The holiday season for a lot of people is a fun time of the year filled with parties, celebrations, and social gatherings with family and friends. But for many people, it is a time filled with sadness, self-reflection, loneliness, and anxiety. Psychologists diagnose that these are the consequences of the so-called post-holiday syndrome. Clerks that have relaxed on the sea and ocean shores can’t return to the tempo of work quickly.

What causes the holiday blues?

The holiday season for most people is a fun time of the year filled with parties, celebrations, and social gatherings with family and friends.

Sadness is a truly personal feeling. What makes one person feel sad may not affect another person. Typical sources of holiday sadness include:

-stress,

-fatigue,

-unrealistic expectations,

-overcommercialization,

-financial stress, and

-the inability to be with one’s family and friends.

Tips for coping with holiday stress and depression:

1. Send out Happy New Year or “Have a great winter” cards to the very same persons you sent Christmas cards. Design your own “hope it snows” card. Start a birthday card list of friends and relatives and go ahead and prepare your cards for the next three months. Have them ready to mail and put them on the fridge
2. Limit your consumption of alcohol, since excessive drinking will only increase your feelings of depression.
3. Making healthy choices – choosing healthier foods and getting some exercise will likely play a role in improving mood and energy levels. For those wishing to lose holiday weight, it is wise to stay away from fad diets – the safest and most effective way to lose weight is to do it gradually.
4. Keep track of your holiday spending. Overspending can lead to depression when the bills arrive after the holidays are over. Extra bills with little budget to pay them can lead to further stress and depression.
5. Plan something to look forward to. Have a dinner party, or plan a weekend getaway to visit some friends. It’ll take your mind off the fact that the holidays are over, and it will give you something new to be excited about.
6. Take time for yourself. The holidays are all about thinking about others, so now is the time to do things that make you feel happy and good about you.
7. Do not put all your energy into just one day (for example, Thanksgiving Day, New Year’s Eve). The holiday cheer can be spread from one holiday event to the next.
8. Start having family meetings twice a month to discuss the good and the bad. Having everyone’s input will help take some of the stress of life off of you. Organize a contest at work for the best or worst piece of clothing received at Christmas and if worn to work, offer a prize.
9. Get moving. Exercise is one of the best ways to help release your endorphins, the body’s own “feel good hormones.” Not only will it help with the few pounds you might have put on over the holidays, you will be closer to keeping that New Year’s resolution.
10. If you are unable to shake these blues, or they continually become worse, you may need to seek some counseling. There is nothing wrong with needing some help. Many of today’s counselors have several tools available to help pull you out of the doldrums and back into the swing of things. Get a referral from your physician to a good counselor.