I am not entirely sure where the last decade has gone! I can’t quite believe that we are now in the year 2010 and faced with the prospect of yet another cold, dark and somewhat depressing January.  As you can probably tell, I am not a huge fan of this month.  I love autumn and the start of the winter nights drawing in and I am also particularly partial to the run up to Christmas,  but once the bells chime at midnight on New Year’s Eve I start to feel quite melancholy.
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I don’t have Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), or at least I don’t think I do.  I just struggle to get enthusiastic about New Year’s resolutions in a month where the sun only shines for a few hours, if we are lucky!  For me, October is a time for resolutions new beginnings.  Why on earth would I want to get in my car at 7pm to drive to the gym to run like a hamster on a wheel for 45 minutes when I can light the fire, pour myself a nice glass of wine and have an early night? 

I do sometimes wonder why I seem to suffer with the January blues though, as on the whole I am generally a pretty positive and upbeat person.  I have high Energy and pride myself on my “get up and go” approach to life yet January is the one thing that can knock me off my perch – or at least wobble me!  I asked some friends recently about how they felt in the New Year and responses were mixed, ranging from “It’s no different to any other time of the year” to, “I can’t stand it, and I get really miserable”.   In an ideal world I would hibernate for the whole of January and probably most of February as well!

Anyway, I would love to hear your views on the January blues.  Do they exist?   Do you feel different in January to the rest of the year?  Do personality traits have anything to do with whether people suffer with SAD or the January blues?

Wishing you all a Happy New Year and particularly, a happy January!