15 Effective Tips for How to Avoid Holiday Depression
Some people aren’t able to enjoy the holiday season due to feelings of stress and depression. These 15 tips on how to avoid holiday depression will help you to enjoy this holiday season.
It’s that wonderful time of the year…well, honestly it’s not such a wonderful time of the year for everyone. Present among the shopping, parties, baking, extra cooking, and entertaining lurk unwanted guests for some people: stress and depression.
Each year, a lot of people experience sadness and depression around the holiday season due to the stress of all the hustle and bustle as well as the expectation to be feeling merry and generous.
Instead of enjoying the holiday season, they dread it.
However, if this sounds like you, know that there are some really practical tips to help you minimize those feelings so you can cope with holiday blues and stresses more than you thought you would.
15 Effective Tips for How to Avoid Holiday Depression
Causes of Holiday Depression
If you already struggle during the holiday season, seeing others feeling merry and bright might make you feel more like an outsider and make this time of year even more challenging.
As women tend to carry the burden of shopping, gift wrapping, planning holiday events, organizing family get togethers, and other responsibilities, more women tend to feel more holiday stress and depression during the holiday season than men do.
However, there are lots of reasons why people may feel more stressed and depressed than cheerful during the holidays, including:
- Finances – spending money when finances are tight is definitely a big reason why many people feel stressed rather than merry. Not being able to afford gifts or holiday events can be devastating.
- Stress – the stress of shopping and planning gatherings on top of everything else during the busy holiday season can cause high levels of stress which can zap the fun out the entire season.
- Grief – losing a loved one during the year can be especially painful around the holidays for anyone, but that’s especially true for seniors. It’s normal to feel sadness around the holidays if you have lost someone during the year.
- Estrangement – if you aren’t currently speaking to certain family members or friends, holiday gatherings can cause feelings of sadness, resentment, and guilt to rise to the surface.
- Separation or Divorce – for anyone who’s newly separated or divorced, the holidays can be especially sad if they remind you of happier times. This situation is even more stressful for adult children who have to balance seeing multiple sets of parents.
- Loneliness – for anyone who is single or lives alone, the holidays can be depressing as they see others enjoying time with their families.
- SAD – Seasonal Affective Disorder causes many people to feel depressed due to the lack of sunlight. Other medical conditions can have an impact and cause holiday stress as well.
How To Avoid Holiday Depression
Now that you know the main causes of holiday stress and depression, here are some helpful tips for avoiding potential triggers and coping with the holiday blues.
Making Plans in Advance
Waiting until the last minute to make plans causes stress about the uncertainty of the future. Instead, make plans ahead of time so you know where and with whom you’ll be spending your holidays.
Shopping Early
Putting off shopping adds enormous stress – especially when you need to ship packages to loved ones. Shopping early (even before Thanksgiving) helps you avoid the shopping crunch and gives you plenty of time for gift wrapping.
Make a Budget and Stick to it
Finances are one of the biggest holiday depression triggers, so take a little time to make a plan that helps avoid adding additional stress to the season.
Before you do any shopping, decide how much you can afford (or want) to spend and stick to that budget. While the season is about giving, that doesn’t mean you need to buy happiness with gifts. Instead, come up with amazing gift giving alternatives, such as making some easy DIY gifts.
Asking for Help From Friends and Family Members
Women tend to feel like they need to do everything to make the holidays special. Instead, try asking for help from family members, kids, and even friends. Many hands make light work – and allow more time for fun which reduces stress.
Be Realistic
Your highly annoying cousin or extremely opinionated and political uncle won’t suddenly be the opposite of what they have always been, and the holidays don’t need to be perfect. Tread carefully when it comes to setting expectations and err on the side of not having any.
If you can simply remain open to new experiences and new holiday traditions, it will alleviate some of the stress and anxiety that many feel around trying to make the holiday season “picture perfect”.
Taking Time to Slow Down and Rest
When times are hectic and busy, we can end up running “on empty” before we know it. When times get busy, it’s extra important to make time for rest and relaxation. You’ll avoid feeling depleted, which will naturally leave you feeling better.
Practice Self-Care
Restorative routines are those routines that help you replenish and feel your best. They’re even more important during the holidays than normal. Schedule in time to read a book, watch a favorite movie, take a nap, or anything else that helps you feel your best.
Ditch Social Media
A lot of people on social media tend to only portray the very best things. They don’t show the stress or exhaustion they feel – only the Pinterest perfect decorations and smiling faces. It can be too easy to compare what we are feeling inside to the way that people look on the outside and feeling even worse that the two don’t equal each other.
If you feel yourself doing this and feeling worse after being on social media, take a break from social media until after the holiday season.
Spending Time to Reflect
If you have been through something particularly difficult, allow yourself time to reflect and even grieve, if needed. Allow yourself to feel your feelings because pushing them down only leads to more depression.
Avoid Family Conflicts
Family gatherings and dynamics can be a huge trigger during the holidays. Try to set aside differences. When that’s not enough, avoid family conflicts by changing the subject, helping in the kitchen, escaping to the bathroom, or hanging out with the kids.
Embrace the Power of No
Many people feel like they need to say yes to every event, idea, or activity. If you really want to say no but say yes instead, you are likely to feel overwhelmed, resentful, stressed, or exhausted (or a combination of these feelings).
There is absolutely no reason why you need to participate in every event or take on extra responsibility if it’s too much for you. Pay attention to what you’re needing and follow that.
Reach Out
The worst thing you can do when you’re experiencing holiday stress or blues, is to isolate yourself. Get together with friends, participate in community events, support groups, social media sites, or even just reach out and chat with a friend if you need a shoulder to lean on.
Give Your Time and Talents
Research has shown that helping others helps us too. If you’re feeling depressed or lonely during the holiday season, try volunteering to help those in need. You just might find joy and satisfaction in it.
Continue Your Healthy Habits
It’s a common practice to give into overindulgence over the holidays. If you really want to feel your best so that stress and depression don’t take over the season for you, maintain your healthy habits. Continue doing things like:
- Get enough sleep
- Eat healthy food choices at meal times
- Enjoy a healthy and filling snack before going to holiday gatherings so that you don’t overindulge on unhealthy food choices
- Get regular exercise
Get Help From a Professional
Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you may continue to feel bad. If those feelings continue, please seek help from your doctor or a mental health professional. With help, you will feel better.
How to Avoid Holiday Depression – Final Thoughts
Everyone feels stressed at the holidays, right? Well, to some degree that might be true. Be on the lookout for these symptoms:
- Sadness
- Irritability
- Extreme fatigue
- Feelings of worthlessness or hopelessness
- Guilt
- Loss of interest in normal activities
- Crying
- Difficulty concentrating
- Changes in sleep or appetite
If you experience these symptoms, your stress and holiday depression might actually be a more serious mental illness. If these symptoms persist more than a few weeks, please seek diagnosis or treatment from your doctor or mental health professional so that you can get back to feeling like yourself.
Even if the holidays have taken their toll on you in the past, that doesn’t mean that will be the case every year. Use these tips to avoid holiday depression to practice self-care so that you can feel better – and maybe even enjoy – this holiday season.
Recent Comments