Post Holiday Depression

It's that time of year...

It's the middle of January, and there is not a Christmas cookie in sight. New Years has came and went; (as did many resolutions), and the closest holiday in sight is roughly 132 days away (not that you've counted or anything). The memories of parties, dessert exchanges, Secret Santas, vacation days, and excuses to eat unhealthily lie behind us.

We have eaten our way through Thanksgiving & Christmas and popped the bubbly as the ball dropped on NYE. But now, as always we have made the resolution to eat healthy, workout, and stay away from the cheesecake. Easier said than done. Because you know what hits the shelves the afternoon of January 1st? The temptress that is Valentine's day candy --  and those conversation hearts you swear spell out the words "Buy Me" every time you walk by in Target.

So the long, dark, days stretch on from January 2nd until the first time you get a Monday off of work for a vacation -- which at the earliest could be Easter, for others as "early" as Memorial Day (which is NOT until May!).

 And you can't help but start to feel yourself catching the epidemic. No, not flu season. This time it turns out that you have a case of Post Holiday Depression.

This self-diagnosed plague I find myself to have the second our Christmas decorations find the storage tote. And it hits harder when I start to notice the dimness of neighborhoods without Christmas lights. My energy sinks as I think about the 40+ weeks we have until Santa comes again.

Also, your dwindled down bank account from all your Christmas shopping doesn't help with bringing a smile to your face. Neither does the extra pounds you accumulated thanks to mom's home cooking & the office break room treats.

And, if those things aren't sad enough. There's the cold, miserable, weather that Jack Frost sets over Nebraska for up to 5 freezing months. So, every morning you go out to scrape the ice off your windshield, you start to daydream of sandy beaches & curse Mother Nature for freezing parts of your anatomy off.

And, your P.H.D. grows stronger.

Usually, you think to yourself. Well, there is Valentine's Day! That should brighten my mood -- at least the candy will be on sale soon! And then you have internal battle of  whether or not to buy 45 Reese's hearts or to stick to your meal plan. Peanut butter has protein... so that has to be an acceptable snack, right?

You crunch unhappily on your rice cake & go right back to sulking.

Really there are no known cures for Post Holiday Depression.  Yes, binge watching Netflix helps. I assume time cuddling a baby animal would bring a smile to your face. Retail therapy always has its moments of bliss. And the thought that Full House is having a reunion will give you a ray of hope.  But the real way to battle this, I believe, is to be tanning on a beach somewhere warm and tropical.

So, if you find yourself moping with this incessant disease -- I prescribe just that.

But be forewarned, Post Vacation Depression is also just as real...