January really is crap

[Nomoreburritosforgodsake]

I’m a positive person and try to make the best out of things, count my blessings etc, but it really is the most depressing month…cold, wet, quiet, no money..just so blah.
I don’t mind staying in, have put fairy lights, candles, pjs and throws..still crap
Think it’s more the money and weather, just getting by, the most excitement being taking the dog for a walk and making lasagna. Dd asking for zoo, cinema, soft play and takeaways..just not happening this month

How to make Jan-well-Jan-March better?!

Does anyone actually prefer these months? I remember a brilliant year pre Dd where we went ski ing and then to Thailand just to escape it, no option for that these days 😅

I find January a very cold and grey month. We get paid a week early for Christmas which makes January seem to last forever. I’m always a few lbs heavier after Christmas excess. I find the grey, cold, wetness of January to be a bit yuck. I took a weeks annual leave and have done some
redecorating etc which has been good. My parents always go abroad for all of January and have some winter sun. They’ve definitely got the right idea.
however, trying to be positive. The days are definitely getting longer, it won’t be long before the spring bulbs are starting to appear. Roll on spring 🌱🌞

I’m not being aggressive. I just don’t like people having a go and suggesting I’ve chosen to be depressed.

Thanks for that. Appreciated.

I'm actually quite enjoying January so far, even though it's very cold. It's nice to have a really nice, frosty, crisp winter for a change. I've been going for two to three mile walks every day, even though it's been a bit challenging with some slippy footpaths in some places.

I have taken the Christmas decorations down, and done a little bit of a spring clean (or is that winter clean?) Started my new 2025 diary off, and I'm actually really happy to have survived another year and be at the start of a new one. I will be glad to have a few warmer days next week, but have enjoyed this winter snap.

Somebody I know actually went missing yesterday, and they found them dead (frozen to death) after falling in the local woodland and knocking their head. It makes me absolutely grateful to be alive, and that I'm here to see the rest of January out. Unlike this poor tragic person.

Just brought it home how fortunate and blessed I am to be here. Still reeling from this person's death. 😢 Only middle aged too. Shocked.

Sorry to be all maudlin...

Weirdly I sit on both sides of the fence. I mourn the loss of summer when it comes...autumn seems so short and winter sets in to stay. Boo. Problem is, winter is just a grey, wet, mild wash of crap these days...little by way of snow, ice, frost compared. Sad.
I'm loving the proper cold atm. Went crunching through the snow with a flask of coffee today. It's going to warm up tomorrow, so a thaw. Shame.

But indoors you can control the humidity. And in winter there is no pollen to contend with. Surely you are aware that pollen and humidity are very significant factors for people with seasonal allergies and asthma? Light levels also play a part. Just as winter SAD is linked to diminished levels of light so summer SAD is linked to longer days. Preferring winter to summer isn't only about temperature, there are many other factors and you are being very disrespectful and dismissive of people who find winter preferable and who struggle to function in summer.

It's going to warm up tomorrow, so a thaw. Shame.

No. Hurrah.

We had a lot of snow which then became very compacted and icy. We live on a hill and never get snow ploughs or gritters. Walking on the ice rinks icy pavements was so hazardous that it was an ordeal to leave the house, not a pleasure. Driving on the main roads was fine, but not on the side roads.

I usually enjoy a bit of snow. I just want to get back to normal now.

Fair enough.

I think January does seem long to many people. It's a dank, dark month and often a lean one too. I have certainly felt the melancholy dirge of the January blues before (not to be confused with SAD). I do sympathise with those who are struggling with it.

I'm perhaps more pro-January this year because I'm recovering from an episode of poor mental health and feeling more positive than I have done in a long time. I'm just happy to be on the level, be it January or June. We've also had 'proper' winter weather which has cheered me and made the first half of January fly by.

January would be a lot better if we did not put the clocks back in winter. At least most people would be leaving work in daylight by now.

As for January to March as a whole, even a weekend away at some point does make it a lot easier.

