Understanding Blue Monday: Mental Health Strategies for the New Year with Natacha Pennycooke Artwork

Marketing Sucks

Marketing Sucks is the podcast for business owners who are looking for practical, fun, and strategic ways to get noticed online, and don’t want to sit through 30 minutes of filler to get to the good stuff.

Each week, Grind Social Media + Co founder Amanda Casinha sits down with the industry’s most interesting and unconventional ad experts, funnel developers, content creators, and changemakers to explore their off-the-beaten-path strategies and experiences in the world of marketing and business — and dig into real stories of failures, strategies, and how they got their jaw-dropping results.

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Marketing Sucks

Understanding Blue Monday: Mental Health Strategies for the New Year with Natacha Pennycooke

January 14, 2025 • Amanda Casinha-Ginther • Episode 42

While the third Monday of January has been called the most depressing day of the year, the surrounding weeks can also wreak havoc on your mental health. Many of us feel sad, tired, and unmotivated after the holidays, and the stress of our current economy can make these symptoms feel even worse.

Your mental health has a direct impact on the health of your business. In this episode of Marketing Sucks, I’m joined by brilliant psychotherapist and mindset coach Natacha Pennycooke to talk about the signs and symptoms you should keep an eye on during the winter months — and the mental health strategies that can help you kick off the New Year with less overwhelm! Tune in to learn how Blue Monday outgrew its gimmicky origins, why January is a mental health danger zone, and how to get seriously proactive about self care.

Marketing sucks. Let’s learn together. Hit play to discover:‌ ‌

How to recognize the signs that you may suffer from seasonal affective disorder
How to reduce (or even prevent) poor mental health outcomes in the winter
How to forecast and prepare for the ebbs and flows of your mental health

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Guest bio: Natacha Pennycooke is a leader in workplace mental health, equity education, and psychological safety, a Mindset Coach, and an award-winning psychotherapist. With over 13 years of experience, she is CEO of Natacha Pennycooke Psychotherapy, a flourishing anti-oppressive, healing-focused, and trauma-informed private group practice.

Timestamps:‌ ‌

00:11 Meet Natacha Pennycooke

01:41 Blue Monday

06:32 SAD & holiday stress

09:55 Prevention & prediction tips

16:17 Link between business & personal health

19:45 Mental health as a moneymaker

24:13 Investing in self care

25:59 Activating states of rest

29:59 7 types of rest & 5 closest people

34:14 Check-ins & hell months

37:37 Your action item

38:42 Outro

Links mentioned:‌ ‌