For so many of us, the holidays are filled with electric energy. Regardless of what you feel about this time of year, the season is often a busy whirlwind of events, traditions, gatherings, and more. And when it all comes to an end, it’s not unusual to feel an emotional slump, which can turn into depression for some people.
This experience is often called the “post-holiday blues,” and it’s a natural and common response to the sudden shift in energy and routine. After weeks of festive distractions, the quieter, colder days of January can feel heavy. You might feel this way even if you find the holidays to be stressful or lonely. And while these feelings are common, there are ways to work through them.
By understanding why the post-holiday season can be challenging — and learning how to navigate it — you can work through these emotions and start your year.
How is mental health affected during the post-holiday season?
For some people, the holidays can provide a temporary boost to mental health. The bright lights, festivities, and social gatherings can create a sense of connection and distraction which can feel stabilizing for some people. But when the season ends, the return to daily routines can feel like a crash – leading to post-holiday blues, or even depression.
Research confirms this. One study found that, despite a common understanding that the holidays can worsen mental health, psychiatric hospital admissions actually decrease during the Christmas season, only to rebound significantly after the holidays.
Even though the holidays are undoubtedly stressful, without the structure, connection, and joy the holidays bring, many people may find themselves facing a sense of loneliness and emptiness.
The loss of routine that tends to happen during the holiday season can also lead to depression afterwards. For example, you might have given up healthy habits like exercising regularly. You might have overindulged in alcohol or other substances.
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) may also play a role. The colder months bring shorter days, limited sunlight, and more time spent indoors—all of which can disrupt your body’s natural rhythms and affect mood-regulating hormones like serotonin.
While SAD is a specific condition, even those without a formal diagnosis may feel the effects of the season. Paired with the emotional letdown that often follows the holidays, it’s easy to see why this time of year feels like a struggle.
How to deal with after-holiday blues
There’s a lot of information out there on how to deal with the holiday blues, or symptoms of depression that you might face during the actual holiday. But how can you deal with these feelings when they come on after the holidays?
If the post-holiday slump feels heavy, you’re not alone. These feelings are common, but they don’t have to linger. With small, intentional changes, you can reframe your perspective and ease into the months ahead with more clarity and peace.
Reframe your thoughts
One of the most powerful ways to break free from the post-holiday blues is by reframing your thoughts. Depression and sadness often narrow your focus, trapping you in cycles of negative thinking. If you dwell on what went wrong or focus on the things you lack, it can reinforce feelings of hopelessness.
Reframing is about challenging those thought patterns. For example:
Instead of thinking, “The holidays are over, and now everything feels empty,” try shifting to, “This is a new season where I can focus on rest and personal growth.”
Replace thoughts like, “I’m so behind financially after the holidays,” with, “This is an opportunity to reassess and rebuild my budget.”
This isn’t about ignoring your difficulties — it’s about choosing to see them in a way that empowers you instead of holding you back. Often, our thoughts make depression worse — so, by reframing them, we can help our brains get out of depressed thinking.
Don’t get stuck in rumination
Post-holiday blues often come with rumination — the mental habit of replaying negative thoughts over and over again. It might sound like this: “Why didn’t I handle that better?” or “I shouldn’t have spent so much.” These thought loops not only drain your energy and make you feel more stressed, but also make it harder to find solutions or move forward. Rumination, overall, is bad for mental health and doesn’t help you resolve depression.
Breaking free from rumination starts with awareness. When you notice yourself caught in a mental loop, try interrupting it by asking questions that shift your perspective:
Is this thought helping me solve the problem, or is it just making me feel worse?
What can I focus on right now that’s within my control?
You can also try redirecting your attention through another activity, like journaling, meditating, or even going for a walk. Engaging in something that requires focus pulls your mind away from repetitive thoughts and helps you reset.
Remember, rumination isn’t productive — it keeps you stuck, and worsens your mental health
. The more you practice stepping away from these loops, the easier it becomes to shift into healthier, forward-focused thinking.
Expand your thinking
When you’re feeling low, it’s easy to get stuck in narrow thinking — focusing on a single problem, replaying it in your mind, and struggling to see beyond it. This kind of thinking makes challenges feel larger than they are, and locks you into rumination, which then leads to chemical and structural changes in the brain.
Prof. Moshe Bar's research on Facilitating Thought Progression shows that our brains can be trained to step back, shift focus, and see the bigger picture when we’re feeling depressed. Activities that encourage mental flexibility, like structured games, can be especially effective at teaching your brain to “zoom out.”
Best of all, you can practice this skill using games that may appear unrelated to your mental health at first glance, like word association games. The important thing is to train your brain to think in different ways, and it may naturally become more able to think differently when it’s depressed, as well.
Expanding your thinking is a skill, and like any skill, it gets stronger with practice. The more you teach your brain to look beyond the immediate triggers or problems, the more natural it becomes to see the bigger picture.
Prioritize movement and fresh air
Physical activity is an excellent tool not only for your physical health, but for mental health as well. When it’s cold and dark outside, it’s natural for your exercise habits to slow down. But taking a walk, stretching, or even engaging in light exercise inside can help regulate your mood. Movement releases endorphins, which are natural mood boosters. Plus, if you can get yourself outside, you’ll benefit from exposure to natural light — which, even on cloudier days, supports your body’s internal clock.
If going outside isn’t an option, sit by a window or use a light therapy box. These small changes can make a big difference in lifting the fog of post-holiday blues.
Reconnect with what matters
The holidays are often rooted in traditions and values like generosity, connection, or creativity. But those things don’t have to disappear just because the season has ended.
Take time to reflect on what the holidays meant to you and how you can carry those values into your daily life. What do you miss most about the season, and how can you live those values every day? For example:
If you loved the sense of giving during the holidays, look into opportunities to volunteer.
If you enjoyed decorating or creating gifts, start a new hobby that lets you express yourself creatively.
By aligning your actions with what matters most to you, you can keep the meaningful parts of the season alive year-round, which can help you overcome post-holiday depression.
See a therapist
If the post-holiday blues feel overwhelming, or if they don’t go away over time, reaching out to a therapist can help. Therapists provide a safe, nonjudgmental space to explore and express your thoughts and emotions. They can also help you identify patterns, like rumination, that may be contributing to your feelings and work with you to reframe those thoughts. Therapy isn’t just for times of crisis — it can help anyone build emotional resilience and navigate life’s challenges with greater confidence.
Download Mood Bloom and Play Your Way to Well
Feeling down after the holidays is natural, and doesn’t necessarily mean that you live with underlying depression. Even if you do, depression is a treatable condition.
Mood Bloom helps you break free from repetitive thought patterns and develop a broader outlook. Clinical research has found that playing just a few minutes per day can lead to significant improvements in mood.
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