Post-Thanksgiving Hangover

Sitting heavenly on the dinner table is a massive roasted turkey, with steam rising from its crispy skin. Smells of cinnamon and spice enter the room as pecan pie is removed from the oven. Creamy sips of homemade boozy eggnog keeps you chatting and laughing with friends and family for hours... 

“Welcome back, Sharon!” your boss howls. You snap back into reality -- it is the Monday after Thanksgiving, and you are experiencing post-Thanksgiving hangover.

There’s no ‘official’ term for the feeling of blues after a festive Thanksgiving holiday, but we are all very familiar with it. The extra grouchiness, heaviness in the body, lack of motivation. 

Looking back at the events over the past couple of days, it makes perfect sense why you feel like a cranky potato. 

You’ve devoured high-carb dishes of buttery mashed potatoes, thick mounds of stuffing, and highly acidic alcoholic drinks. It’s no wonder that your tummy feels off. 

The fun laid-back days with family sharply contrasts your currently dreary work environment. Work feels more like a chore, so you’re unhappy doing it. To add to the misfortune you may have additional jet lag, seasonal affective disorder, stress from a long to-do list (gifts to get and cards to write), and holiday plans to coordinate.

So how do you get over this nasty hangover?

Refresh yourself

Clean up your room. Take a warm bath. Hydrate yourself. 

A messy room can actually affect how you behave. By tidying up and straightening out your room you are resetting yourself for what’s next to come. 

A warm bath is just what you need to get your muscles to relax; you'll ease out the stress and tension in your body from your long flight or drive back.

Drinking lots of water will help you detox your body from all of the bad food. You might pee a lot, but that’s your body clearing out the gunk in your system. 

Write down a pre-Christmas to-do list and slowly check things off

Your mind doesn’t have the capacity to remember all of the tasks that you need to do. Coming back from the stress-free holidays you have more tasks than usual that are suddenly overwhelming you. Write them down! That will clear your head enough to start attacking the items one at a time. 

Ease back into work and healthy routines

Catch yourself up on where and what you left off at before Thanksgiving. What project were you last working on? How far did you get? 

Also take 30 minutes to clear out your inbox so you won’t have to panic every time you see the onslaught of new emails. 

Start eating clean veggies again. For those of you who get queasy looking at a salad or other raw vegetables, maybe start instead with a green smoothie. Tiny amounts of consistent change still go a long way. 

In whatever routines you do, take them nice and slow. Achieving small goals will give you a sense of accomplishment. You’ll slowly prove to yourself that YOU GOT THIS.

Meet up with friends or socialize with your coworkers

Take advantage of lunch breaks and enjoy the company of your coworkers. You can share your woes from the post-Thanksgiving hangover and receive support from coworkers going through the same exact thing. This way you won’t feel isolated in your gloom!

Be patient - less than a month until you can celebrate!

There is really only 3 weeks left until Christmas. You’ll have your fun soon; you just gotta be a little patient.