Holiday Blues: How to Tackle it Wisely

Sure, festive seasons can be fun and exciting. But for some people holidays can trigger an unexplained wave of sadness (Ugh yes! I’m one of them). We often hear of people uninstalling social media apps on their phones during the holidays. So, at least we know it ain’t uncommon. Some of us not only passionately stay away from our phones but also lock ourselves in our rooms, lest we get annoyed and sad seeing the happy pictures and lives of other people(Yes! I’m cringing here). Christmas is just a few months away and I figure the time’s just right for me to scourge through the case of holiday blues and how to tackle them wisely. Read along folks!

So what exactly is Holiday Blues?

It is when you are wrought by feelings of sadness that last throughout the holiday season. A vast majority of people feel stressed and exhausted during the holidays, especially around November or December, and show fairly mild symptoms. In tandem, people struggling with mental health may find it harder to survive this “joyous” season.

How do you tackle it?

Life, as we all know, doesn’t come with an instruction guide. And each one of us deals with our problems differently. However, I have come up with a few tricks and tips that unquestionably help me tackle my blue-some days.

Plan your holiday activities ahead of time

For many, planning takes the fun out of experiences. However, for the anxious souls of the earth, planning a holiday itinerary will only do good more than harm. For instance, I have booked myself in for a harbour cruise Christmas party with sad-sack friends in Sydney. This way, I don’t have to worry about being late to book or pay exorbitant last-minute prices. If interested, book one of the Christmas party cruises in Sydney here.

Create new traditions

Every festival has its own fair share of traditions that either induces pride and happiness or an eerie sense of painful nostalgia surrounding loved ones whom you miss or may have lost. You may naturally resort to dodging the old traditions to combat the difficult feelings; but did you know avoiding the entire traditions won’t really help? The key is to creatively feel the void and replace it with a new tradition. And by new traditions, I mean simple things like visiting an old-age home or going on a trip to nowhere–it could be anything! After all, making new memories doesn’t mean you erase the old ones.

Identify healthy coping skills

Binge-eating, talking too much, not talking at all, self-harm etc. are some of the unhealthy coping strategies that people often rely on. I’ve been a big-time stress-eater myself and it never worked well for me, especially during the holidays. However, over the years, I have learned a few techniques to prevail over unhealthy tendencies.

Reach out for help

It isn’t always possible to keep your emotions under control. And that’s why it’s important to seek help–from family, friends, coworkers or professionals. For some people, it might be more than just holiday blues adding to their apprehension about a particular season. And the only helpful solution might be medical or therapeutic intervention. But remember, it’s completely normal to experience the feelings of loss and uncertainty, and so is seeking help.

Do something charitable

Here’s something about human beings: when we help others, it alleviates sadness. When we see someone else’s happiness by our virtue, we get to experience happiness through them. And that’s always a great idea to cope up with our difficult emotions.

Aaaaand that’s how I do it guys! But here are some more examples of effective coping skills - meditation, taking a walk, journaling, positive affirmations(of course, not the overtly positive ones!), listening to music and so on. I hope someone finds this article helpful.