TINAH Talks | Mental Health and Wellbeing Podcast

40. Overcoming January Depression: Tips for Beating the Winter Blues

• TINAH • Season 2 • Episode 40

Share episode

In this episode, we’re talking about the most depressing day of the year - Blue Monday, to uncover its origins and discuss the effects of seasonal changes on mental health and we’ll share some practical strategies to combat the winter blues. 🥶

In this episode you’ll learn:

  • The origins of Blue Monday and why it’s considered the gloomiest day of the year.
  • How seasonal changes affect mood and mental health, including the role of sunlight and vitamin D.
  • What Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is and how to identify the symptoms.
  • Practical strategies to combat seasonal depression, from improving sleep hygiene to creating a cozy and uplifting winter environment.
  • How reframing January as a time for reflection can relieve pressure and build positivity.
  • The power of movement, exercise, and finding joy in small, meaningful activities.
  • Why community and connection are essential during the colder months.

#BlueMonday #JanuaryBlues #SeasonalDepression #MentalHealth #SelfCare #VitaminD #JanuaryDepression #WinterDepression

About The TINAH Talks Podcast: TINAH (Time Is Not a Healer) is your go-to mental well-being marketplace and community! In this podcast, you can expect empowering conversations to support you in your mental health healing journey.

We are on a mission to: ✨ EMPOWER you to prioritize and take control of your mental health ✨ EDUCATE you on mental health and wellbeing practices ✨ ELIMINATE stigma around mental health

Free Mental Health Resources: Subscribe to get your FREE mental health toolkit here :

Find out your wellness healing style in our quiz here:

🔗 Stay Connected: 📸 Follow us on Instagram:

🎥 Follow us on TikTok:

🛒 Shop The TINAH Mental Health Marketplace:

💬 Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share for more empowering discussions on mental health and self-care!

Kelsey (00:01)
Welcome back to another episode of Tina Talks. We're your hosts. I'm Kelsey. This is Sophie. And today we're talking about the most depressing day of the year. Which, mean, so I guess technically it's called Blue Monday, which I believe is more popular. I don't hear it as much in the US, but it's kind of more popular in the UK. So Sophie, why don't you tell us a little bit about Blue Monday and why it's the most depressing day of the year?

Sophie (00:10)
Hahaha.

Yeah,

so the most depressing day of the year, Blue Monday, is actually on the third Monday of January. So this was a concept that kind of was formulated by man called Cliff Arnold in 2005, and he was a psychologist. And he's claimed to have a formula to determine what day was the most depressing and gloomy day of the year. So that formula factors in different variables such as post-holiday financial strain. So obviously we're just coming out of Christmas. Most people have spent a lot of money on gifts.

or having to entertain family or entertain different holiday parties, et cetera. So a lot of people do generally feel quite a lot of pressure in January, but they don't have a lot of money to spend. Obviously in the Northern Hemisphere, it is very cold, it is very dark. We are very much in the midst of winter now and we have been in winter probably for the past like eight to 10 weeks. So we're kind of like in the middle here and it's kind of going into that like slug.

And obviously the holiday excitement wears off at this time of year and we've got a bit of low motivation the third week of January because we've kind of had that new year. Some people go full steam head into that new year period thinking, yeah, I'm going to achieve all of these things this year. And often when you go through that set of like unrealistic expectations or unrealistic resolutions, you get to week three and you're like, hmm, this isn't going so well and maybe you start feeling demotivated. So in general, Blue Monday.

is a time of year where there's a lot of like heavy things I guess happening that aren't really supportive to your mental health definitely but also you can be quite hard on yourself at this time of the year so I think Blue Monday is a bit of a marketing scam let's be honest.

Kelsey (01:55)
Mm-hmm.

Sophie (02:10)
because a lot of businesses will play up to it and be like, the most depressing day of the year, let's put on a sale, for example, or let's do something around Blue Monday, even us, we're talking about it on our podcast, right? But despite that, Blue Monday does still resonate quite deeply with quite a lot of people because it really does highlight that there are actually quite a lot of struggles at this time of year. So even for example, we were just talking about it before we got on the call, like seasonal affective disorder, like we're not getting enough sunlight, we're not getting enough vitamin D. So there's a lot of

Kelsey (02:19)
Hmm.

