How to manage your post-wedding mental health

The post-wedding blues are more common than you might think, so here's how to banish them while managing your mental health

Once your wedding celebrations are over, many brides don’t feel the newlywed joy they expected and instead find it difficult to adjust to their new chapter.

If you’re finding being a newlywed difficult, you’re certainly not the first person to feel this way. Spring is a popular season to get married, so it’s not surprising that there’s been a 191% increase in Google searches for ‘post-wedding blues’ over the last three months.

Don’t be disheartened if you’re feeling the wedding blues; research shows that, even after the day of their dreams, 12% of brides struggle with depressive symptoms after their wedding, feeling uncertainty in themselves, their partner, and relationship overall.

Here, Pablo Vandenabeele, clinical director for mental health at Bupa UK, shares his advice for brides and grooms feeling the post-wedding blues.

Start with the basics

So much goes into planning a wedding that, without realising, you may have neglected some of the simpler things that help to keep you healthy. If you’re feeling down after your wedding, lay the groundwork for good wellbeing by taking care of the basics.

Make sure you’re taking care of yourself by following these basic daily principles:

• Get at least seven hours of sleep
• Drink 6-8 glasses of water
• Make sure your diet is full of fruit and vegetables – don’t forget to aim for your five-a-day
• Aim for 150 minutes of moderate activity over the course of the week
• Reduce your alcohol intake, as this can affect your quality of sleep
• If you’re a smoker, make a plan to give it up

Make a plan together

Without the goal of your wedding day on the horizon, it can feel like you have a lot of free time on your hands. Remind yourself that there is plenty to look forward to in your next chapter, with the power of planning.

Planning things together with your partner can be a great way to help regain your sense of purpose and achieve new goals together. To give yourself a new focus, you could start by organising your dream honeymoon together, making a bucket list, trying new hobbies, or simply filling your calendar with catch-ups with your friends.

Be mindful of how far you’ve come

Practising mindfulness can help you to realise just how much you’ve achieved over the last few months. Try following a mindfulness calendar to help focus on appreciating each day. As the month goes on, you may notice that you start to feel happier, more content, proud of your accomplishments and ready to enjoy your time together as newlyweds.

Talk it out

The wedding blues can feel like a lonely place. Don’t forget that communication with your partner is key to a healthy relationship. Once you open-up to them, you might even find that they feel a similar way.

Your partner knows you better than anyone – together, you can help one another to feel supported in your new chapter and come up with ways to boost your moods.

While it’s normal to feel sad after the wedding, if you’re still feeling low over the course of weeks or months, speak to a GP to check that you’ve not developed a common mental health condition, like anxiety or depression.