It’s exhausting being tired all the time. Everything seems harder, gravity’s pull feels heavier and bed becomes a lethargy-breeding haven. Then along comes the new year and with it the annual push to be reborn as improved humans, as though it were spring. Which it isn’t. It’s dark and cold and we are still recovering from a festive season of too many “shoulds” – should have fun, should party, should have the friends and family over for a super-feast. It is a time when even more than normal is expected of us, says psychologist Dr Linda Blair. Paying heed to all the shoulds goes some way to explaining why many of us feel low on batteries.
While the thought of detoxes, boot camps and resolutions might be as appealing as a turkey smoothie, now is the time to focus instead on how to “say no gracefully, without hurting feelings, when you know you’re at your limit of what you can do”, says Blair.