Right.

Sophie (02:40)
depressing things happening at this time of year, think. What do you think?

Kelsey (02:44)
Oh, God, no, you're preaching to the choir, man. So, okay, we were in Columbia and then we were in Arizona for the whole month of November. So we left October 27th or something and we came back December 2nd. And so we came from Columbia, is, if we're in Medellin, if people don't know, it's the city of eternal spring. So like 80 degree weather, sunny every day with little bouts of raining. And then we went to Arizona, which is just like...

high levels of sunlight every single day. We were out like hiking five miles every other day kind of deal. And so we came from a lot of sunshine and then we came to Chicago, which is just, it's right now, December 2nd is cold and gray. And now it's been like a mix of like rainy and a little bit of snow. We really kind of got our first dusting like a week ago or so. And I can really tell the difference. When I came from Arizona and like all the sunshine that I had gotten,

I was riding high. Like I could feel how elevated my mood was, my energy was, and great, like I'm also very physically active. So like I was up and I was doing things and my sleep was on point. It was really great. And so as soon as I got back here, I knew exactly what to expect, right? Like I grew up in this area, but I haven't been here in like seven years. I've been avoiding winter for seven years. And so this is my, I think my second winter back.

And granted, last year I was like really depressed with everything that happened with my mom. it just, it just, we're going to, that's a show under the box. That's what that was. This year I was like, okay, we're back. I'm riding this high in the sunshine. I can't let the gray consume me. if I don't do things to kind of like continue to stretch out, you know, the sunshine that I got in Arizona to kind of stretch out the energy levels that I had then so that I didn't kind of fall into a slump. Cause I think.

Even if you aren't someone who clinically gets seasonal depression, it is very, very common to have low mood, low energy, which then like turns into affecting kind of every aspect of your life. Like our sleep kind of gets a little weird. Our social activities kind of slow down significantly. We don't really have the...

I don't know if you wanna say like the gusto that we would bring to like work and to life and to wanting to try and new things or do things for ourselves. And I'm not saying that we always have to be go, go, go, but like you lose even that little extra oomph when you're just constantly surrounded by gray. I don't know, it's it's somewhere in the UK, right? Like for winter for you guys.

Sophie (05:21)
Definitely,

definitely. I was the same situation as you really. Obviously I was in the UK for October, which isn't too cold. It's cold, but it's not unbearable cold. And you still have, it's brisk and you still have some blue sky, which is nice. But then as soon as it hits November, December, January, it gets very gray, very rainy in the UK. It doesn't snow too much here, but it did snow over the past few days.

Kelsey (05:34)
Mm-hmm. It's brisk.

Okay.

Sophie (05:51)
But in that meantime, I went to escape the winter as we just said, to Fuerteventura. And Fuerteventura was 20 degrees Celsius. I was sitting on the beach. I was outdoors active all the time. I was doing loads of exercise. I was eating really healthy. I was watching the sunrise, watching the sunset. It was perfect for the lifestyle that I like to live. I've come home for Christmas. I've only been here three weeks. There has been one day of sun in that three weeks.

Kelsey (06:09)
Thank

Sophie (06:18)
every other day has been grey, foggy, rainy, snowing. Like it's not you, if you what I realized with this, with living in the Northern hemisphere particularly, and I think more so mainly in the UK and the US is that we are particularly in the UK, we can't live very active outdoorsy lifestyles because the weather dictates whether we're able to do that. And I mean, yeah, if you take enjoyment out of like

crouching around in the mud and the rain, like great, outside, but I personally do not. And my life is so different when I'm like in an environment that I thrive in, which is the sun and like warm our destinations than when I'm here, when it's cold and rainy and winter. Like it's just not supportive to the lifestyle that I wanna live, in which case, yeah, my mood definitely drastically reproduces. I do less exercise. I eat less healthy because I just can't be bothered.

