Help for the Holiday Blues
Dec. 14 -- For most of us, the purpose of the holidays is to bring peace, love, and goodwill towards all. Yet, for many, the holiday season often means stress, fatigue, pressure, disappointment and loneliness.
These feelings, often known as the "holiday blues," may be even more prevalent this year, due to the emotional turmoil of the past few months, not to mention the unsteady economy.
Experts say even the more ritual tasks of shopping, decorating, late-night parties, cooking, planning and family reunions can be holiday stressors. In addition, the psychological phenomenon known as seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, may bring a specific type of depression related to winter's shorter days and longer nights.
"Certainly just because it's the holidays doesn't mean people are going to be happy," says Dr. Doug Jacobs of Harvard University. "And this will be a particularly hard holiday for some who are dealing with a lost jobs, debt, or even a lost loved one."
A Family Affair
Most experts say the predominant culprits responsible for the melancholy many experience during the holidays are the very people they love the most — their family.
"Holiday blues or depression makes sense," says John Stutesman, a clinical psychologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. "Holidays tend to be about family reunion. They bring up Norman Rockwell images of families drinking eggnog by the fire, singing Christmas Carols." In reality, he explains, family gatherings bring on stress due to feelings of obligation, expectations and being judged.
And with family reunions becoming less frequent events over the years, there is now the added pressure of getting just one chance to get it all right. "Families are much more disparate now," says Stutesman. "There's now the pressure to get it all perfect."
The disappointment and sense of alienation that often results from family gatherings, he adds, is actually a realization that "the fantasy is not met."
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