10 Tips on How to Beat Holiday Depression
The holidays are full of fun and laughter, getting together with your family and friends. For some, this is not the case. Holidays can be filled with depression, anxiety, and other overwhelming emotions. While dealing with these emotions on a daily basis is not easy, these emotions are even more stressful during the holidays. Here are 10 helpful tips on how to beat holiday depression and make the holiday season better for you and your family.
1. Time management is a huge issue. Be reasonable with scheduling your events and parties. Do not overbook your events or tasks like shopping to the point of exhaustion. This will cause you to be irritable, stressed, and depressed.
2. Make a list, a list for shopping, a schedule for things that need to be done with deadlines, and a list for any other activities that need to be done. Label your priorities and stick to them. Organize your time, so you are not rushing around in a state of panic.
3. Be realistic. Just because the holidays are here, does not mean that the feelings of loneliness, sadness, frustration, anger, and fear will automatically disappear. Do not try to put a band aid over an open wound, just because the holidays are supposed to be a happy time. Just because the media promotes happiness during the holidays 24/7, does not mean you have to be happy all the time. It is normal to have a range of emotions.
4. Do not harbor ill will and resentment towards others, or focus on what happened last holiday season. Do not let when happened in the past effect your emotions now. Holding onto negative emotions only effect you.
5. Nostalgia is great to reminisce, but do not expect your holidays to be exactly like your childhood. This will only set you up for disappointment.
6. Are you feeling lonely or feel like you do not have any plans for the holidays? Do not sit around feeling sorry for yourself. This will only feed your depression. There are plenty of events to go to during the holidays, volunteer to serve holiday dinner at a homeless shelter, pass out toys for underprivileged or hospitalized children, join in the toys for tots program. There are many events that will fill up your time and make you feel good about yourself, by helping others.
7. Budget yourself. Spending a lot of money during the holidays can raise your anxiety levels and make the holidays very stressful. Plan some low cost holiday activities like driving around looking at people’s holiday decorations, go to your town’s holiday parade, or budget your gift giving to one gift per person.
8. Do not over indulging yourself because it is the holiday season. Drinking large amounts of alcohol just because it is the season, will exacerbate your depression and anxiety. After all, alcohol is a depressant. Drinking while being depressed is never a good idea.
9. Schedule time for yourself. The holidays can be exhausting. Give yourself a break and do something for yourself. This will lighten your mood and clear your head.
10. Most of all, be positive. Keeping a positive attitude can keep you from falling into a depressive state of mind. We are not talking about being happy all of the time, but by looking for positives in situations, you will stray away from thinking in a more negative frame of mind. Spread the positivity as well, complementing people will go a long way. One little complement can change a person’s attitude for the whole, or maybe the whole holiday season.