London (PRWEB) January 6, 2006
Almost half of British women are suffering from PSS or Post Santa Syndrome, a seasonal condition that arrives when Santas been and gone, leaving women depressed, exhausted and anxious about the new year ahead.
Instead of relaxing and enjoying the holiday, iVillage.co.uk, the UKs leading womens website has found that at this time of year, 48% of women feel like theyre falling head-long into the doldrums with lack of natural light, pre-Christmas workloads, late nights, lack of sleep and family stress combining to cause a sense of deflation and desperation.
Whilst PSS should be a blip, if left unnoticed this feeling of deflation can often trigger more serious depression, says Jen Howze, iVillage.co.uks Health Expert.
Tell-tale signs of PSS include: feeling sad, tired or even exhausted; bouts of nervousness and anxiety; headaches, Loss of self-esteem, sex drive and disinterest in everyday life.
To help women suffering from PSS, iVillage UK, the UKs leading womens website is publishing a complete guide to recognising and dealing with the condition. Including; recognising the symptoms, and assessing their severity, food and nutrition, counselling and coaching, physical wellbeing and changing your environment. These elements are supported with a PSS message board (http://messageboards.ivillage.co.uk/iv-ukrlhappy), where sufferers can discuss their feelings with other women on iVillage. The guide is available at http://www.ivillage.co.uk/postsantasyndrome .
Recognising that you may actually be suffering from a condition that many other women experience is the first step on the way to dealing with it, says Tracey Williams, iVillage.co.uks Editor-in-Chief. You can then use a number of methods to make you feel better.
Methods of dealing with PSS outlined in the iVillage.co.uk guide include:
Immediate remedies
Do something nice
Doing something nice for someone helps you refocus your attention away from yourself and onto other people. And your improved mood is likely to last a lot longer than a quick fix of chocolate.
Exercise
Just because you dont feel like exercising doesnt mean that you cant do it. Short-circuit your negative thinking and move your body towards doing something active. Getting yourself moving is half the battle. Exercise releases endorphins and gives you a sense of accomplishment.
Sing
If you like to sing, try it when you feel low. Belt your favourite song out at the top of your lungs. Theres something about singing thats almost diametrically opposed to feeling down.
Dance
You just may be able to dance your way to a better mood it combines music and exercise to put you into a better mood.
Mellowing through mindfulness
Accept how you feel! When you dwell on feelings, they intensify. When you accept them as unpleasant but inevitable, they lose some of their grip on your psyche. Also try connecting with the present rather than pondering the past or future.
Chomping on chocolate
Many of the substances found in chocolate are cited as being responsible for its mood-lifting effects. If chocolate works for you, indulge a little. But if you feel pronounced guilt when you indulge, this isnt the food for you. Guilt will only deepen your funk.
Longer Term Solutions
Rethink your problems. Work out whats bothering you and how it developed. Then try to look at the problem in a different way.
Get moving. Exercise is a remedy for poor mental health, enabling the brain to release feel good chemicals.
Get help. Conquer small problems before they grow either by talking them over with a good friend or, if they are more serious, by talking to a trained counsellor, (You must inform your GP if you think you are suffering from depression).
Engage yourself with something new and challenging, such as a good book or a new evening class. Research shows that the more inquiring, searching and active your brain is, the healthier it becomes.
ends
About iVillage.co.uk
iVillage.co.uk is the UK’s leading website for women with 3.3 million readers every month and has 30 million monthly page views (ABC Electronic January 2005). It provides women with all the tools they need in their everyday lives to help them make changes, to make their lives easier and better. iVillage.co.uk focuses on the issues that matter most to women, providing information, advice and support across content channels that include Diet & Fitness, Relationships, Health, Beauty, Pregnancy & Baby, Parenting, Food & Drink, Travel, Horoscopes, Money, News & Entertainment, Work & Career. What makes iVillage.co.uk different from any other website is that it has an active community, through its many message boards, where women come together to share their real-life experiences and give valuable advice to those that need it. It is the activity that takes place within the community that shapes the iVillage content.
Contact: Katie Sheppard or Ken Hooper. Cherish PR Limited, Tel: 020 8996 9541 / 0208 996 9545 / 07812098092
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