A New Years Mood

At year-end, people feel a wide range of emotions. Circumstances, environment, and experience all help define our mood. Relief, exhaustion, accomplishment, closure, and more are all complex feelings associated with the coming new year. Our feelings about the beginning of a new year and the end of the current one can be disconcerting. Recognizing the positive and negative emotions can help us deal with them.

These are a few moods that affect us this time of year.

Negative Feelings.
Feeling drained, burned out, fatigued, and overwhelmed. Feelings like this arise when we are up against a deadline or unable to accomplish a task on time. Break tasks into smaller items that allow you to complete the assignment incrementally. The new year can often create an arbitrary, self-imposed deadline.

Discussing these feelings with friends or family members can be helpful. Talking with family can reduce stress, improve mental health, and elicit support. A friendly discussion can promote solutions and help us cope.

Seasonal affective disorder.
Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, is real. The lack of sunlight can leave sufferers feeling sad, depressed, and fatigued. Light therapy, counseling, vitamin D supplementation, and self-care are common treatments for SAD. Talk to your doctor if you think you suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder. Socializing, staying active, and stress reduction can also help.

Positive Feelings.
The impending new year can create a sense of closure, satisfaction, hope, and anticipation for the future. These are healthy feelings as long as they are tempered with reality. Reflecting on success and accomplishments, introspection, and setting new goals are affirmative steps. Unrealistic expectations for the new year can manifest pressure and stress, so be practical when setting new milestones.

Feelings of Release.
Some people experience a sense of salvation or liberty as they close the year. Finalizing projects, prepping for new goals, and ridding oneself of negative relationships, habits, and associations can promote a feeling of deliverance.

Self Reflection
Be honest with self-reflection. Identify areas for self-improvement as you reassess the past year. People focus on achievements, but we often gain more from failures. Base your evaluation on what you learned, not what you achieved.

Count Your Blessings.
What are you grateful for in the past year? Appreciate the relationships, success, education, and kindness you experienced. Show your gratitude in the coming year.

There is a finality to the end of the year, making it seem significant. New Year is just another day. You may say that New Year is unique because it happens only once per year, but so does every other day.