Our own Dr. Jay M. Pomerantz, MD provides us with an insight into the other side of the Holiday Magic, Holiday Blues.
- Everything is magnified in these unusual times, so take a few minutes to read his valuable article.
- This article provides explanations of the stress around the holidays and some suggestions on managing and minimizing it.
- It also leads to the next blog post on 'New Year Resolutions and Health'.
Every year I note how busy my psychiatric practice gets in late fall and early winter. Former patients return for visits, current patients seem more upset, and new referrals peak. This is not just my experience but that of most mental health professionals. Some of the seasonality may have to do with the approach of winter, diminishing daylight and Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Most of it, however, seems related to the holiday season and the end of the year.
One might ask why holidays--- typified by gatherings of family and friends---are associated with stress. For starters, not everyone enjoys such occasions. Some people have few family and friends, or are alienated from them. Others have difficult relationships with their families or live at a great distance from them. Even a successful gathering ends and one has to leave, a psychological loss. There is also the problem of remembering the departed, family members and friends who have died or currently very sick.
Another whole set or reasons for “holiday blues” is that it comes at the end of the year. Everyone takes stock of what they have accomplished and how things have gone. If the year has not been a good one, the natural “accounting” at the end of the year is very unpleasant. In part, this process accounts for why people soothe themselves by making New Year’s resolutions, with the idea that although they have failed this year they will do better next year.
One final thought about holiday-related depressive states: the whole business of buying presents for everyone and celebrating gets out of hand for many people. Many folks spend so much energy and money at holiday time that they feel depleted in the end. Spouses may argue about the cost; presents received seem less than what one expects or has given; one drinks and goes to so many parties that exhaustion sets in at the end of the process. It is as if, for some, holidays are full of emptiness and loss, whereas for others, holidays are just too much. Moderation may be helpful for both sets of potential sufferers.
The time to prevent “holiday blues” is in advance, with careful trimming of expectations and knowing where one stands with family and friends, as well as with oneself, all year round. Some help may also come from successful “self-contracting” done throughout the year---which I describe in the other article I have written for this issue entitled “New Year’s Resolutions and Health.”
Jay M. Pomerantz, M.D.