The holiday blues occur between Thanksgiving and New Year’s,
and is accompanied by depression and anxiety symptoms. These symptoms occur
because of unrealistic expectations of how families should be, demands of holiday
parties and events, financial strain of buying gifts, reminders of past losses,
holiday overeating, and the pressure of preparing your home for guests. Two-thirds
of women suffer from holiday blues, and is common among singles, widows,
and couples who are childless. These populations are affected more because
most activities are centered on family. It can be a painful reminder to them as
they ponder the people they have lost, or the families they have never had. Holiday
blues affects Christians and non-Christians as well.
It is important not to repress how you feel. There is
a healthy way to express grief without letting yourself wallow in self-pity.
Denying your emotions and stuffing them, can exacerbate depression and anxiety.
Some choose to isolate themselves because they do not feel festive.
Helpful
tips for overcoming holiday blues:
1. Own
your feelings. Do not deny them but express them through journaling, talking to
God about them, and/or allowing yourself times to cry. Crying can be healing
and it allows a release from the pain. Do monitor the frequency of crying, if
you are crying continually and cannot stop this can be a sign of something more
serious.
2. Do
not force yourself to attend every holiday event, party, or social gathering.
Pray about the ones that would be uplifting to you, and decline the rest of the
invitations. Do what you can do, and do not feel guilty for what you cannot.
3. Take
time for yourself. Take some time to rest, and do something you enjoy.
4. Take
care of yourself. Exercise, preferably walking, this is one of the best exercises
to reduce stress and depression. Eat balanced meals with fresh fruits and
vegetables. Try as much as possible to stay away from fried foods and sugary
sweets. Take a good multi-vitamin and drink plenty of water.
5. Try
not to have unrealistic expectations for your family. Accept them where they
are at, and do not compare your family to other families or what you see on
those sappy Christmas movies. If you have had a recent loss be extra gentle on
yourself. Let others take over the heavy load that can come with holiday
entertaining.
6. Set
a realistic budget for buying gifts. Look into baking homemade goods or crafts
as gifts.
7. Keep
connected to the life source, Jesus Christ. Have daily time communing with God,
and getting quiet before Him. Let God bring you the comfort that you could not
receive from anyone else.
As the winter season approaches, it is common for
people to have an increase of depressive episodes, most often referred to as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD); and
then the holiday blues on top of SAD
can be difficult to handle. If you are feeling suicidal or having suicidal
thoughts, take the time to have an evaluation by a medical doctor, there could
be an imbalance in your feel-good brain chemicals. Get prayer! Depression can
not only be chemical but spiritual. Depression is serious, but also very common
during these times of the year. Spending time with God can help reduce
depression and anxiety, along with praying and surrendering your thoughts.
If you are feeling blue, depressed, anxious, or
suicidal, please don’t give up. You are not alone, Jesus Christ who died for
all of us, does love you. He does see you and He will bring help. Say out loud,
“Jesus Christ does love me and every spirit of depression that is working
against me must flee in the name of Jesus Christ.”
Needing help with your thought life? Feeling depressed, anxious or discouraged and want to start your New Year's off right? Why not treat yourself to a copy of my latest book release, "Disciplining Your Mind, 30 Days to a New You."
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Take
it one day at a time and remember to breathe!
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