Waking up at the moment is an absolute nightmare. The only way I will wake up and get out of bed is if I've got a sad lamp, the Lumi lamp to help me get up because I've realized that my body will only wake if I'm waking to the sun and it's dark until 8 a.m. So how am I meant to get out of bed? So I find it really hard.

Kelsey (07:22)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, no, but I think like, I think what's key here is like, it's not about being cold. Some people don't mind the cold. Some people love it, whatever. It's fine. It's not about the cold. Yes, the cold isn't great. It's the lack of light that I think is a huge issue. Huge issue for a lot of people. I mean, like when you think about it.

Sophie (07:48)
Lack of light.

Yeah.

Kelsey (07:56)
The light what we need the sunshine this why it's so there's so much research around like blue light from your laptop and like the type of lighting that you have in your house think back when we were like cavemen, right? We lived and breathe based on the cycle of the sun So like you wake up with the sun and then you go to sleep when it's dark We didn't have electricity so you weren't staying up past, you know the sun being gone because what are you gonna do? It's dark out. You can't see shit. You have a fire. That's and now we have so we have

the birth of technology and industry, which is amazing and it makes us more comfortable, but like we now have to be more conscious in how we're regulating our sunlight intake. And then when it comes to winter time, we actually have to consciously be trying to bring more light in. So just like you, have my Lumi light that I use.

my first thing that I do in the morning is I wake up and it's dark out still. and I've been trying to get up at like six 30. So like our sun doesn't rise until after seven. And I just come immediately in here. I've got my loomy light, which is on my face. And then I have a little walking pad and I just literally like stare at the wall until, until I started to wake up. I put on like a podcast or something like that. but I think we have to be more conscious about.

how are we regulating our vitamin D levels? I was just looking into this the other day for myself. I take supplements and things for my hormones and for my gut health, because I had a lot of issues in the past. And I was taking a look at how much vitamin D am I getting? So I take a prenatal, not trying to get pregnant or anything like that. The reason I take the prenatal is because I was, I worked with a hormone specialist and I was taking a bunch of different supplements. I was taking fish oil, I was taking this, I was taking that.

was like, how the hell can I combine all of these into one pill and get everything and then maybe a little extra? And I have a lot of nursing friends from my time working in the hospital and they told me a little hack. They're like, prenatal vitamins are really great. You could take them as kind of a multivitamins, but it also gives you that hormone support that you need. Now, I am not a specialist, I'm not a doctor, so please take this with a grain of salt. Be sure to check with your provider if this is something that would work for you.

But I was looking at it and I get with the prenatal, get 1000 international units. And I was curious, what is the standard for women that we need? And I think they say that like, what the general standard is like 1200, I use, but they often recommend up to 1500 or 2000, right? And so you need to, and like, if I think about like when I was in Arizona,

My energy levels now are lower because I am getting less sunlight. I'm still getting the thousand, you know, international units. But like when I was in Arizona, I was getting sun all the time. So I imagine I was closer to 1500 to 2000. Now, if you're thinking about messing, one, you should take vitamin D during the winter if you are not getting enough sunlight. If you're not sure how much, definitely talk to your provider, get tested because you can have too much vitamin D and it can cause problems. So you want to be careful about that.

But having vitamin D, having the sun lamp kind of thing, it's a game changer for, you know, the worst day of the year or for the worst few months of the year, whatever you want to call it.

Sophie (11:23)
Literally,

literally, even as you're talking here, let's see, I have my vitamin D supplements, because again, I'm not getting it. And I was reading, I did the same kind of research that you were saying the other day, I literally looked into how much should I be getting? Because I generally live in sunny places, right? Like, so vitamin D probably for me isn't necessarily a problem for 80 % of the year. But when I do come back to the UK, definitely don't get enough of it. And

I was looking up like even if I was in the sun, how long do need to be in the sun to get the right amount of vitamin D in you? And you have to be in the sun in direct sunlight without sunscreen on for 30 minutes from what I was reading to have enough vitamin D for that one day or 24 hour period. First of all, condone people, say people should be using sunscreen for sure. So like the more sunscreen you wear, the less...

