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Kirsti A. Dyer MD, MS, FT is a respected physician, an expert in life challenges, loss, grief and bereavement,... (more...)
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What You Can Do When Your Days Aren't Merry and Bright
For many people instead of the holidays being a time when "the days are merry and bright," they are more likely to be experiencing the blues for many different reasons.
For some people the holiday season can be a very difficult time time of year. It is a time of sadness and loneliness, a time of self-evaluation and reflecting about the past and a time of anxiety about the future year.
This lens takes a look at the "Holiday Blues." With a bit of understanding about this common emotional state, your holidays might be a little less blues.
Image Source: Modified Microsoft Image.
What are the Holiday Blues?
The Holidays Blues are defined as "a feeling of sadness, loneliness, depression and even anxiety that often occur in and around the holiday season."It is very helpful for people to realize that while the Holiday Blues can be emotional, intense and upsetting, but they tend to be short-term lasting at the most about 2 weeks.
The Blues end and people generally get better once the holiday season is over and get back into their normal daily routine.
Image Source: Modified Microsoft Image.
Factors that Contribute to the Blues
Reason Why People Feel Blue During the Holidays
- Increased stress and anxiety
- Increased financial pressures
- Fatigue
- Unrealistic expectations
- Inability to be with family
- Memories of past holiday celebrations
- Over commercialization
- Change in diet
- Change in daily routines
Who experiences the Blues?
- Someone who has a death in the family
- Someone who has experienced financial setbacks at the holidays
- Someone who is separated from loved ones at the holidays with work, military obligations or other reasons
- Someone who has experienced other losses - moving, recent difficult medical diagnosis
- Someone who has experienced a change in lifestyle - getting married, getting divorced, new baby
- Someone who tends to be depressed, stressed, anxious
How can I recognize the Blues?
- Headaches
- An inability to sleep or sleeping too much
- Changes in appetite that cause either weight loss or gain
- Agitation and anxiety
- Excessive or inappropriate feelings of guilt
- Diminished ability to think clearly or concentrate
- Decreased interest in activities that usually are enjoyable, such as: food, sex, work, friends, hobbies and entertainment.
Basic Ways of Coping with the Holiday Blues
- Take things one day at a time and if need be one hour at a time.
- Try and maintain a normal routine. Keep doing your normal daily activities.
- Get enough sleep or at least enough rest.
- Regular exercise, even walking, helps relieve stress, tension and improve moods.
- Eat a healthy, balanced diet. Limit high calorie foods and junk food.
- Avoid using alcohol, medications or other drugs to mask the pain.
- Do those activities or things and be with the people that comfort, sustain, nourish and recharge you.
- Remember the healthy coping strategies you have used in the past to survive challenges. Draw on these strengths again.
How to feel less blue during the Holidays
- Determine your priorities and establish realistic goals for the holidays.
- Delegate some responsibilities to others.
- Take time for yourself.
- Minimize financial stressors by setting a budget and sticking to it.
- Enjoy free holiday activities.
- Think about giving a free gift from your heart. Your time or your presence.
- Be around supportive people.
- Volunteer and help someone else.
- Create a New Holiday Tradition.
- Find a new place or a new way to celebrate.
Get Your REST Helps in Handling the Holiday Blues
- Reasonable expectations and goals.
Be realistic about what you can and cannot do. Get plenty of rest and relaxation. - Exercise daily.
Eat and drink in moderation. Enjoy free activities. - Simplify to relieve stress.
Set a budget for social activities and gifts. Simple gifts can still bring happiness. - Time to relax and remember.
Spend time with caring, supportive people. Keep in mind that traditions can be changed.
When to Be Concerned
- Constantly sad, anxious, or in an empty mood
- Sleeping too much or too little
- Having insomnia middle-of-the night or early morning waking
- Experiencing a change in appetite either reduced or increased.
- Having a loss of interest or pleasure in activities, including sex
- More irritable or restless
- Experiencing difficulty thinking, concentrating, remembering or making decisions
- More Fatigued or having a loss of energy
- Feeling inappropriate guilt, hopelessness or worthlessness
- Experiencing thoughts of death or suicide
** Anyone with suicidal thoughts or suicidal ideation needs to seek immediate care with their physician, crisis line or the nearest hospital emergency department.**
A Squidoo Lens on Coping with Grief
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How to Cope with Loss and Grief - Healthy Coping Strategies
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When faced with a loss, crisis or life-changing event, you are suddenly thrust into an unfamiliar world, one that can be frightening and unsettling. Knowing how to make it through the first few days or hours can help. This lens offers articles and re...
Listen to an Interview on the Holiday Blues
Holiday Season Kick Off
I am one of the panel of expert speakers assembled for the Holiday Season Kickoff Online Event.
