Why January Feels So Hard: The Real Truth About Blue Monday

by Suzie Booth, Counsellor/Psychotherapist, MSc. MBACP (accred).

Every January, the same feeling...

flat, unmotivated, tearful, heavy, disconnected, irritable, lost, and for no clear reason (except the weather!)

Then along comes Blue Monday; supposedly the most depressing day of the year.

But what if January doesn’t feel bad just because of the weather, or because you're not motivated enough… What if it feels bad because your nervous system is doing exactly what it’s supposed to do?...

Blue Monday didn’t come from psychology, it came from marketing

Blue Monday was created as part of a PR campaign in the early 2000s. It wasn’t based on clinical psychology or neuroscience.

And yet… it stuck.

Because it put words to something people genuinely experience; an emotional and energetic dip mid-January.

But why? Why does this time of year feel so heavy for so many people?

The post-Christmas crash is real

December runs on borrowed energy.

We push through:

• socialising

• spending

• organising

• expectations

• and constant stimulation

There are lights, music, rituals, food, connection, novelty and anticipation everywhere.

Even if Christmas is stressful, it gives us dopamine; the brain’s 'something to look forward to' chemical.

Then January arrives.

Suddenly:

• the calendar empties

• the lights come down

• the socialising stops

• the credit card bills land

• the weather is dark and cold

• and there is nothing obvious to be excited about

  
  

This creates a dopamine drop, and dopamine is directly linked to motivation, hope and mood.

Your body experiences this as emotional flatness, tiredness, sadness and low drive.

It's neurochemistry.

Your nervous system is also coming down from high alert

December often puts people into a state of mild survival mode.

There’s pressure to:

• show up

• cope

• smile

• keep going

• hold everything together

When it’s over, the nervous system doesn’t bounce back immediately.

It drops.

This is why so many people report:

• getting ill in January

• feeling teary or low

• sleeping more

• wanting to withdraw

It’s a physiological comedown, similar to how you feel after a long period of stress or adrenaline.

Your body is finally saying, 'I need to rest now.'

January also brings a quiet kind of grief

We rarely talk about this part.

When Christmas ends, we don’t just lose the decorations, we lose:

• moments

• memories

• connection

• traditions

• togetherness

• a version of time that felt meaningful

Even if Christmas wasn’t perfect, it was something.

January can feel like emotional empty space afterwards.

That hollow feeling? That’s a form of grief.

The 'New Year, New You' narrative makes it worse

Just when people are most depleted, society tells them to:

• set goals

• improve themselves

• work harder

• get more disciplined

So you’re tired, flat and overwhelmed… and now you’re supposed to be motivated too. That creates shame.

But the truth is, low energy in January is not a mindset problem, it’s a nervous system state.

A kinder way to move through January

Instead of asking, 'What should I achieve this month?' Try asking, 'How can I recover this month?'

This might look like:

• more rest

• more warmth

• simpler meals

• cancelling unnecessary plans

• gentle movement

• small daily comforts

• being kinder to yourself

This is how a nervous system recovers. If we can accept that January is actually a time of healing and quietness, we can shift our perspective of the low mood, and lack of motivation to one of healing.

January isn’t awful, it’s transitional

You are not meant to feel full of drive in the middle of winter after a month of emotional and physical intensity.

There is nothing wrong with January. You are meant to feel slower. Quieter. More inward. It's what you need.

And as the light returns, so will your energy.