Kelsey (12:12)
you

Sophie (12:22)
vitamin D you're able to absorb, which I found fascinating. I didn't realise that was a thing. So it's like, well, how else, like, not many people are going to sit, actually sit in the sun for 30 minutes a day. Like I live in beach destinations. So usually, yes, I probably am going to be in the sun for 30 minutes a day, like going on a beach walk in the morning or whatever. But people that don't live like that aren't getting enough vitamin D in their life. So like they probably do need to supplement it. And not many people, we're not educated on that, that we need that supplement in our lives.

Kelsey (12:51)
yeah, think, what was the statistic I read? I think like 80 % of Americans don't have the correct vitamin D levels. Like we're all below what the amount is that we need. And based on what you described, right? Like, so I've lived in Chicago the last year and half and when it's summer, so this is what I do. Instead of like getting up, coming in here with my sun lamp and walking on the treadmill, I immediately take the dogs outside. As you can see, I got one lazy bum right here.

I take the dogs outside and I'll sit in the sun, like I'll find where's the sunniest spot and I don't have sunscreen on. I've done a little research on this as well. Obviously sun ages you and weathers you, that kind of thing, but you can take sun without sunscreen for like short periods of time and it's beneficial, it's fine for you. So I'll sit for like a minimum of five minutes. Now that's not the 30 minute.

you know, recommendation kind of thing, but just to get sun on my eyeballs right away and just to get some sun on my skin, it helps a lot. And then I try to in the afternoons go for walks and I'll do like a 20 minute, maybe a 30 minute walk and I'd be like, okay, this is enough. This is enough of that, that sunlight for me, but you have to be conscious about it. If you don't live somewhere super, super sunny, it's something that kind of makes a huge difference.

Sophie (13:53)
Yeah.

For sure.

Definitely. And I think if anyone listens to the podcast regularly, you would have heard maybe a couple of episodes back that we had a sleep expert on Anna who's the founder of Z Sleep. And she was talking about the fact that direct sunlight in the morning has a direct color relation to the quality of sleep that you get because your vitamin D levels have a massive impact on your sleep, sleep-wake cycle, as does your magnesium levels.

So having to, I've now got the magnesium and the vitamin D supplements because I was really struggling with sleep a few weeks ago. I was having like restless legs and stuff and now it's coming into winter. I really do think that they're kind of helping me get through. Like I don't, I obviously I've only been in the cold weather I'd be honest for the past three weeks. So I'm not, not here for like a long time, but normally if I'm in cold weather, I struggle. Like I remember when I lived here, this is one of the reasons why I don't live in the UK because I

Kelsey (14:42)
Mm-hmm.

Sophie (15:03)
It's a struggle for me to be here in winter. Like I really, I really find it hard. And traditionally in winter, I would always just like, again, have the same problems that I've been having, like not be able to wake up, feel really unmotivated, do exercise, not want to look after my diet, for example. And all of those things, not just thinking about the light that we're not getting, but all of those things that we can't be bothered to do in winter have a direct correlation to like the impact of our mental health as well. And there's so many things that we...

should be doing, but we don't do because we're just not in the right mood to do them. And that really plays, that is one of the biggest factors, I think is the light is paying a massive impact on our mood and our sleeping patterns. And then in addition to that, we are then basically having a knock on effects on all of the other things that we're doing, which then has a bigger knock on effects on our mental health. So it's a really bad vicious cycle. So I guess in January, this Blue Monday piece is actually a little bit of a wake up call to be like,

doesn't have to be like this, can actually do things and make changes in our lives and in our days to make it better for ourselves as hard as that feels in January. And I know that feels very hard even right now I'm like,

I haven't worked out in about a week because I just haven't got the motivation to, I can barely get out of bed in the morning, alone put my gym stuff on and go to the gym. So, and that's really unlike me. Normally I work out every single day, every single morning and I get myself outside, but it's been raining. I haven't wanted to go outside. So it's a massive vicious cycle basically is what I'm trying to say. So I guess we're talking about the things that are a problem for us right now. And amongst the fact that we obviously set unrealistic expectations of ourselves in January to overhaul our lives and

Kelsey (16:21)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Yes.

