Post-holiday blues

Hello and Happy Monday gang!
Can you believe it's 2009? Strange isn't it? Murph and I were talking last week about jamming out to Prince's "1999" in the 80s, thinking 1999 was so far in the future that we couldn't imagine what life would be like. Funny.

Something that's not funny is post-holiday depression. It's estimated that 25% of people experience it - not only after Christmas and New Year's - but following any big event that has lots of anticipation and expectation surrounding it. I felt it coming on a bit last night when Michael and I were "undecking" the tree and putting decorations back in the basement. I found a few tips online for dealing with that bummed out feeling - here are a few.
1. When you first feel the blues coming on, sit quietly for 20 to 30
minutes and think of all the good things that happened during the season.
2. Make a call list and personally phone each person who gave you a
gift.
3. Try to set up a “help the needy” winter fund and give assistance
in January and February to those you helped during Christmas. Being needy
is not limited to Christmas, yet that’s when we tend to think about helping
others the most.
4. “Re-gift a present” you received to a needy person. It’s OK to give away presents you do not need.
5. Send out Happy New Year or “Have a great winter” cards to the very
same persons you sent Christmas cards. Design your own “hope it snows”
card.
6. Call an old friend. Pick one you haven’t spoken to in a long time and get acquainted again. Once you start talking, you’ll find you still have a lot more in common than you think.
7. Start planning your next vacation. It pays to plan even for a weekend get away, as that gives you control over your time and helps make the trip much more
enjoyable.

I think one of the best ways to beat the blues (and a lot of other stuff that might be ailing you) is working out. I received an email from blog reader Brandy that included this website:
http://www.sparkpeople.com/ I just checked it out and it's great! It's also FREE! It looks like a great tool for getting, and staying on track.

Thanks for reading, posting, emailing and watching.
Have a great week!
EEK
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com