New Year, new you?

Happy New Year! I think there’s still enough time this month for me to say that to you. And I must apologise for not posting these past few weeks. I went to India over Christmas to try and finish a draft of my next novel, which at least had the desired effect. Now I just have to see what my agent thinks…

But the whole idea of new year, new you got me thinking as I became aware of how many celebrity couples seemed to announce their separation either as the year closed (Katy Perry & Russell Brand), or as the new one began (Heidi Klum & Seal, Tulisa Contostavlos & Richard ‘Fazer’ Rawson, possibly Jonny Depp & Vanessa Paradis). Certainly, psychotherapists often see a spike in enquiries in January. So what is it about this month?

Even though I love the crisp mornings of January (plus the fact that lots of shops have sales…), some people loathe this month and get very down about it. Some people find the weather depressing, some dislike the contrats between January and the fextive excitement of Christmas. Some people find the prospect of a new year ahead quite daunting. And some people are so exhausted from the year before that they do something radical or dramatic. Some relationship splits can be down to similar factors. Some people might be too focussed on the negatives and want out. Other people might find the high emotion of Christmas too disturbing to the relationship. And yet others might feel energised to change their lives so radically that they kick out their partner.

Maybe a helpful new year’s resolution for all of us, not just celebrities, should be ‘Reflect’ not ‘React’.