This Monday is typically called blue Monday with many people people noticing their are lower in mood after Christmas. Everyone is different and there may be many reasons why we may feel low mood. If it is persistant throughout the year seeking advice from your GP and or counselling or cognitive behavioural therapy may help.

If it is seasonal (seasonal affect disorder – SAD) lifestyle modification such as regular exercise like a brisk walk in daylight hours, eating foods high in tryptophan that convert to serotonin, mindfulness, feeling socially connected and doing a hobby you enjoy may all help lift your mood.

Reframing how we see blue Monday may also help challenge our beliefs that January is a month to be grey, cold, dark and miserable. We can view our day however we choose to. If we choose to notice the brighter colours of our day in nature and our foods we start to train our brains to think in a slightly different way. Blue can be a cold colour but it can also be seen as calming, relaxing and soothing colour if we choose to focus on it this way.

Being aware of what you feel grateful or thankful each day and writing three positive things you have noticed today helps stimulate the pre frontal cortex that deals with positive emotions. Studies suggest journalling what we are grateful lifts our mood. There are many lifestyle changes that positively affect our mood. Being mindful of if you include them in your day may help improve mental and physical wellbeing long term.