Holiday Blues: How To Cope With Depression During The Holidays?

You should be feeling great during the December holidays — isn't that “compulsory”, after all? Everywhere around you, you seem to see happy faces and ecstasy. Looks can be rather deceiving however, and despite what you think a great number of people deal with the holiday blues each year. Those people who are grateful Christmas is behind us already, and who are still dreading the new year should not feel too lonely. There are lots of others who are feeling just like you. How do you cope with depression during the holidays?

What Are The Holiday Blues?

You're feeling stressed, sad, anxious, down... and are just plain not enjoying the holidays? Or you are irritated, suffering from heart palpitations when you think about the new year, or feel the urge to get really drunk and smoke hundreds of cigarettes? You may be suffering from a bad case of the holiday blues. The holiday blues have many possible causes.

Sample examples are:

• Financial stress, because December is the most expensive month of the year for most of us, and we tend to spend (much) more than we can afford. Guilt and fear are the results.

• Pressure to create the perfect event for loved-ones, or pressure to experience the perfect event yourself.

• Loneliness — because you are (newly) single, a loved-one recently passed away, or you moved to a new town.

• Seasonal Affective Disorder, with the very appropriate abbreviation SAD, affects many people throughout the darker winter months. If you have this, you are more likely to feel extra bad during the December holidays including the new year.

• Past trauma has taken your ability to enjoy the holidays away.

• Your family situation is dysfunctional, you have no family, or one sour apple in your family is so terrible they make you depressed all by by themselves.

What are the holiday blues not?

Like its new-parent equivalent the baby blues, the holiday blues should not go on for much longer than a few weeks. The holiday blues can quite clearly be traced back to the holidays — though Seasonal Affective Disorder can certainly exacerbate your depressed feelings. If those holiday blues symptoms persist, or if they started well before the holidays, you may simply have depression.

Clinical depression can manifest itself in many ways. It lasts far longer than a few weeks, and will have physical as well as psychological symptoms. Someone suffering from depression may feel sad, hopeless, worthless, and tearful. They could also be irritated, withdrawn, or anxious. Depressed people do not get any enjoyment out of life any more, and lose interest in those things that previously enjoyed. Physical symptoms include insomnia, fatigue, and changes in appetite and libido.

Depression is, in other words, a whole different beast than the holiday blues. The holiday blues are unpleasant and should be taken seriously, but they will go away by themselves. Depression will not in most cases. Anyone suspecting they suffer from depression should see their family doctor.

Holiday Blues - Coping Tips

Every individual suffering from the holiday blues will have a unique experience. Your exact symptoms will depend on your personality and the underlying reasons for being susceptible to the blues at this time of your. Not every coping technique will work for every person, so pick and choose the ones that you think apply to you.

Get Outside And Exercise

Numerous studies have shown that working out can play a large part in making us feel better. Exercising regularly benefits the mood of nearly every person, whether they are clinically depressed or just a bit down at the moment. Fresh air has a positive effect on many people as well, so a jog outside may be the perfect activity. Going outside to exercise is positive for many reasons, including getting a break from relatives who are stressing you out. Whatever form of exercise you do, plan to engage in your work-out for at least 30 minutes.

Work Through The Holidays

Those people who were hit by the holiday blues because they feel lonely could feel so much better if they worked through the holidays. When you keep busy, you forget about the source of your misery. If you do not have employment at the moment, go volunteer somewhere. Give soup to the homeless or keep someone at a retirement home company.

People who are down because they dread spending time with toxic relatives can also benefit from this solution. You do not have to be anxious about socializing with such family members if you are at work, whether in your regular job or a volunteer position. Working gives you a great excuse to cancel that “family party”.

Have An Escape Plan

Many people are depressed because they are going to be in close contact with relatives or others who are not healthy to be around. Does this describe you? I would urge you to try to find a way to avoid your source of stress in the first place. If this is not possible, an escape plan will empower you.

If you are going to stay with relatives that may be problematic, use your own car to drive there so you can leave at any time. If you are going to a party where people who cause you anxiety will or may be present, arrange for a friend to call you to help with an “emergency”. There are plenty of options, but they do require some advance planning. Even the act of planning your escape may make you feel better.

Opt Out Of The Spending Craze

Few troubles are quite as depressing as financial difficulties. Start the new year with a positive mindset, and a positive balance on your bank account. You can't afford to pay for that ridiculously expensive new year's party? You really rather wouldn't have the expense of driving across the country to be with friends? Opt out. New year's eve really isn't worth being in financial difficulties over.   

Realize What Is Important To You

Solitude during the holidays triggers depression in some, while others suffer more when they do have company. A nice party may cheer you up, and make someone else feel even more lonely than they already did. Spend some time visualizing what it is about the holidays that caused the blues for you. Then, attempt to remove that source even if you don't feel like it. For some people, this could mean:

• Giving yourself permission to let go of the "ideal" celebration, and doing what makes you feel good. 
• Accepting your situation for what it is, and making the best of it. Are you alone? Reading a book may be much nicer than getting drunk in a large group of people. 
• Taking the plunge and going to that singles party. 
• Declining your parents' invitation this year. 
• Reaching out to long-long relatives. 
• And much, much more. Listen to yourself!