You can listen to the Interview with Internet Entrepreneur Marie Ynami, founder of Mommy Fest and the Mommy Community.
Books for Coping with the Holidays
Available on Amazon
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More Resources on the Holiday Blues
- Holiday Blues - General Information
- The holidays are supposed to be a joyful time of good cheer and optimistic hopes. From the University of Maryland Medical Center.
- Beat the Holiday Blues
- University of Maryland experts examine the causes of depression around the holidays, and offer advice on how to manage the stress and anxiety associated with this time of year.
- Healing the Holiday Blues
- Healing the Holiday Blues -- a holistic approach to coping with depression by Kenneth Porter, M.D. from Beliefnet.com
- Those Holiday Blues
- From Dr. Gail Carlson, School of Medicine from the University of Missouri Extension.
- The Blues: Holiday or Anyday
- Information on the Blues from the Journey of Hearts website.
- Holiday Hangover Blues
- One of the most difficult times for stepfamilies can be the holiday season. This article offers some helpful suggestions for stepfamilies in beating the blues.
- Holiday 'blues' can be lessened with a few easy tips
- Holiday blues effect many people, but there is something to can do about it from Michael Moran, M.D., at the Adult Psychosocial Medicine at National Jewish Medical and Research Center.
A Different Perspective on a Charlie Brown Christmas
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Are You Having a Charlie Brown Christmas?
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Linus, I just don't understand Christmas. Instead of feeling happy, I feel sort of let down. "A Charlie Brown Christmas" is one of my all time favorite Christmas programs. Five years ago as I watched the Charlie Brown Christmas special for...
What else might the Blues be?
- Holiday Blues
- Stress
- Anxiety
- Grief
- SAD - Seasonal Affect Disorder
- Depression
Getting Professional Help for the Blues
Anyone who is experiencing the "blues" consistently over a period of several weeks (more than 2 weeks) should seek professional help.Some of the people that can be contacted to help someone feeling more than the blues include: physicians, primary care providers, mental health care providers, counselors, clergy, crisis lines, support groups, or mental health centers.
Talking with a professional or taking a mental health screening test can help assess whether it's the "blues" or depression.
Image Source: Modified Microsoft Image.
More Resources for Coping with Loss and Grief
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Journey of Hearts - Grief, Loss & Transitions
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Journey of Hearts was launched in the Fall of 1997 as "a Healing Place in CyberSpace." It was the as the first and only physician sponsored website devoted to educating people about the normal grief response. In the fall of 2007 Jo...
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How to Cope with Grief
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Travel with me as you go on the journey of coping with grief. There is no guarantee here, no magical wand, just the assurance that your life will get better. It will never be the same as before your loved one died, but gradually you will feel s...
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The Light Beyond: helping you cope with grief and bereavement
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Someone you love has died. And, like countless others who have walked the path of grief before you, you are discovering that a death can rob you of so much more than a person you love. It robs you of your energy, your hope, and sometimes just of the...
Remember that the Blues tend to be Short Term
The Holiday Blues can be emotional, intense and upsetting, but they tend to be short-term, lasting at the most around two weeks.The Blues end and people generally get better once the holiday season is over and they get back into a normal daily routine.
Image: Modified Microsoft Image
A Squidoo Lens on Wishing You Were Home for Christmas
This lens also includes some resources for coping with the holidays for those who are apart from loved ones.-
I'll Be Home for Christmas - A Wish of Hope and Peace for the Holidays
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The classic song, "I'll Be Home for Christmas," is a song about longing to be home with the ones that you love. Listening to this beautiful melody and lyrics is one way of being home for a bit even when you're far apart...if only in your dr...
Reader Feedback on the Holiday Blues Lens
Your place for feedback, thoughts, ideas
What do you think about the Holiday Blues?
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rms
Thank you for adding this great lens to the Best Christmas Ever group! Posted December 03, 2007 |
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prosperity66
Some of my friends have the Christmas blues and that is why I generally organize a Christmas party at home. Just hope to give them some fun. Posted November 19, 2007 |
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rms
Wonderful information here. Just what I needed! Posted November 18, 2007 |
Benefits the Squidoo Charity Fund
The Squidoo Charity Fund was created for lensmasters who want to donate their royalties to charity, but can't decide where to send them.The Squidoo powers that be decided fairly quickly following the California Wildfires to donate $1,000 from the Charity Fund directly to the Relief Efforts for the fire victims.
In addition, half of all proceeds generated from lenses made to benefit the Squidoo Charity Fund will be donated directly to the Red Cross California Wildfire Relief Fund for the Months of October and November.
Image: SquidAid Donation. © Kirsti A. Dyer. Some Rights Reserved.
