real life

There's actually a reason why everyone in your life seems so miserable at the moment.

 

This week has been tough.

You’ve started back at work and everything is the… same.

Jane from accounting still seems to be heating up tuna in the office microwave at least three times a day.

The person who sits across from you and loudly exclaims “OKAY”, as she moves from task to task hasn’t started a new life in the Bermuda Triangle as you’d hoped, instead she’s back loudly OKAY-ING her way through the day and driving you slightly insane.

You’ve already broken your New Year’s resolutions by spending the money you were meant to be saving on the copious amounts of chocolate you were not meant to be eating.

You’ve tripped over on your way off the bus and yesterday the lid came off your Tupperware container and your handbag now permanently smells like balsamic vinegar.

You’re wondering whether you’re in the right job, whether you need to move apartments, or cities, whether failing that one maths exam in year nine actually set your whole life off course.

Do you even like the dress you’re wearing? Probably not. Why do shoes exist anyway – they seem like an inconvenience.

Everything feels a bit meh and you’re wondering whether you should run off to the Bermuda Triangle and start a new life.

But don’t worry – you’re not alone.

You’re probably suffering from a phenomenon called Janxiety – that’s short for January Anxiety for those of you playing along at home.

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According to the Evening Standard, Janxiety is the sensation of plummeting from your post-Chirstmas high back down to the reality of every day life.

This is not to be confused with an actual anxiety disorder, which should be treated appropriately, it’s more of a sense of ill-ease after the Christmas break.

You probably spent the last couple of weeks eating and drinking and swimming and watching Netflix and looking at memes, and now you have to get back to your real life which involves working and paying your bills and wearing shoes and putting up with Jane from accounting and the OKAY-ER.

It sucks.

It doesn’t seem fair.

And you don’t like it.

The good news is there are some things you can do to survive the dreaded Janxiety.

You can stop being so hard on yourself about your New Year’s resolutions. It’s okay if they didn’t last. You can take some time out to reconnect with friends, to watch some more Netflix, to look at those memes. You could try being a little kinder to Jane, you never know – her New Year’s resolution may have been to stop eating tuna and she could be feeling pretty shitty herself right now.

And you can keep plodding along. Before you know it, the first week back at work will be over and things will feel a little bit more hopeful.

If not, there’s always the Bermuda Triangle.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