Help for the Holiday Blues

The holidays can be stressful. Shopping, social events, debt, and other pressures can lead to anxiety. Missing loved ones and stewing about past events can also contribute. This change from your everyday routine can cause you to neglect good nutrition. And you are more likely to skip exercise. Together, these factors can lead to holiday blues.

Will your holiday be blue?

During the holidays, you may feel lonely, sad, angry, and have poor sleep. Even if you’re not prone to depression, you may have other symptoms, such as headaches, tension, and fatigue. It’s also easy to eat and drink too much.

It’s also common to feel a holiday letdown after the holidays are over. Hectic holidays can leave you feeling physically and emotionally drained. You may feel a sense of loss or frustration. That can turn into the blues.

Don’t confuse holiday blues with clinical depression. Clinical depression is a disorder that may need to be treated with medicine. The holiday blues could need something as simple as a good listener. Clinical depression, however, can be triggered in a number of ways at or just after the holidays.

There is also a tendency to link the holiday blues with seasonal affective disorder (SAD), also called depression with seasonal pattern. SAD, however, is a diagnosable problem linked to fewer hours of sunlight during the winter. People with the holiday blues also can also have SAD. But the two aren't directly related. People with SAD have symptoms of major depression throughout the fall and winter.

Keeping the blues away

You might ease your holiday blues with something as simple as getting enough rest. People tend to lose sleep during the holidays and end up shortchanging themselves. Lack of sleep can cause cloudy thinking and irritability. It can also hamper your ability to deal with everyday stress.

Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and getting some exercise can ease the blues. Also, make an effort to stay positive.

Tips to ease the blues

If you have the holiday blues, try these tips:

• Have a heart-to-heart with a friend.

• Limit alcohol intake.

• Stick to your normal routine as much as you can.

• Set a realistic budget and then stick to it.

• Set realistic goals and expectations.

• Don't label the season as a time to cure past problems.

• Don’t be afraid to say no. Don’t go to parties when you don’t really have time. Don’t take on events that will crowd your time. Don’t overextend yourself. Don't spend time around people who add to your stress.

• Find time for yourself every day.

• Enjoy free holiday activities.

• Try to celebrate the holidays in a different way.

The holiday blues can be quite common, but if you are feeling especially down—for example, your sleep or your appetite is affected, or if your feelings persist after the holidays —contact your healthcare provider. Or visit the National Alliance on Mental Illness or FindTreatment.gov for help and guidance.

Call 988 in a crisis

If you're thinking about suicide, call or text 988. You will be connected to trained crisis counselors at the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. An online chat option is also available at 988lifeline.org/. Lifeline is free and available 24/7. Lifeline counselors are also available by calling 800-273-TALK (800-273-8255).