Yeah I agree. I have quite enjoyed this nice cold snap, and the 'proper' winter weather, but I will welcome some nice warm weather now - if only for a week. The windchill here is minus 5 degrees C at the moment, and there is a thick murky fog. Everything is covered in ice and frost, there is still compacted snow around, (that has been here around 10 days now!) the roads and footpaths are lethal, the cat won't go out, it's hard to go for a walk, and we are having to throw lots of extra birdfood out for the birds because the ground is so hard and they have no insects or berries.

I want this weather to bore off now! 😬

February is worse!

I agree. Absolutely despise January too. It's the anniversary of my mum's cancer diagnosis (she's now in palliative care) and my wife recently had a miscarriage at 12 weeks and had to have emergency surgery. January, and 2025 so far can get in the bin. We've also had thick snow in West Yorkshire where we are and all the pavements are like an ice rink.

January is dark, poor, you need to wear loads of layers to leave the house, can't just get in the car and drive because it's frozen, the ground is slippery, there's mud everywhere, everyone is ill (hospitals are always in emergency measures this time of year), spring is absolutely NOT "just around the corner" like people keep bloody saying, back to work and running around like a mad thing to kids clubs after the nice break over Christmas. I genuinely can't think of a single good thing about January. Honestly. Not one.

Sorry to hear about your mum and your wife's miscarriage.

😘

I had teens working on the beach last week (SE). It was minus 3 when Ieft home in the dark after defrosting the car. By the time we were on the beach at 1pm it was bright sunshine and the kids were in t shirts running round.
My poor parents are up north and it wet and freezing so pretty dreadful. It's really not the same everywhere.

I usually hate January. My favourite time of the year is October-December because I am much happier in autumn. I love Christmas because it's the only time of the year my family are all in one place, the rest of the time we are all scattered across the country. So when all the festivity is over and January rolls in I usually feel a little depressed, flat and nostalgic for what's just passed.
This year I have to say, January doesn't seem so bad. I love the cold frosty weather we have been having (yes I do get up early for work). The fields look so pretty, much better than the usual dull grey of winter.
I haven't put any pressure on myself to make big changes, I'm just taking it one day at a time. I'm getting through my pile of books and I've bought a few nice things to cheer the house up now all the decorations are away. We are nearly halfway through already.

I saw some daffodils nearly out the other day. And a solitary crocus. 🙂
We’re in the relatively mild SE though.

I like the peace and stillness of January and there have been beautiful sunrises and sunsets this year. It's just the icy pavements are keeping me indoors and I am desperate for a thaw! It's really hazardous where I live, and while I'm grateful to have the option to stay indoors I am also really sick of it now!

Wfh has made all the difference - this month is far harder when you're up at 6am defrosting the car and arriving at and leaving work in the gloom. So I feel very fortunate that I don't have to do that.

I hate cleaning and tidying, so I can't relate at all to the posters who take satisfaction in that!

I wish we had a couple of Bank Holidays at this time of year (in addition to the existing ones, not instead!!) - strict attendance rules at school means there is no opportunity for a long weekend away and I feel like it would make all the difference. I really feel like we need a few throughout winter, January in particular feels like it should be a month to rest and recharge but it can just be relentless.

I’m aware I’ve been a curmudgeonly old bat on this thread, so apologies for that, but this very cold weather really, really makes me depressed and a bit unwell. It’s 5 degrees out today here and I feel much, much brighter - and for reference, I haven’t left the house yet and my house is the same temp it’s been throughout, so it’s not about actually getting cold. My body/mind seems to sense it and go off a cliff. It’s horrible.

I’m with you OP, finding it hard as pressure at work has ramped up since I’ve been back this week, I’m having issues with flooding locally and getting to work and frankly hate defrosting my car at 7am whilst freezing my tits off. It’s also harder to entertain kids due to wetness/coldness ruling out the easy option of parks etc.

Ach @cardibach I'm a curmudgeonly old bat too.

Sorry it's hard.

It’s warmer today but grey and overcast

give me a sunny, frosty -5 any day in comparison

I have a friend with SAD related to sunlight who feels like this. I get it. But grey and overcast (and therefore warmer) is better for me. One of those things I guess.
I need to get to a part of the year when it’s reliably over 10 degrees all day.

Which Facebook meme did you get this little nugget from? Just to manage expectations, it's absolutely untrue. The sun won't set at 7pm until after the clocks go forward at the end of March. 11 weeks/77 days, not 38...