Sophie (16:39)
We are struggling maybe financially at this time of year as well, which is a normal thing for most people to go through. How do we get out of that? Like, how do we actually eliminate these January blues, which is another term for, guess, Blue Monday, January blues. What are we doing? Like, what are you doing at the moment to help yourself get out of that? I you've just mentioned coming in, get your sad lamp on. Is there anything else that you're doing at the moment to help you with that?

Kelsey (16:51)
Yeah.

Yeah, well, mean, so I love that you brought up that it actually all starts with sleep. Curious, what kind of magnesium are you taking? I do magnesium glycinate.

Sophie (17:11)
Yeah, I think this has both in. So from when I was reading it, let me check. I think it has glycinate and oxy. I don't know the terminology, honestly, the other one, the oxy one.

Kelsey (17:24)
Yeah.

So for people who are just wondering, again, always speak to a provider, guys. We are not doctors, that kind of thing. We've just done our own research. We've worked with specialists, the whole thing. So magnesium glycinate, one. So not only does this help with sleep, it is a significant factor for your anxiety.

Sophie (17:33)
Yeah.

Kelsey (17:41)
it really, really helps. So I take magnesium glycinate every evening right after I have a meal, but also for the absorption of it, it's really helpful to take it with vitamin D and you can take that in the evening as well. This is why I was actually researching what's the max vitamin D I can take because I might want like a small dose of vitamin D. I take my pre-natals in the morning and I could potentially switch it to the evening, but I feel like it does fine for me in the morning and.

I want just a little bit of vitamin D to go with my magnesium glycinate in the evening because the combination of the two will significantly affect your sleep and your anxiety. There's a lot of research around that. And when I used to work in the hospital, for those who don't know, I was a behavioral specialist. I worked in inpatient psychiatry. One of the first things that we always looked at for patients who were struggling, obviously they were there because they were severely struggling with their mental health, was sleep. Like your sleep is the...

Sophie (18:17)
Yeah.

Kelsey (18:38)
is the starting point for everything else. So for trying to tackle like really dark months like this and right, some people are more prone to seasonal depression or being for me, like I can easily get tipped into depression. Like I have had major depressive episodes and so I'm really hypervigilant during the winter time. Like, my God, I don't want to feel that way. And so I try to like.

you know, make sure I have routines in place, like before the winter comes so that I can like keep doing it. It doesn't feel as hard once winter is there. And I would say like if whether you've started or you're starting now, it doesn't matter. Some easy places to start is to look at your sleep. If you can get some supplements to help you, magnesium glycinate, combination with vitamin D. I know people, some people melatonin works for, some people it doesn't. For me, it is a miracle worker.

love melatonin, I was taking it every day for a period of time, but you're not supposed to do that. And so you can use that sparingly, like a small dose to kind of help with regulating your sleep cycle, just to kickstart you, right? To kind of get you back into a normal rhythm, but making sure you have a consistent going to bedtime and a consistent waking up time. And I would say like, just to start, if you can do...

that with trying to figure out like a good sleep hygiene routine and then a good morning routine where you get sunlight on your eyeballs right away. Again, like we recommend on our site, we have the LumiLamp, which is a seasonal effect of depression sun lamp. All it is is like just to give an example, I'm just gonna turn you guys, you can see this little white, this little white, it's just a little light and it's got different settings.

but you wanna get that directly on your face for the first like, you know, 10, 15 minutes of waking. You can even use it to wake you in the morning kinda deal while you're laying in bed. It makes a huge difference. And then I know this is the hardest thing if you're already feeling low and you're dragging, but it is the thing that's going to make the biggest difference, body movement. like, last winter I committed to getting a little mini walking pad. I got it for like 200 bucks or something.

