Socks, salsa and stand-up comedy… easy ways to find joy in January

There is a reason it is called Blue Monday. Slap-bang in the middle of a month that is all about freezing drizzle and self-denial, the third Monday in January is notoriously the gloomiest day of the year.

But some of us are fighting back.

Here are some ways to find joy among the January gloom.

Laughter is a great tonic. Making other people laugh is even better.

Ask Paddy Merritt. The 24-year-old had a go at stand-up comedy last year and is now hooked.

His legs were shaking the first time, he says. But the third gig was “amazing”.

“People were laughing really hard.”

“Feeling you are bringing other people joy is a wonderful thing.”

Even if you are nervous, it can be a kind of exposure therapy, he says, going in at the deep end socially. If it goes badly you can still feel proud you tried.

Sophie Scott, professor of cognitive neuroscience at University College London, has dabbled in stand-up herself.

As she told What’s Up Docs on BBC Radio 4, a huge range of things can bring joy but it is almost always to be found in the company of others.

So if you don’t want to go up on stage, watch comedy instead, or just hang out with friends, anything where there’s a chance you’ll have one of those “laughing ’til your face hurts” moments, she suggests.

Joy is often quite intense, she says. There is a sense of being “overwhelmed with the emotion” in contrast to other forms of happiness, such as comfort or contentment.

But don’t panic if joy doesn’t happen right on cue, says Sophie. If you want birds to come to your garden you don’t march around it shouting “come on birds”, she points out. You make the garden beautiful and wait.

“Let yourself be enthusiastic about things. Let yourself be interested in things and interested in people,” she says.

Ana Cass says seeing other people is definitely a source of joy for her. The 27-year-old data scientist struggles with seasonal affective disorder, meaning January can be tough, but she has found ways to counter it.

“What has helped the most is having dinner with friends.

“We take turns hosting. We hang out. We chat. That’s the best thing I’ve done all winter.”

At the weekend, instead of cafes, she and her friends often choose to meet at the sauna and plunge pool, with the added buzz that offers.

“That rush makes you forget that January is miserable and cold.”

There is often a physical aspect to joy, says Sophie Scott.

“Almost all expressions of joy involve jumping, running, movement.”

There’s even the phrase “jumping for joy”.

Poet David Larbi reckons even a tiny moment of joy can put a spring in his step.

“Today, the sun was out, and I left early.

“I was listening to the right music – Stevie Wonder,” he says.

“So I had a little skip.”

Dancing and listening to music you love are both great ways to give yourself an “endorphin bump,” says Scott. Even a short walk will leave you feeling a bit better, she says.

Ana recommends salsa classes, something she has been doing for a decade, as another thing that brings her joy.

Dancing, she says, allows the kind of casual social interactions that are no longer as common in our work-from-home, shop-online environment, and a physical closeness.

“When you dance close, you touch. That human aspect feels good.”

You don’t have to wait for salsa night, points out David Larbi.

“On the average day, you can have a little smile at four or five things that might seem minute, but bring you a happy feeling,” he says.

“And the good thing about doing that is, the more of those small moments you notice, the happier you are, and the more likely you are to notice them.”

He shares his upbeat philosophy on social media, and has published a book, Frequently Happy, encouraging people to look for uplifting moments in the everyday.

“This morning, it was very cold, and I put my socks on. My feet were a little bit warmer.

“That moment of joy made me feel a lot better.”

And if sometimes in the middle of January, it feels as though winter is out to get you, with its biting winds and long nights, he says, remember, it is nothing personal.

“Winter is not actively malicious,” he says. “It is just the earth doing what it has to do.”