourself, just once in a while, is a pleasant little luxury that allows you to recharge your batteries ”.
"I move in the fresh air"
"Hot toddies and herbal teas", Maricot is a fan.
But before that, to regain energy and good humor, “I go for long walks by the sea or in the forest,” she says.
It is so pleasant to move in the fresh air and to drive away black thoughts and toxins while enjoying nature.
It puts ideas back in place, allows you to do a gentle physical activity and sleep well at night ”.
As a bonus, if you have the chance to take this breath of fresh air under a beautiful blue sky, it also allows you to fill up with vitamin D, and in the process to strengthen your immunity, which can only do good considering the health context.
"I see my friends" (respecting barrier gestures, eh!)
For Mathilde, “the start of the year is an opportunity to meet up with friends.
And when the weather is not nice, you're single and the pandemic-style everyday life is not very cheerful, friends, that's life!
While waiting to be able to return to the club, a good evening of raclette and board games with your family, there is nothing like going back to fishing!
"And to widen her circle, the young woman is also" registered on an app to do activities with new people.
There are lots of cool things to do: a visit to an exhibition, a bowling alley: it allows you to test new things and meet nice people ”.
"I stop putting the pressure on myself"
If there is one thing that depresses Nadia, “these are all the injunctions that we are hearing from after the holidays: diets to eliminate our excesses, detoxes and other resolutions of intensive sport that we do not keep, even that we do not start.
No sooner do we emerge from the joy of the holidays than we are weighed down with all these austere commandments!
Let me be left alone with my three kilos taken during the holidays!
After years of complexing, of feeling guilty for not making an effort to get rid of it, I decided not to ruin my life for that.
Today, I stop putting the pressure on myself!
And I trust the return of sunny days to stop raclette ”.
"I focus on exciting projects"
“Each year, it's the depression in January, recognizes Sarah.
To cheer myself up, I focus on exciting projects.
Whether it's booking the family summer vacation or thinking about the next decorating project in my house, I need to focus on bright prospects.
And one of the projects I'm going to tackle is the party I'm going to organize for my 40th birthday!
Finally, if the Covid-19 is not in the game ”.
"I'm taking it easy on social networks"
Do other people's happiness attack you? What if you reduced (easy to say, we know) your time spent on social networks? “These last days on Instagram, each influencer goes there for her 2021 retrospective, with images of the perfect couple, in clothes more expensive than my salary and traveling to heavenly places where I cannot afford to go, sums up Flora. Basically, networks are a way of interacting with others and getting away from it all. But in reality, it makes me feel like I have a shitty life. So for a few days now, I've been trying to quit: I stopped following certain influencers who depressed me more than anything else, and I feel better! And when the screen urge is strongest, I watch decorating tutorials, recipes or kitten videos, things that make me smile! "
"I play her like Marie Kondo"
Alice is "one of the keepers of everything, from the cookbook I opened twice to the dress I still hope to get into one day."
As a result, my closets are overflowing and I can't even see the clothes piled up at the back of my closet.
So, after the holidays, I play her like Marie Kondo ”.
The young woman does not wonder if an object gives her joy before getting rid of it, but "when I know that I am really not going to use it again, hop, it gives off!"
It's crazy how sorting and making room in my cupboards makes me feel like I'm sorting out and room in my head.
And as it is soon the sales and I know that I never get over it empty-handed, making a little space upstream doesn't hurt!
"
" I give "
And it would be a shame if all these wonders ended up in the trash. “I put some beautiful pieces for sale on second-hand sites,” continues Alice. I am happy that this big cleaning brings me some money. But most of it, I donate: clothes, books, kitchen utensils, I fill boxes that I drop off at Emmaüs. I like this idea of participating in the social and solidarity economy, of giving more meaning to my consumption and of polluting less, of not throwing away what is still useful and which can be bought at a lower cost by people at low cost. lower income ”.
You can also give a little of yourself.
That's what Mélanie does.
“I have just joined an association which has set up a solidarity grocery store.
Every week, I help out.
It is very gratifying to feel useful, and it allows to meet people, to exchange, but also to relativize our own worries, to say that often, it is only a question of temporary annoyances.
And stopping to look at the navel is rather good!
"
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