As you come back from break, you may be wondering how to overcome the post-holidays blues as a medical student. The post-holiday blues are defined as the slump or depressed feelings that you experience after an intense period of emotions.
The holidays are filled with so much joy, love and happiness, that you can enter a slump as you transition back to your everyday life. As a medical student, this can be particularly hard as you get back to studying all the time. The sense of joy that you felt being around family and having few obligations disappears as school begins again.
If you started the New Year off in a funk, you are far from the only one. Continue reading to learn how to overcome the post-holiday blues as a medical student.
1. Take time to analyze your feelings
It can be so tempting to dive back into work and push away the feeling that something is wrong. But, if you want to learn how to overcome the post-holiday blues as a medical student, it’s first important to recognize them. You can’t do that if you ignore the signs that something is wrong and continue working through the distress.
Common signs of a the post-holiday blues are:
- Sadness
- Lack of motivation
- Emptiness
- Loneliness
- Random bouts of crying
- Anxiety
- Irritability
All of these take place directly after the holiday. This is because these feelings may already be slightly present. But having such joyous moments and that are withdrawn abruptly can lead to an exacerbation of these feelings. The hardest time of the year is January and February due to the “high” of the December holidays. Seasonal Affective Disorder is also increased during this part of the year due to the lack of sunlight.
Are you experiencing any of these symptoms? You won’t know unless you take time to really evaluate how you are feeling and the timing of these feelings.
2. Create a generous schedule
New Year’s Resolutions can be motivating, but also intimidating. You enter the year with all of these goals that you want to accomplish, which can lead you to jam packing your schedule the first week of January. If you want to learn how to overcome the post-holiday blues as a medical student, it’s important to create a generous schedule that allows time for an adjustment back to regular life .
You may even feel guilty because you didn’t do any studying over winter break and now feel behind. This guilt is normal, but does not mean you have to get caught up in the first few days. Have some grace with yourself as you get back into your normal swing. And don’t beat yourself up if you need a few more breaks throughout the day than you did during finals time.
3. Pace yourself
This tip is hand-in-hand with the previous tip. Pacing yourself is important to keep your motivation while also not overwhelming yourself. Think of it like a race. You don’t want to run too fast at the beginning and have no gas in the tank. But you also don’t want to run too slow at the beginning and not be able to get caught up.
Come up with a pace that challenges you to get a jumpstart on your goals, but also doesn’t overwhelm you. This is the most productive way to overcome post-holiday blues as a medical student while ensuring the beginning of your semester doesn’t tank the end of your semester.
4. Stay connected with friends and family
The best part about the holidays is that you are connected with friends and family. However, once you go back to school, this connection suddenly seems to end. That is part of what fuels the isolation and loneliness that can characterize medical school. After days surrounded by people, these feelings can be made even worse when you return to school and are alone again.
However, just because you leave the physical company of friends and family does not mean that you can’t still connect with them. Call them, text them, and keep that line of communication open for an easy hack of how to overcome the post-holiday blues as a medical student. Not isolating yourself is an active process. It requires you to keep in contact with those that you saw over break. It may not be the same as brunching with them and having no obligations. But, it’s better than feeling alone in the transition back to school.
5. Find activities that bring you joy
The biggest driver of the post-holiday blues is the joy that you felt while doing activities that you love being suddenly taken away as you go back to your school responsibilities. Studying, seeing patients, being eaten alive by test bank questions is not enjoyable. Therefore, you may feel increased sadness over this loss of freedom to do things you like.
Not being on holiday break does not mean you don’t get to do things that you enjoy anymore. You may have less time for them, but in order to learn how to overcome the post-holiday blues as a medical student, it’s important to make time for these activities in other parts of your week. Actively seek out the activities that bring you joy and incorporate them into your schedule. The closer you are to holiday, the more often you may make time for these activities. These can include:
- Binge watching your favorite show
- Going to eat at your favorite restaurants with friends
- Exercise
- Go to a movie
- Find a new activity in town and invite a friend
- Read a new book
- Connect with friends for a game night
6. Take care of yourself
One barrier to learning how to overcome the post-holiday blues as a medical student is finding time to take care of yourself. Coming back, unpacking, and getting caught up can leave you with such little time, that you don’t feel like you can do anything for yourself. However, even just cleaning your room can provide you with a bit more organization and space to work with as you get back on track. Clutter can be linked to increased feelings of anxiety and depression, esepcailly if you don’t thrive in that environment.
It’s also important to keep up any health routines you had before the break, or take this time to establish new ones. Working out is a big New Year’s resolution for many, and can be a great outlet for those negative feelings of the post-holiday blues. Get some sunlight and fresh air, as that can boost your mood and make you feel happier. Get a good night’s sleep and do the activities like washing your hair, doing skin care, and taking time for self-reflection. Journaling, reading, praying are all active reflective modalities that don’t leave you subjected to the scariness of the silence, but also allow you to dig deep into what may be troubling you.
Main Takeaways
The post-holiday blues is a hard transition period for medical students. However, if you don’t manage it right away, it can spiral out of control for the rest of the semester. Take time to acknowledge negative feelings you may be experiencing and actively overcome these feelings by filling the gaps of being around family and friends.