Game-changer so that I can write it's too cold or it's wet rainy and gross outside but to be able to just like walk for a 15 minutes like you don't even have to start with a whole lot but get your your butt moving a little bit if you're into yoga and things doing like a really light yoga flow and just stretching I used to really love high-intensity interval, but it's not very hormone friendly. So I don't do that but like

Find what works for you, but move your body. And the more consistently you do it, the better you will see. One of the things I've noticed, I saw lately on Instagram was a lot of people are into the walking pads. Like they have the walking pads and it's like, this is what I'm gonna be doing all winter. And it's like them on their walking pad in front of their TV or whatever. People are doing fun things like they have like a...

they do walking tours in other cities. So could put like Seville, Spain and like walking tour and then you put it on your camera and you're just walking like you're in a walking tour around the city. Like you could do crafty things. Yeah, just crafty things like that. Like make the body movement work for you.

Sophie (21:57)
That was so fun.

Kelsey (22:07)
For me, I focus on body movement because I know how much it helps my anxiety and my mental health that without it, I start to significantly crash. Like my anxiety goes up and then my mood starts to plummet and then I find myself in hell and I'm like, my God, what am I doing? So that's what motivates me to keep going even when I don't feel like it. And like, unlike you, I'm not leaving anytime soon. So it's like, I got to figure it out or I'm gonna be miserable. But I would say like, start with sleep.

Sophie (22:34)
Yeah.

Kelsey (22:36)
Look at that sleep hygiene routine. Go into your morning routine. Get sunlight on your eyes as quickly as possible. And then try to incorporate some body movement. Those are like the three biggest things that'll make a huge difference.

Sophie (22:48)
Yeah, 100%. I agree. I think as well, like going back to we've done another episode on this around like New Year's resolutions and goals and stuff, like trying not to be too hard on yourself at this time of year to like trying to achieve all of the things that you feel like you want to achieve in the next 12 months, you're trying to cram it all into January, like that can also contribute to this feeling of like Blue Monday, like depression in January. And I think we just need to be really conscious of like reframing

the way we see January, January doesn't need to be this like start line and boom off we sprint off with this isn't a sprint. We need to look at like January as a race and not a sprint and thinking about it. was like, right, we've got all of these goals, these intentions of the year, but one way to kind of overcome this feeling of like,

overwhelm, guess, in January and like being the most depressing day of the year is trying to reframe the way that we see January. It does not need to be the point where we achieve all of those goals. We can set the intentions, we can reflect, we can feel like we can hibernate and relax for a little minute, because we've just come out of a really busy Christmas chaotic period. The next two months, I guess, are for us to kind of like reset ourselves. At one point in, I was reading

in the world. New year actually started in March, it doesn't start in January and actually that's the perfect time because March is spring, we're going into like this new blooming era, whereas the next two months to be honest, they are a bit of shit in the Northern hemisphere. They aren't the best two months of the year for any different reasons. So if you can try and reframe the way you look at those and don't think that you have to achieve everything that you want to achieve in those two months and

meet all of these new expectations, new goals, use this time to plan how you want to see yourself in the rest of the year, for example, and then you can go full circle into that. When we hit spring, when the weather's a little bit better, you feel a little bit more motivated and you're able to incorporate all of those other things in your mind because ultimately perspective kind of changes everything. And if we focus on the progress towards it, not the perfection, not the end goal, and we reframe January as a month to ease into the year.

Hopefully that can help you feel like you're not falling behind and you can seek what you want to achieve later on in the year. It doesn't need to be now.

Kelsey (25:04)
Yeah, I like that you bring up reframing because I think that can be applied even on a micro scale to my dog's gone. She had her fun. She's out. I think it can be applied on a micro scale. So like all those things that I was talking about, like looking at your sleep hygiene, introducing supplements, having consistent bedtime, consistent wake up time, introducing sunlight, doing like consistent body movement. Those are all goals that I think

think most people have, like, I want to have a better morning routine. I want to have a better bedtime routine. I want to work out more. And I think that those are the goals that people set in January and then they go gung ho and then something happens, they mess up or they miss it, life gets in the way. And then they're like, fuck it. Like, I already messed it up. can't. It's over. It's done. And they think that that's the end because we tend to have this all or nothing kind of thinking about it. But I think what you said about reframing

