Christmas Depression or Holiday Depression - Discussion

Christmas depression or holiday depression can actually be more common than most think. Even though Christmas is perceived as a jolly season for everyone, with merry times spent with family and friends, for many people, Christmas is actually a melancholic time, even though most do not dare to admit the same.

This is because popular culture subscribes to the “merry festive spirit” and makes very little allowances for an individual who may not be feeling the same. Implicitly or explicitly, the general expectation is that one needs to exhibit a contrived spirit of festivity and fun, even though one may genuinely not feel like doing so. This often leads to Christmas related depression.

Christmas depression stems from a variety of possible reasons, such as the individuals’ accumulated pain from having lost loved ones during the year, pain from unfulfilled dreams, personal failures, loneliness, etc, and these emotions get intensified during the holiday season.

The media portrays idyllic scenes of Christmas peace and joy, when in actuality, there is very little of the same in the lives of a large section of society. The feelings of loss, betrayal, rejection, failure, when juxtaposed against a background of festive joy, become more intense and cause greater suffering to the individual going through the emotions, leading to Christmas depression.

Listed below are some tips to help one prevent, cope with, deal with and survive the blues during Christmas.

• The first thing on your to do list, if you wish to keep feelings of Christmas depression away during the holiday season, is to be honest with yourself, and squarely deal with the current reality of your life, whatever that might be.
  
  
• Avoidance of issues can lead to more pain; hence, it is important to take inventory of pains and hurt that one has felt, and allow the process of healing to happen. This is the first step to dealing with your feelings, instead of pasting a false smile of imposed merriment during the holiday season.
  
  
• It is also important to remember to go easy on yourself, and if there are serious limitations, whether physical, emotional or financial, then it is wise to simply accept them. It is also very important to bring about the element of peace and calm into your celebrations as this will serve as a balm to the soul and aid the healing process.
  
  
• A key factor to keeping feelings of depression at bay during Christmas is to have realistic expectations of others.
  
  
• Also, it is important to reach out to others and help, even if you are experiencing your own pain and disappointments, or feeling a little depressed. Christmas is about healing the self as well as others.
  
  
• If you plan ahead and organize your resources and rally your family and friends to do the same, Christmas can be a time to heal and let go of all that did not work out or wounded you, in the preceding year. This will also help you ward off any Christmas depression and other related holiday blues.
  
  
• And if you do find yourself feeling depressed, do not hesitate to speak with someone whom you are comfortable with, or even to seek professional help if necessary.

Useful Depression Resources