The most wonderful time of the year is over and without the holidays to add some cheer, many people sink into a minor depression.

January has been coined the saddest month of the year, and one local Social Worker says if you're feeling a little beat up, that's totally normal.

Owner and Social Worker of Unscripted Co. at Revolution Medical Clinic,Tia Bell, says January can be a stressful month for numerous reasons, and she sees many clients feeling burnt out, anti social, and even depressed.

"We're coming back to work when we've been out of routine for two maybe three weeks and there's a financial stress from Christmas too." She says "Of course we see a lot of different family dynamics over the holidays that can bring out things from the past and stir the pot."

She says increased stress loads on top of not having the holidays to look forward to, often results in depression and feelings of overwhelm.

"It's not that you're truly depressed, but you're just not peaked any more you're just level. Some people do dip into a depression or may just feel overall depleted depending on how hard they pushed through the holidays."

It's like crashing after a sugar or caffeine high, we're at the peak over Christmas and then all of a sudden the decorations are gone, the happy carols turn off and overnight we're back to reality.

Bell says that slump mixed with high expectations or resolutions can be a bad mix.

"We start the year with all of these great ideas, like starting to get healthy and doing all these great things but people forget that we all have the same 24 hours in the day, and if you add new things, you have to take away something and it's not always realistic to maintain that."

With all the changes and stressors brought in by the new year, Bell says she doesn't think January is a good time to start something new, instead to focus on getting back to your pre-holiday normal.

"This is not a time to start anything, but more a time to go back to the routines that you had right before the holidays, something that's normal and predictable for yourself and then when you feel like you're back in that normal mind frame, then start adding small goals to your daily routine."

It's okay to give yourself permission to start slow, and just ease into 2020.

In fact, Bell says the best way to deal with resolutions or goals is to start small.

"Maybe wait until the end of January to start the resolutions, get your self back into a routine where you go and get your coffee in the morning before work and settle back into it." she says "We don't have to do everything all right away, when it comes to getting finances back on track, putting decorations away or starting a new work out plan, it's about doing a little at a time and doing what's manageable for you without over stretching yourself."

Keeping a positive mindset is important heading into the new year, and so are keeping social connections alive.

Bell says it's OK to feel down right now, as long as you're working towards getting back to that baseline and acknowledging that those feelings won't simply disappear unless you're working through them alone, with a friend or with a professional.

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