I have not seen any formal studies about holiday blues but according to “mental health experts” it is not uncommon. There are many reason people can feel depressed a least once during the holidays. There are sound psychological and biological reasons why people feel down as the year draws to a close. Everything from increased demands on our time and budgets to decreased sunlight can leave us feeling depleted.
There are many ways to help lessen the holiday blues but it takes a little advance planning.
You need to make a plan and remember to not over book your activities. You don’t have to attend every Christmas event in town, decorate every inch of your house inside and out, or bake every cookie on the internet. Decide which is most important to you and your family and then stop. Take the time to really enjoy the chosen event or activity. Remember the important thing is spending time with love ones and not seeing how much you can do during the season.
I really decorate only three rooms of the house: the front room, foyer/stairway, and dinning room. I have snowmen on the landing and a few manage to make it into the library and a lighted Santa is the only decoration in the sun room. All the other rooms remain normal. Quick simple and easy to clean around. A wreath on all the doors completes the outdoor decorations since we have rope lights on a timer year round. I really hate taking down the tree and putting the decorations away after the holidays so it is nice to know I only have to clear three rooms of a lot of things and not having to clean Christmas decorations from every room in the house.
Try to maintain your regular schedule – to a point. Eat the same amount of calories each day. Yes, you may have to eat a lighter breakfast and lunch before a dinner party. It is important to eat a balance diet and not overload on sweets. Get a good nights rest every night and regular exercise every day. A fifteen to thirty minute walk outside in the sunshine will help to lift your spirits. This will also help to maintain your weight during the holiday season and eliminate the “weight gain” after Christmas blues.
Memories of passed loved ones will bring sadness and lonesomeness during the season which is normal and it is best to acknowledge the feelings – but do not drown in them. Talk about the people who are missing and remember and tell stories about their lives. Turn the sadness into happy memories. Not only will this help you heal but the stories may be the only things the younger family members will have to remember relatives that they never knew.
Many people do not have any problems until after the holidays and then they “crash” . It could be that they are just overstressed by doing too many things, the fact that they have to return to work, or that the house is empty again – all these things can trigger sadness. Feeling sad does not necessarily mean you are depressed but unacknowledged sadness can trigger depression. If feelings of profound sadness persist for longer than two weeks, it’s time to seek medical attention to see what’s going on. If you are the type that “crash”, plan on giving yourself some time to adjust to the changes and plan to do something to ease the transaction back to normal.
I have the “after Christmas blues” every year so I plan for them. It is sad when everyone leaves after almost a week of having the house filled with activity so I plan on an activity to take me away from the house for a while. I also find it sad to take down all the decorations so I have a plan for that as well. I remove one item a day starting with the lighted Santa the night after Christmas and end with the tree on Jan.2. Everything is carried to the basement where it is packed away and placed into storage tubs during the first week of January. Also a lot of my decorations like the snowmen can remain in place until Easter if I wish.
Keep a sense of humor when things do not work out. This year I had a major problem when it came to Christmas dinner not only did I have a swollen nose that hurt I also ended up peeling potatoes only to find that most were rotten in the center and a ham that was not heated up to the desired temperature in the time allowed by the package directions. For a few minutes I would have loved to have been able to burst into tears and just say forget dinner but after a quick hug from Bill I grabbed a package of box scalloped potatoes and baked those up and threw the ham in the microwave and finished heating it up. One of the reasons I always buy a fully – cooked ham from the store and have a back – up plan! It has only been a few days and I am smiling at how well the dinner turned out.
The thing to remember is that sadness, depression, or the blues are normal feelings and it is up to each one of us on how we handle them. There is no “snapping” out of depression but there are ways to easy out of it. It is our decision each day to decide if we wish to encourage our sadness or plan to be happy. I am not saying a good cry is bad in fact sometimes a good cry will wash the sadness away but it is not good to feed depression by thinking depressed thoughts. Life is much too short to be depressed – so think happy thoughts and make great memories with your love ones.
Hope you had a Merry Christmas and Wishing you a Happy New Year!
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Today’s challenge was to fill out a Christmas inventory list.
The stairway holds stocking that are usually filled with little gifts to hand guest during the season. This year I think they will hold gifts for the birds, snake and cats. Shoes stocking is hung by the fireplace with the rest of the family’s.
DIY with Kathy! 