Treating yourself is important - especially when times are tough, a psychiatrist has said. 

With all the excitement and joy of Christmas behind us, January often seems like the most miserable month. 

The weather is gloomy and spring seems far away. 

On Lunchtime Live, Trinity Professor Brendan Kelly urged anyone feeling a little down to treat themselves. 

 “There's a lot of good evidence that treating ourselves is useful for motivation,” he explained. 

“It's good for rewarding ourselves, it reinforces our self-worth.

“So, I would agree with an awful lot of what's being said, that it is good to set up a small indulgent treat that is dependent on you doing something else, perhaps. 

“Maybe it's just getting through Tuesday, but also if you're trying to achieve something, it's good to reward yourself fairly clearly and fairly promptly afterwards.”

Professor Kelly added that treating oneself is best done in moderation. 

“Like you could take this to extremes and spend all your money on small treats and then fail to do the things you want to in the long-term,” he continued. 

“But it is very important that we reward ourselves and show ourselves some self-compassion, particularly when times are hard - you might be working hard, working at home, a lot of stresses.”

Main image: A woman out treating herself to some shopping. Picture by: Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie. 24/12/2021