Beating the Holiday Blues & Beyond (Guest Post)

Guest post by Irving Schattner
Edit and post design by Christy Zigweid
Photo by PublicDomainPIctures via Pixabay created using @WordSwagApp

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For many people suffering from anxiety or depression, the Holiday season and New Year can be a difficult time. Unrealistic expectations or commitments, family connection or disconnection, social isolation, financial problems, grief and loss, geographic change, and less sunlight can lead to stress, anxiety, sadness, and depression.

​Headaches and body aches, over-eating, excessive spending, and insomnia are a few ways in which the inability to cope with the holiday blues can manifest themselves.  

During such times, it is important to develop a plan of action to head off or derail the effects of the holiday blues. If untreated, they can last way beyond the holiday season and into the New Year.  

For some people, increased social support can be of great benefit.  This may include connecting with old friends or family members. Facebook and other social media, as well as the old-fashioned phone call are tried and true methods. The meetup.com site is a great way to connect with people who share your interests. Counseling and support groups are other ways of self-exploration and learning to connect with the world outside of yourself.  

For people suffering with season affective disorder (SAD), which is associated with shorter days of sunlight, increased exposure to the outdoors as well as phototherapy 30 minutes daily (25 times as bright as normal lighting), can help increase feelings of well-being.

Photo by PublicDomainPictures via Pixabay

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While for some the holiday season means good, happy times with friends and family, for many people it represents a time of sadness, debilitating self-reflection, loneliness, and anxiety, resulting in fatigue, unrealistic expectations, financial pressures, and commercial expectation to go out and spend money. Too often they are plagued with unfulfilled goals and focus on what’s not right in their lives. The demand to conform to external expectations of what it means to be in the holiday spirit may contradict one’s actual life experience. This leads to internal conflict, somatic ailments, and psychological and emotional distress.

Risk factors for stress, anxiety, and depression include, but are not limited to: lack of adequate social support, recent or past trauma, life changes, substance abuse, balancing the demands and expectations of family vs. setting appropriate limits or boundaries, house guests whose presence creates increased tension, and insomnia or isolation.  

Photo by CC0 Public Domain via Pixabay

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​Tips for managing holiday stress

• Increased social support at a balanced level maintains connection while not creating unrealistic expectations or feelings of overwhelm.  In other words, increasing activities which promote inner calm and purpose while ensuring proper rest and rejuvenation. Engaging in self-pacing by honoring one’s desire for engagement ensures proper rest and rejuvenation which will increase self-worth. While trying new things can be self-empowering and even enjoyable (listen to your inner voice), trying too hard to have fun or meet others’ expectations or commitments can lead to feelings of manipulation and increased stress.

• Try being more mindful, that is to say, listening to your body and “living in the moment” rather than creating “musts” and “shoulds” (I must be doing this. I should be doing that.). Take some time to read a good book, paint, or do whatever you once felt passionate about doing.  Then, take baby steps to begin the process and see what happens.  Remember, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” Life is a process, so give yourself a break, take stock of the good things you’ve done for yourself and/or others, and volunteer somewhere (ex: soup kitchen, working with seniors or children, or your local place of worship) so you can begin to feel connected with something outside of yourself.

• Last, but not least, commit to the process of change by seeking the help of counseling and support groups. It may seem scary at first, but the help and support you receive will help you gain freedom from anxiety and depression. Learning that you are not alone and among others who understand what you’re going through, can ease the pain, guilt, and shame associated with feeling different and out of sorts.

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About the Author - Irving Schattner, LCSW

I am a licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist with over 25 years of experience helping individuals, couples and families overcome real-life challenges with my  private practice, Counseling Center for Growth and Recovery, in Delray Beach, Florida. I also offer video and online therapy along with telephonic therapy from the comfort of home, in addition to the face-to-face sessions.

I’ve worked in diverse clinical settings including assisted living and skilled nursing / rehabilitation, community mental health, addictions, psychiatric care, and private practice.

It is through these experiences that I’ve developed a strong appreciation of the uniqueness of each person’s life story, as well as the belief that given the right support and conditions, people can overcome most challenges and even thrive.
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Recognizing that no two clients are alike, I take from a richness of various therapeutic traditions including psychodynamic, cognitive, behavioral, psychodrama, emotionally focused, systemic therapies, Gottman Method Couples Therapy, and other modalities, with the purpose of individualizing treatment that best meets my clients’ needs.

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