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Whether it’s the time with family, endless piles of holiday traffic, or wish lists for family and friends so long you aren’t sure how you’ll pay for it all, the most wonderful time of the year isn’t so holly or jolly for those dealing with stress, anxiety, or depression.
Identifying Key Sources of Holiday Stress
When managing holiday stress, it’s hard to know where to start. The holiday season can be a huge source of stress, but some components of seasonal celebrations can be more significant issues than others. If you want your holiday season to be as happy and stress-free as possible, it’s important to know what the biggest stressors are and what you can do to manage them.
Some of the leading causes of holiday woes include:
- Overeating and a poor diet: Many holiday gatherings involve lots of sweets and treats rather than healthy, wholesome and well-rounded meals. Too much junk food and not enough fruits and vegetables, for example, can have a negative influence on mental health.
- Overindulgence: Alcohol is virtually synonymous with holiday celebrations of all kinds. However, regular heavy drinking, especially for those with substance abuse issues, can be a big problem.
- Overstimulation: Too many plans and too many people can be hard to handle, especially for introverts or those who are easily overstimulated. Without spare time to unwind and breathe, many people find themselves tense and anxious.
- Uncomfortable conversations: The holidays are full of conversations with distant family and rarely seen friends. Unfortunately, many of these conversations will revolve around contentious topics, like religion, politics and current events, which can make some people stressed and unhappy.
Tips for Managing Holiday Stress
However, these common causes of holiday blues don’t mean the winter season is doomed to depression. There are several steps you can take to manage holiday stress and ensure the months to come are happy, not hellish. These include:
- Saying no when necessary, whether that means canceling plans or turning down another drink
- Scheduling in advance to make sure plans don’t overwhelm your calendar
- Making some stressful topics of conversation off-limits to avoid triggering negative feelings
- Asking for help when needed, whether that means an extra set of hands to assist with a holiday meal or a sympathetic shoulder to cry on when times get tough
- Getting fresh air, vitamin D and a little peace and quiet to help you better manage holiday stress
- Speaking with a counselor or therapist as needed, especially when the pressures of the season become too much to handle alone
- Practicing deep breathing exercises
The Rising Stress of the Season
The holidays should be a time for festive fun, but the holiday blues are unfortunately common. By learning basic stress management techniques and understanding common stressors, it’s possible to get through the winter season as happy and healthy as possible — both inside and out.
Regardless of what time of year it is, stress and anxiety in America have been on the rise for the first time in over a decade, led primarily by politics, money problems, and concerns for the future. For the 40 million men and women in America living with these mental health disorders, the holidays may be just another chance to pile anxiety on top of more anxiety and anxiety and depression treatment might be just what some people need.
To learn more about what causes these distressing emotions, we polled over 1,200 people across the country to understand what gets them down during this festive season, what they do to manage holiday stress, and which of the many upcoming holidays are their biggest culprit for being anything but the happiest times of the year. Read on to see what we discovered.
‘Tis The Season for Distress
Financial concerns may not just be keeping you up at night – they could be making you physically ill. According to at least one study, younger generations especially get so worried about money that it’s started to affect their job performance and personal relationships, even making them sick. When your emotions start to get the best of you, it’s a good time to consider depression treatment. According to our panel of men and women across the country, nearly 2 in 3 admitted the holidays made them feel more depressed or anxious because it reminded them how tumultuous their financial situation really was.
In 2016, one study found more than half of Americans were planning to go into debt to cover their gift-giving expenses, and 16 percent said the cost of their generosity could take six months or more to fully pay off. With an average cost of $929 each, the pressure to give as much as you receive could be giving most seasonal shoppers the holiday blues.
The Emotional Toll of the Holiday Season
Money isn’t the only concern that is causing men and women we surveyed feelings of depression or anxiety. For more than 2 in 5 people we polled, the over-commercialized nature of the holidays left them feeling emotional, followed by thoughts of loneliness and solitude and bad memories.
Distance isn’t the only thing that can make people feel alienated during the holiday season. Research has shown it’s not uncommon to feel emotionally distant from the people in their lives, even when they’re close by.
Stranger Feelings
Have some sympathy for yourself the next time Netflix asks if you are still watching. Research has shown that despite the popular stigma that TV might “rot your brain,” it can actually help restore self-control, and some shows can even make you feel happier and more generous after watching. For people we polled in nearly every age bracket, watching Netflix or other forms of TV ranked as the most popular coping mechanism for getting through the holiday season.
Bingeing your favorite (or even newly discovered) TV show isn’t the only way to manage stress when seasonal festivities start to drag you down. According to our survey, exercise, time with animals, and even listening to music were popular choices for decompressing during the yuletide blitz. More than just being good for maintaining your physical health, regular workouts can be equally as effective at treating mild to moderate depression as formal medication.
Regional Melancholy
Across the country, men and women in certain states may be more likely to feel down during the holidays than others. According to our research, people we surveyed from Arkansas reported the strongest feelings of anxiety when asked to rank these distressing emotions on a scale of 1 to 10.
Recent data suggests Arkansas may be one of the poorest states in the country, followed only by Mississippi and West Virginia. With more than 17 percent of the state living below the poverty line in 2016, the financial burden of the holidays could be adding to the heightened sense of anxiety that people we surveyed from Arkansas feel this time of year.
