You can’t escape it as you do your Christmas shopping. From late November until after December 25, you will hear Andy Williams’ in the background singing repeatedly, “It's the most wonderful time of the year…It's the hap-happiest season of all, With those holiday greetings and gay happy meetings, When friends come to call, It's the hap-happiest season of all.”
Just a glance at social media posts, however, confirms that not everyone is “hap-happy” during the holidays.
Christmas can be particularly difficult for those who’ve lost or are separated from loved ones or are struggling with health or mental health issues of their own, but just about anyone may experience periods of sadness during the season. According to the American Psychological Association Healthy Minds Monthly Poll, nearly 40 percent of Americans say their mood declines during the winter.
Jay Middleton, Ph.D., a psychologist in Pittsburg, said stress, sadness and depression does increase during the holidays and it’s not unusual for people to sometimes feel overwhelmed.
“The lack of sunlight (plays a role),” he said. “There are changes in routine and diet, people have high expectations of the holidays and we have an idealized post-card image of what the holidays should be like.”
Middleton said he encourages his patients to “practice self-care.”
“Get enough sleep, eat well, engage in physical activity,” Middleton said. “It’s OK to set boundaries and to say ‘no.’ Manage your expectations. And talk.”
Middleton said people who are feeling low over the holidays need to know that “it’s OK not to feel festive.”
One local church is planning a special holiday service for people who are experiencing the holiday blues. Pittsburg’s First United Methodist Church will hold a “blue service” at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 22, in the Church Chapel. The Rev. Daniel Reffner said the service is “designed to be an intimate service for those who are not feeling all merry and bright, right now. It’s a space where you don’t have to pretend.”
Reffner said it won’t be a sad experience.
“The theme will be hope and healing,” he said. “We want it to be an uplifting experience.”
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) offers these tips on coping with seasonal sadness:
