05/01/2026
Hey lovely humans ⏰👩🏼⚕️🧩
Back to work. Back to school. Back to the grind.
January always feels like the longest month of the year.
The lights have gone, the adrenaline of Christmas has dropped, days are long, cold, and dark, bank accounts are quieter, motivation is low, immunity is wobbling, and the sugar + alcohol hangover is very real.
There’s also something no one really talks about enough ~
the emotional crash after the high.
After weeks of excitement, spending more than planned, socialising hard, drinking more, sleeping less… January arrives and suddenly:
~ reality hits
~ the credit card bill lands
~ work mode switches back on
~ expectations return
~ but your body and nervous system never actually got to rest
That sudden shift alone is enough to knock mental and physical health sideways.
Add in the temperature drop and the dark days too… wow. What a combination.
If you’re feeling flat, foggy, anxious, low in mood, overwhelmed, or constantly “catching something” (often part of the body recalibrating and clearing inflammatory load), it doesn’t mean you’re broken.
Your body and brain are simply asking for recovery ❤️🩹 🧩
As a qualified Integrative Health & Functional Medicine practitioner, trained in metabolic, nutritional, and nervous system support, I can confidently guide you on how to help yourself and change things for the better — indirectly shortening the longest month of the year, January 😉
This is exactly the time of year I see people struggle the most ~ and it’s not about willpower. It’s physiology, neurochemistry, and nervous system overload.
🧬 Why January hits so hard
~ Blood sugar chaos after weeks of sugar, booze, and snacking
~ A dopamine crash after the Christmas high
~ Overspending and financial stress activating the stress response
~ Going straight back into work mode without recovery
~ Depleted vitamins and minerals
~ Liver overload
~ Low vitamin D and disrupted circadian rhythm
~ Inflammation quietly simmering under the surface
~ Long, cold, dark days with far too much time spent indoors
Mental health doesn’t exist separately from the body.
When metabolism, hormones, and nutrients are off, mood follows.
None of this is a moral failure. It’s biology.
🧬 Simple ways to lift the winter blues and support both body and mind
~ Reduce constant snacking to allow insulin and cortisol to settle
~ Hydrate properly (water + minerals, not just water alone)
~ Prioritise protein and fats to stabilise mood and blood sugar
~ Get daylight on your eyes first thing in the morning to support serotonin
~ Walk daily, even in the cold, to regulate the nervous system
~ Better still, get more active ~ use the gym or adopt outdoor workouts
~ Get yourself to a sauna wherever and whenever you can
~ Remove sugar and alcohol for a short reset window
~ Support detox and recovery instead of forcing productivity
~ Sip on bone broth on as many evenings as you can
~ Fasting, whether shorter or longer periods, is also a powerful tool
Now then… if you really want to feel an immediate shift, this is my personal winter kick-off protocol, used by myself and soon to be used in practice, guided by my clinical training and personal experience.
⚠️ This is not medical advice. It’s shared for education and insight into how I work. Fasting and injectable nutrients should always be undertaken with appropriate professional guidance.
🧬 My winter kick-off protocol
Reset. Support. Rebuild.
~ A 20-hour fast
Allows insulin to come down, reduces inflammation, and gives the brain a break from constant glucose spikes. Many people notice improved mental clarity, calmer mood, and reduced anxiety once blood sugar stabilises. Fasting also activates cellular repair and supports metabolic reset.
~ Breaking the fast with bone broth
Bone broth is grounding for the nervous system, rich in minerals and amino acids that support gut health and neurotransmitter balance. A calm gut often means a calmer mind.
~ Salting my water
Minerals are critical for brain signalling, adrenal health, and stress resilience. Low sodium can worsen fatigue, lower mood, cause dizziness, and increase anxiety ~ especially after alcohol and sugar.
~ Targeted injectable (or IV drip) nutrient support (practitioner-guided)
I do these for myself, but you can source your own local clinician… or if you’re local to me, I’ll be launching later this year 👩🏼⚕️😉
~ Glutathione
Reduces oxidative stress and supports liver detoxification, which directly affects mood, brain fog, and inflammatory-driven low mood. It also helps recycle NAD back to NAD+.
~ NAD+
Supports mitochondrial energy in brain cells, cognitive clarity, motivation, and overall mental stamina. This is about real energy, not stimulation.
~ CoQ10
Supports mitochondrial efficiency and heart–brain energy flow, helping reduce fatigue and mental exhaustion.
~ L-Carnitine
Improves fat metabolism and supports brain energy, focus, and motivation ~ particularly useful during metabolic resets.
~ B-Complex + B12
Essential for neurotransmitter production, stress resilience, mood regulation, and nervous system repair. Deficiency is strongly linked to low mood and burnout. Also supports CREB and redox pathways (mitochondria + NAD).
~ Ultra high-dose Vitamin D
Plays a key role in mood, immune balance, and inflammation control. Deficiency is common in winter and closely associated with low mood, poor immunity, and recurring infections.
~ Vitamin C
Supports adrenal health and stress response. Chronic stress and alcohol rapidly deplete it, leaving people feeling wired, tired, and low. Also essential for endogenous glutathione production.
~ Magnesium
One of the most powerful nervous system nutrients. Supports sleep, reduces anxiety, relaxes muscles, supports nerve signalling, and helps regulate stress hormones.
IV drip and IM injection delivery bypass digestion and are often used clinically when rapid nutrient availability is needed, particularly when absorption, depletion, or demand is high.
All of the above can also be found in oral supplement form, but be mindful of sourcing and quality. Many supplements are poorly absorbed, combined with fillers, or take longer to make a noticeable difference. It can be done ~ if done correctly.
For example, there are many forms of magnesium, three forms of B12, two forms of vitamin C, NAD+ needs to be recycled when it converts to NAD and requires synergistic support, and so on.
Low mood and poor health are not punishment.
Guilt only adds weight to something that’s already heavy ~ and it’s not productive. So put it down.
View this as:
Repair.
Recovery.
An opportunity to take responsibility ~ because that’s where your power truly stands.
January doesn’t need more guilt, restriction, or “new year, new you” pressure.
It needs compassion, recovery, nervous system safety, and cellular nourishment.
This is how you return from couch potato to alarm-clock ready 💪🏼⏰
