Depression and Christmas—Holidays and Depression Can Go Hand & Hand—Different Experts Offer Help
Posted: Sunday, December 13, 2009
by Steve Kovacs
The Kovacs Perspective
When I was young, I could never understand why depression affects so many people during the holidays. A time of year, where everyone is supposed to be having fun with family and friends simply should not be a time when sadness or depression survives, at least that is what I thought. The fact of the matter is that depression affects many people during the holidays.
Some examples of unmet expectations are not having the perfect marriage, the perfect family, the great job, or not getting along with certain family members. Alternatively, they can mean not having yet having attained what we wanted in our lives. And let us not forget the implication from just about everyone that we are "supposed to have a great time" during the holidays. That is unrealistic to many people. Some problems do not disappear during Christmas. Family members with whom you have not traditionally gotten along with are unlikely to be different this season. How about other issues and problems people have, small as they may be, will they all be gone during the holidays? Unlikely and many realize it, consciously or unconsciously. In my view, these and similar issues contribute to making the blues that some may be feeling a little worse when the holiday season hits.
Here are some expert's tips on how to deal with holiday depression:
Kenneth Johnson, MD., Psychiatrist, Columbia St. Mary's: "Decide for yourself what the holiday means for you and how you're going to make it a good holiday. The first part of that means adjusting your expectations to match your current reality. If you don't get along with your sister during the year, you're not going to get along with her during the holidays. Understanding that before you arrive at the big family gathering can make a big difference in how you feel when you're putting your coat on to go home".
Mayo Clinic: Stick to a budget; before you go gift and food shopping, decide how much money you can afford to spend. Then stick to your budget. Don't try to buy happiness with an avalanche of gifts.
Deborah Gray, Creator of Wing of Madness Depression Information Web Site : "Stay away from alcohol. Seriously. Even if you normally drink socially, if the holiday season is making your depression worse, then the last thing you need is alcohol. Remember that alcohol is a depressant. It may not feel that way, since it initially relaxes you, but it ultimately will be detrimental to your mood."
The UK Depression Alliance : Exercise: Many people with depression experience a loss of energy and constant feelings of tiredness. Taking some form of gentle exercise will make you feel more positive, releasing endorphins or 'feel good' chemicals. Exercise will also contribute to your overall health, enabling you to better fight off the depression.
Holidays can be great, however they can be, well . . . so-so, and that is okay. Enjoy it as much as possible and if you look at it as a spiritual time, celebrate, worship, and get ready for the next day. Moreover, remember there are many people who care about helping people. Call a friend or a health care professional if you feel overwhelmed.
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Top-level comments on this article: (9 total)I think christmas is an attempt to cure seasonal depression, but we sometimes get wrapped up in the financial stress..this is a great articleHey Jonathan--unique look at Christmas maybe helping seasonal depression--it probably can help that! Finances can really be a problem area--I knew a person that used to spend 1/4 of their yearly income on Christmas gifts...I'm not kidding--a little bit much wouldn't you think???? Thanks for your comments.
This is very well done. I wish I could print copies out and hand them to customers for the next 11 days as people are out of their mind this time of year. I'm sure many lash out because of depressed feelings of one kind or another. Thanks for this.Many years ago, I used to be a loss prevention manager for a national retailer. So, I don't envy you at all during this time of year. Customers can get wacky--being in loss prevention I didn't have to deal with too many regular complaints etc but I'd see the store managers dealing with a number of unreasonable whack-jobs way too often. So, good luck for the next couple of weeks and hold on to your sanity. Thanks for commenting.
Holidays are like anything else in life. You can look at the positives or you can look at the negatives of any given situation. I think Christmas Vacation, starring Chevy Chase, is the perfect example of how negatives are changed into positives by him. I take the same attitude in my life. I broke my ankle on my birthday December 5. I could have said this sucks and moped around the house after I threw my scooter over a cliff because it fell on my ankle. But I looked at the positives. I got around on my crutches and got good exercise. I even jogged around the block on my crutches. I didn't have to work for a few weeks. And when I went to work I played on the sympathy of all the pretty girls and got all kinds of attention. And best of all I got legally high off of some good vicadin. I ran out, but I would rather get high on life. And the holidays should be everybody else's vicadins, enjoy them while they are still there.Hi Mike--Great comments--you should be a writer, but I forgot that you used to be!Anyway, very funny and I'm glad you prefer to get high on life. It's cheaper, safer and available whenever we want it.I would have paid money to see you jog around the block with crutches. And holidays being peoples vicadins--enjoy them while they last------outstanding!
Great article - with timely suggestions. Thanks for thinking it through and taking the time to share with us readers! MarijoWhat a nice comment Marijo--I appreciate it.Steve
Solid content. I'm certainly going to use and share the tips. I'm down with the worship thing already, and it's probably the biggest and most effective depression burster I know of, when done right. Thanks, Steve, and Merry Christmas. ~mogama~Thank you Sir and Merry Christmas to you and yours!Steve
Very well done, Steve.Every year I have to deal with guilt. "I should have MORE money to spend on Christmas!" But, the TRUE meaning of Christmas always kicks in and I have a lot of fun.
How cool that you have that guilt thing and then you get over it and have a blast--you got this Christmas thing down!Thanks for writing.Steve
Christmas can be an emotional time because we set our expectations too high for that 'perfect' Christmas. Life isn't picture perfect like you see in the commercials or on tv, (unless maybe you're watching Christmas Vacation) which is probably more accurate. Crazy relatives, money problems and utter chaos, that's often what Christmas is all about. If we can come to terms with that, we'll be sure to make it through the holidays. Seriously, if you focus on making everyone's Christmas around you a Merry one, you'll end up having one yourself. Merry Christmas to you and your family Steve.Thanks Brianna and Merry Christmas!
The holidays can be very overwhelming for many. Great article, and good stuff for anyone to make their holidays stress free!Thank you Evane, I appreciate the read and the comment--Happy Holidays!
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