Sadness: 9 Tips On How To Cope During The Holiday Season (Video)
Sadness, stress, and depression are common around Christmas. So how are you during this time of year? Really. How are you?
Are you struggling with the commercialism of Christmas and the over-excitement of the holiday season? If so, you are certainly not alone.
It wasn’t until my mother introduced faith, peace, and joy of Christmas and New Years to me that I truly felt free to embrace the holiday outside of tradition.
This article will discuss ways that you can cope during this time of year if you are experiencing stress. We will also discuss ways to cope with grief and loss.
I have always been interested in the allure of Christmas time. It is a wonderful time of the year where everyone changes for the better for a good month and 2 weeks. It’s a time when most people reach out just a little bit more to engage and connect with their neighbors. The season often brings with it a sense of freedom, wonder, and joy. Something as simple as Christmas lights can change your mood from worse to better.
What we often fail to remember during this time…
There are a lot of things we fail to consider and tend to forget during this time. I list 4 of them here:
- A short-term change: There is something magical about the season. We become spiritual, emotional, and reflective. We bond more. But this isn’t all there is to the holiday and many people struggle with the reality that Christmas and New Years day will not last forever. It’s a shame to know that once it is all over things go back to “normal.” Almost everyone changes from kind and giving, to harsh and competitive. The world becomes a cold place again. It’s depressing, to say the least.
- Loss & grief: We also cannot forget about those who have lost loved ones and are suffering from grief and loss. Their holiday season will be fraught with trying to organize their thoughts and feelings. Their holiday will be spent trying to find meaning without the person they love. We must be sensitive to them as well.
- Foster care and adoption: Most kids are spending Christmas in a foster home they may not like or in an adoptive family they don’t feel connected to. Although there are lots of supportive families adopting and fostering needy kids, there are also places that care little about these kids than you would think they would.
- Mental Health Challenges: Mental health challenges tend to worsen during this time of year. Depression, anxiety, bipolar symptoms (depression or mania) tend to rise during this time of year because of stress. Other challenges may arise as well such as family-related stress, competition with others, substance abuse (especially alcohol use), and family drama.
[bctt tweet=”Mental health challenges tend to worsen during this time of year. Depression, anxiety, bipolar symptoms (depression or mania) tend to rise during this time of year because of stress. Other challenges may arise as well such as family-related stress, competition with others, substance abuse (especially alcohol use), and family drama. ” username=”therapisttee”]
For the 9 tips on how to cope with holiday stress, loss, grief, or depression, tune into my video below.