Reframe for yourself one why is this important to you? So I know when it comes to exercise a lot of people like I want to lose weight I want to be fit These aren't strong enough motivators self motivators for us, right? like yeah, of course, we all want to be fit and look sexy and all these things but It's not it's a superficial thing. It's not a deeply intimate reason for

Why do you want to work out? Everything for me changed when I looked at exercise as, oh my God, I need this for my anxiety. And it wasn't like I have to, and I didn't set like I have to work out every day. I have to do this every day. I just, gave myself buffers of, think it goes, someone, can't remember who coined it. This might be from the power of, I don't know if it's power of now or whatever, but the two day goal.

So the two day rule is like, know, if by day two you haven't done the thing that you know helps you or that you want to be doing consistently, okay, by day three, then you prioritize it. That's a number one priority for you. And it's about making sure you just consistently show up and you kind of give yourself some flexibility and wiggle room to implement and try new things and see what works and what doesn't work. But at least you're consistently showing up still. It might not be every day, it might not be every other day, maybe it's every third day, but it...

Sophie (27:10)
Thank

Kelsey (27:30)
That's when you yourself a marker to work towards and it's about reframing your mindset around it. Why is this deeply important to you? How is this gonna help you? What is it gonna improve? And when you think about it, what is the alternative to all or nothing? What are the other options? If you were to give yourself a little bit of grace and flexibility, what would that look like? And would that be okay to do just that? To do the bare minimum? There's absolutely nothing wrong with doing the bare minimum.

Even more so during winter.

Sophie (28:01)
Yeah,

no, I think I'm definitely learning that as well. Like it's okay to sit still for a minute and actually when you sit still, reflect, do the bare minimum that you need to do, actually you have a way better time in the longer run. And it was, it's James Clear, the Habits book. I can't remember the exact title of the book, but it's the Habits book that he says about the two day rule. says, never miss the second day of trying to start a new habit basically. So yeah, you've hit the nail on the head with that one, I think.

Kelsey (28:20)
Yeah.

Yeah, and I read that book like a long time ago, but I always just called it a buffer. Like, you know, sometimes I gotta give myself a buffer. Like I wanna do this thing. Today got away from me. I couldn't do it. Tomorrow comes and I didn't prioritize it. shit, so third day, no excuses, no reason. Like I have to prioritize it around whatever else. And I think that helps. It helps to give a little bit of that wiggle room, because we're...

Sophie (28:34)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Kelsey (28:56)
We're human beings, we're not perfect. you know, life happens and we're busy. And also sometimes we just don't feel good, especially during the winter when it's really gray. But it's like, that's where that understanding that deeper reasoning and reframing why this is important to you is important. Like this is why you have that as like that self motivator to like kick in the discipline to show up and do it. Yeah, I think.

Sophie (29:22)
Yeah, exactly.

Kelsey (29:24)
I think that makes a huge difference. this might sound counterintuitive for like dealing with winter times. It's like a totally different segue, but I think you kind of touched on a little bit, allowing yourself to slow down during this time and do more slow activities. So have warm and hearty food, like plan activities that are at home with friends or family, right? Still getting yourself to

do things but that are more like comforting and slow pace, that can still make you... It can help you romanticize winter a little bit, which again is a mental reframe. Like, not like, crap, I hate winter and it's the worst time of my life and I'm not gonna be able to accomplish anything. It's more so like, this is the cozy season for me to like get more intimate with myself, get more intimate with my friends, my family, and to like...

Get have more comfiness which in I think it's it's Dutch Do you know who got have you ever heard of who go? Okay, so it's HY GGE so it doesn't Spell the way that but and I'm probably mispronouncing but I think who got is the way you say I believe it's Danish and It's actually a very popular concept There's books around there's like little we can get a little hookah book and all this but when you

I think guys can feel this too, but I think girls tend to have this. You walk into a living room and there's warm yellow twinkly lights, there's a fire in the corner, there's fluffy blankets everywhere, there's a candle lit, there's snacks on the table, your friends are all sitting around cozied up and chilling. That's what that word describes. That entire scene, that entire vibe is huga. It's this warm, cozy, nostalgic.

