Mood Boosting Strategies To Beat Post Holiday Blues
By Libet Callahan

Rockland - The holiday season is a festive time of year, when family and friends get together, gifts are exchanged, delicious treats are shared and music and laughter fill the air. However, following New Year’s Day, the cheerful mood may turn into the doldrums.

Loved ones return to their homes hundreds (maybe thousands) of miles away, the credit card bill arrives, decorations are back in boxes and the scale reveals that too many treats were eaten.

So how can you fight the post-holiday blues? Here are some suggestions to help boost your post-Holiday spirit and provide a new outlook for you.

• Exercise: When you exercise, you not only improve your cardiovascular system, but also the brain’s executive functions including planning, organizing and multitasking skills, among others, can improve. Studies have shown that dementia and associated cognitive disorders are less likely to occur in adults who exercise regularly. So take an exercise class, grab a friend or join a walking group to add motivation and a spark to your step.

• Eat healthy foods: When you eat a healthy diet your body responds by generating hormones that improve mood and general sense of well-being; therefore, substitute junk food with fruits, vegetables and healthy fats like fish (salmon & tuna), nuts and seeds.

• Get out of the house: Don’t stay cooped up at home all day. Given the warmer winter weather we have enjoyed to date, engage in an outdoor activity that will make you feel alive and happy. Weather permitting, go to the park; or the mall, or treat yourself to a day at a spa or the hairdresser. The change in scenery and accompanying socialization will do wonders for your spirit.

• Socialize: The human touch releases uplifting endorphins like serotonin, and reduces blood pressure and heart rate, making you more relaxed and content. Have lunch or go to a movie with a friend. By getting out and meeting people, you will keep your mind sharp and give yourself something to look forward to regularly. If you can’t leave the house, consider hiring a companion from a professional agency that carefully screens and trains personnel to provide companionship and conversation to seniors in the senior’s home.

There are many other ways you can enhance your mood. For example:

• Volunteer: Taking time to help others is one of the best ways to feel better about you and regain perspective.

• Listen to music: Music entertains, distracts you from negative thoughts and encourages daydreaming. It can soothe patients with dementia, treat anxiety and insomnia and lower blood pressure.

• Start a hobby or learn a skill: Take up painting, scrap booking or chess. Challenge yourself by trying something you’ve always wanted to learn or that stimulates your creativity.

• Get a pet: Petting a dog or playing with a cat enhances your mood and lowers stress, so keep yourself company with a furry friend.

• Laugh: Follow the adage “laughter is the best medicine”; watch a comedy movie or TV show (many local libraries have classic TV shows like I Love Lucy, Carol Burnett and Mary Tyler Moore shows on DVD), read a funny book or swap humorous jokes and stories with a loved one.

By following one of more of these methods, you’ll chase those post-Holiday blues away in no time. However, if you cannot shake your gloomy feeling after trying some of these suggestions, you may be suffering from depression (not unusual for seniors, particularly during the winter months). And if that is the case, you may want to discuss your feelings with your doctor or a professional therapist.

About The Author

Libet Callahan is the President and Owner of Right at Home Homecare with offices in Rockland & Plymouth. Right at Home serves families throughout the South Shore by providing companion, homemaker and personal care services that enable seniors and those with disabilities to remain in the comfort of their home for as long as possible. Libet is a graduate of Columbia University School of Nursing and has worked in community and inhome nursing on the South Shore for many years. Libet may be reached at (781) 681-3545 or email at libet@rah-southshore.com.