And states the least likely to be affected by this sense of dread as the holiday season rolls in? Americans we surveyed living in Oklahoma, Idaho, Wyoming, and Nevada had the lowest overall rating of jingle bell-laced distress.
The Season of You
Finding some alone time during the holidays certainly has its advantages. From the relaxing respite of quiet solitude to getting to decide exactly what you want to say for Thanksgiving dinner and when, the time we spend around friends and family celebrating the holiday season can start to feel overwhelming for some, and you may even need to help an addict.
Over half of the women we surveyed and more than 1 in 3 men admitted their heightened sense of anxiety during an otherwise festive time was a direct response to spending too much time worried about other people and not enough time focused on themselves. It’s okay to be selfish with your time occasionally, and it could make you seem more pleasant to be around for everyone else.
If you can’t escape the commitment of company but still need some time to yourself, consider going for a short walk, getting up before everyone else (or staying up a bit later), or offering to run those otherwise pesky errands. Enjoy the comfort of being alone for as long as it lasts. If unwanted feelings or anxiety tend to come up too often, though, consider reaching out for anxiety treatment.
Finding Relief
They say home is where the heart is, but that may not necessarily be where you want to go when you’re feeling bogged down during the holiday rush.
Americans we surveyed admitted that some environments were more likely to leave them feeling relaxed and rejuvenated when things happened to get too stressful during the season of giving. While people in 11 states (including Vermont, Iowa, and Alabama) said the feelings of familiarity they got in their own homes were the perfect place to relax, Americans in nearly twice as many states said they’d rather be visiting a friend than their own family.
On the other hand, sometimes it may be less about the company and more about the accommodations that make some people feel less stressed. Men and women from 14 states (including New York, Michigan, and California) said being at a bar or club helped them get back to their happy place. While the immediate chemical reaction of an alcoholic beverage may help you feel more relaxed, alcohol is still a depressant. The more you drink, the more likely your feelings of depression or loneliness may increase.
Also, depending on your region, issues like seasonal affective disorder may be the cause of some of your holiday stress. If you find yourself drinking too much around the holidays and beyond, consider a treatment center for alcohol in Florida, where it’s always sunny.
Holidazed
Everyone knows there isn’t a single date or celebration that makes up the entirety of the holiday season. It’s the combination of most Americans’ favorite days, such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year’s back-to-back, that helps make the fall and winter months truly come alive.
While research shows nearly half of Americans rank Christmas Day as their favorite holiday out of the whole year, our study revealed more than 71 percent of men and women across the country think Jolly Ol’ St. Nick brings tidings of more than just good cheer. He could be delivering feelings of anxiety and depression, too, along with other disorders such as seasonal affective disorder. While Christmas may have earned the top spot, more than 1 in 10 people we surveyed admitted it was all of the holidays combined that killed their festive vibe.
Finding The Joy through Depression Treatment & Anxiety Treatment
Millions of people across the country celebrate holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukah, and the New Year. The time spent with friends, family, and food is meant to be some of the best memories we make all year. Still, not everyone experiences the holiday season the same, and the stress of financial burden, not enough alone time, or even the commercialization of religious celebrations can lead to feelings of desolation and nervousness.
If someone in your family needs help managing holiday stress, turn to FHE Health.
Get the Support You Deserve at FHE Health
At FHE Health, a South Florida depression treatment and anxiety treatment premier mental health and addiction treatment facility, we know how important your mental health is to your general well-being. If you’re experiencing symptoms of anxiety or depression, we’re here to help. Our goal is to help all of our patients find the individualized dream plan that works for their lives.
Whether you’re looking for medication management, psychiatric services, or just to understand how medication might be able to affect your mental health, FHE Health is here to help support you every step of the way. Consider treatment centers in Florida! Visit us online at FHERehab.com today to learn more.
Methodology
We surveyed 1,212 individuals and asked if they experienced added stress, anxiety, and/or depression during the holidays. We then found out what elements contribute to these states of mind, how they cope, as well as the when, where, and how it all transpires.
Want to use our study?
Please feel free! All that we ask is that you include a link back to this page so readers can learn more about the study.
Sources
- https://themighty.com/2015/12/what-people-with-anxiety-want-others-to-know-during-the-holidays/
- https://www.marketwatch.com/story/millennials-say-anxiety-about-money-is-literally-making-them-sick-2017-09-01
- https://www.fool.com/retirement/2016/12/01/heres-what-the-average-american-spends-on-holiday.aspx
- https://medium.com/behavior-design/dont-worry-binge-watching-netflix-can-be-a-healthy-habit-7ce19f34b7da
- https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-living/the-mental-health-benefits-of-exercise.htm
- https://www.4029tv.com/article/arkansas-3rd-poorest-state-in-us-report-says/12438645
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/soloish/wp/2016/11/24/why-i-love-being-alone-for-the-holidays/?utm_term=.dd92c13f7e24
- https://www.bustle.com/articles/100805-6-benefits-of-focusing-on-yourself-your-own-happiness
- https://www.popsugar.com/love/How-Find-Alone-Time-During-Holidays-12709204
- https://www.theharrispoll.com/health-and-life/Americans-Weigh-In-on-Their-Favorite-Holiday.html