Chilling feeling. I don't know how to I might I think I'm describing

Sophie (31:25)
I it, I understand what you're saying. Yeah, like a bit

like a Christmas scene in like a rom-com.

Kelsey (31:31)
Yeah, a little bit, yeah, a little bit. And you could do this at any point. It doesn't have to be during Christmas or winter or whatever. You can create Hooga at any time. But it is a way of romanticizing this cozy time period, right? Or this cold time period into something cozy.

Sophie (31:50)
Yeah, I like that. I like that reframe. I like the thought of romanticising your winter time, like get yourself hot chocolate with the marshmallow. It's like, it's totally okay. Allow yourself to still be in that Christmas spirit all through January, I guess, like how you felt about like the Christmas lights, the Christmas decorations, all of that. Like see what you can find, like the magic in January, because there is still like nice fun things to...

to look at and do and feel and make yourself feel cosy, guess, is definitely something you can do. So I guess there's some ideas for you if you're listening, if you are feeling a little bit down and blue on this Blue Monday that's coming up, make sure you are checking in with yourself and what is one thing you're gonna do this week to make you feel more motivated or joyful about January? Like maybe you can...

take some of the ideas that we've given you and can potentially tag us on social media or send us a message. We'd love to cheer you on and hear what you're doing. I guess one thing that I'm doing for myself is not having January, not having January in the UK. I personally know what's good for me and I'm very privileged that I can move myself from one location to another that is more supportive of the life that I want to live. So I am actually heading off to Thailand on

Friday. And by the time this episode goes out, will be in Thailand, and hopefully in a bit of a better light situation at least, but that doesn't necessarily it takes away from some of the other stresses in January for me, like I'm still really focused on that working on my business, and trying to achieve all of the goals that I want to achieve this year. And I feel like I'm in a good mental, physical position to do that. So yeah, that still obviously comes with with its own challenges, but

What's something that you're going to be doing for the rest of January to keep you motivated?

Kelsey (33:47)
So I think the thing that has been the biggest game changer is the walk. I've been consistently walking a mile and a half, which takes me about 26 minutes and like 40 seconds. I got it down to, well, because it tells me on the little, walking pad. I think that even if I, so this is again, buffer, reframe.

Sophie (34:00)
Precise.

Kelsey (34:10)
If I don't have the energy to work out, if I don't feel like working out, maybe it's closer to my period, I'm just feeling blah. If I can just walk for 25 minutes, that's what I'll do. So I think for January into February, I'm gonna walk on my walking pad with the sun lamp in my face for those 20, 25 minutes. That's gonna be my thing. And also it's my boyfriend's birthday.

Well, you say birthday month or whatever. know you're February, he's January. So we've got, he's funny. We like to go, we like, we go to raves. So anyone who doesn't, I don't know if I've actually talked about this on the podcast, but we're big ravers. I love tech house. He loves dubstep. But we both, can mix with all of it. He booked us way, way back when a bunch of different shows. So we'll be going out with friends and we'll be like dancing and that.

is always a good mood booster. I think like healthy combination, right? Go out and it doesn't necessarily always have to be a party like where we're partying and we don't really even drink a lot that kind of thing. Sometimes we dabble with fun stuff, but like it's not necessarily a party every time. It's just more for the music and the dancing. So having a good time there and then like the daily management with the sunlight and the walking, I'll make it happen. It'll make January magical.

Sophie (35:29)
Sounds like it's gonna be magical. Amazing. Cool, well, I think that kind of summarized everything we wanna talk about on Blue Monday, but hopefully your January is not blue. Hopefully you're finding ways through the winter season and not feeling too blue on this Blue Monday. So thanks for listening to today's.

Kelsey (35:33)
Yeah, so, so yeah.

Sophie (35:50)
episode and we'll be back very soon with another one in the meantime if you'd like to subscribe like this episode and go and follow us on socials at time is not a healer we would absolutely appreciate your support if not we will see you next time and you've got this