Holiday Depression and 5 easy tips to Stop it.

We all know the Holidays can be a stressful time of year. And if you’re feeling less than cheerful about this coming holiday season, you have a lot of company. With our Family, friends, events, and planning, we all have a lot going on.  Research shows that more people are on edge, easily irritated and uncertain about the future, and then add the holidays on top of that, in a time when we’re supposed to be feeling more joy, and it’s easy to understand the many reasons we could be experiencing Holiday Depression.

A key to success is managing our stress level during this time of year, if we fail to do this it can lead to the holiday depression. Many studies have shown that depression peaks during and after the holidays, hence why we refer to it as Holiday Depression. Unfortunately, there are so many factors that contribute to this such as missed expectations, absence of loved ones, excessive spending, and my personal favorite, overeating and putting on weight give can render the holiday depression blues.

Research studies have shown that depression results from chemical imbalances in the brain. However, do to the variety of triggers, scientists aren’t exactly sure what causes the imbalance. Studies show that people who are depressed appear to have lower levels of some neurotransmitters negatively effecting mood or elevating levels of cortisol, which is a hormone that builds up in the body due to stress.*

Here are 5 great tips on how to prevent or overcome the holiday depression (aka, those holiday blues):

 

  • Don’t set yourself up for failure! Be realistic about your plans and timelines. Spending all your energy on frantic preparations for the holidays will enable you to “mask” the stress but it will still accumulate, eventually surfacing and lead to the more holiday depression. Instead, give yourself some space to enjoy “YOU” and the people in your life whom you love or simply enjoy being with.
  • Practice kindness and patience, this has always worked for me. These are intrinsic heart feelings that nourish you and others around, the key is to engage them to provide the benefits. This is a simple practice to implement and it takes less than a minute to do.
  • If you find yourself feeling sad, don’t expect to feel instantaneous joy just because it’s the holidays. Holiday cheer is a real thing, however, holiday cheer curing depression is a huge misconception. Its important to reach out to others during this time. Spending time with close friends can render a quiet warmth of the heart that will nurture you, even if your not in the mood for celebrating.
  • Allow yourself to experience what you most likely don’t want to experience. If a loved one or close friend is absent or a relationship was recently broken, don’t pretend it didn’t happen. Recognize the events, allow yourself to feel, and talk about the missed loved ones, fond memories together, and emphasize the wonderful aspects of a relationship that has been lost. And most importantly, begin to allow yourself to put more energy into your current relationships, be it family, friends, or romantic.
  • Begin each day with an attitude of gratitude. Cultivate an attitude of appreciation and daily blessings. This will put you in a positive state of mind, and positive energy is 1000’s of times more powerful than negative energy. And remember, each year brings its changes, make a list of all you have to appreciate and you’ll soon realize that your life isn’t so bad after-all. .

If you would like to talk about any of the methods mentions above, A Mission For Michael Drug Alcohol Rehab Orange County would love to hear from you. Call A Mission For Michael Today (949) 489-0950 to speak to a professional.