{"id":6116,"date":"2016-12-16T08:00:47","date_gmt":"2016-12-16T13:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/?p=6116"},"modified":"2016-12-08T11:02:00","modified_gmt":"2016-12-08T16:02:00","slug":"holiday-blues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/stress-busters\/holiday-blues\/","title":{"rendered":"Holiday Blues?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1><\/h1>\n<div class=\"entry\">\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mymentalhealthday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/sad-holiday-dog1.jpg\" rel=\"shadowbox[sbpost-858];player=img;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-861 alignleft\" title=\"sad-holiday-dog\" src=\"http:\/\/www.mymentalhealthday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/sad-holiday-dog1-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"349\" height=\"251\" \/><\/a>The season is a time full of joy, parties, and family gatherings. However, many times unwanted stress and depression can creep into our holiday cheer. Nonetheless, there are a variety of simple things you can do that may help lift your spirit.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>What Causes Holiday Blues?<\/strong><br \/>\nMany factors can cause the \u201choliday blues\u201d: stress, fatigue, unrealistic expectations, over-commercialization, financial constraints, and the inability to be with one\u2019s family and friends. The demands of shopping, parties, family reunions, and house guests also contribute to feelings of tension. People who do not become depressed may develop other stress responses, such as: headaches, excessive drinking, over-eating, and difficulty sleeping. Even more people experience post-holiday let down after January 1st. This can result from disappointments during the preceding months compounded with the excess fatigue and stress.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Coping with Stress and Depression During the Holidays<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Keep\u00a0expectations for the holiday season manageable.<\/strong> Try to set realistic goals for yourself. Pace yourself. Organize your time. Make a list and prioritize the important activities. Be realistic about what you can and cannot do. Do not put entire focus on just one day (i.e., Christmas) remember it is a season of\u00a0holiday sentiment and activities can be spread out (time-wise) to lessen\u00a0stress and increase enjoyment.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Remember the\u00a0holiday season does not banish reasons for feeling sad <\/strong>or lonely; there is room for these feelings to be\u00a0present, even if one chooses not to express them. Everyone experiences\u00a0feelings of being overwhelmed and it is good to recognize your limits. Pay\u00a0attention to your feelings and feel free to express them when wanted.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Leave\u00a0\u201cyesteryear\u201d in the past and look toward the future.<\/strong> Life brings changes. Each season is different and can be enjoyed in its own way. Don\u2019t set yourself up in comparing today with the \u201cgood ol\u2019 days.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><strong>Do something\u00a0for someone else.<\/strong> Try\u00a0volunteering some time to help others.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Enjoy activities that are free<\/strong>, such as\u00a0driving around to look at holiday decorations; going window shopping without buying; making a snowperson with children, enjoy street carolers.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Be aware that\u00a0excessive drinking will only increase your feelings of depression.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Try something\u00a0new. <\/strong>Celebrate the holidays in a new way.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Spend time with supportive and caring people.<\/strong> Reach out and make new friends or contact someone you have not heard from for awhile.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Save time for\u00a0yourself!<\/strong> Recharge your batteries! Let others share responsibility of activities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Can Environment Be a Factor?<\/strong><br \/>\nRecent studies show that some people suffer from seasonal affective disorder (SAD) which results from fewer hours of sunlight as the days grow shorter during the winter months. Photo-therapy, a treatment involving a few hours of exposure to intense light, is effective in relieving depressive symptoms in patients with SAD.<\/p>\n<p>Other studies on the benefits of photo-therapy found that exposure to early morning sunlight was effective in relieving seasonal depression. Recent findings, however, suggest that patients respond equally well to photo-therapy whether it is scheduled in the early afternoon. This has practical applications for antidepressant treatment since it allows the use of photo-therapy in the workplace as well as the home.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mymentalhealthday.org\/2012\/12\/what-to-do-with-the-holiday-blues\/\">http:\/\/www.mymentalhealthday.org\/2012\/12\/what-to-do-with-the-holiday-blues\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The season is a time full of joy, parties, and family gatherings. However, many times unwanted stress and depression can creep into our holiday cheer. Nonetheless, there are a variety of simple things you can do that may help lift &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/stress-busters\/holiday-blues\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9193321,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[313094,241883],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health-maintenance","category-stress-busters"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paB9fc-1AE","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9193321"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6116"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6117,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6116\/revisions\/6117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}