9 Holiday Depression Busters
It's supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year--but not if negative emotions take hold of your holidays. So let's be honest. The holidays are packed with stress, and therefore provoke tons of depression and anxiety. But there is hope. Whether I'm fretting about something as trite as stocking stuffers or as complicated as managing difficult family relationships, I apply a few rules that I've learned over the years. These 9 rules help me put the joy back into the festivities--or at least keep me from hurling a mistletoe at Santa and landing myself on the "naughty" list.
Expect the Worst
Remember to "SEE"
Eating well and exercise are codependent, at least in my body, because my biggest motivator for exercising is the reduction in guilt I feel about splurging on dessert. Large quantities of sugar or high fructose corn syrup can poison your brain. If you know your weak spot--the end of the table where Aunt Judy places her homemade hazelnut holiday balls--then swim, walk, or jog ten extra minutes to compensate for your well-deserved treat. Another acronym to remember during the holidays is HALT: don't get too Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired.
Beef Up Your Support
In my life with two young kids, this means getting extra babysitters so that if I have a meltdown in Starbucks like I did two years ago--before I knew the mall was menacing to my inner peace--I will have an extra ten minutes to record in my journal what I learned from that experience.
Avoid Toxic People
Know Thyself
Travel With Polyester, Not Linen
I used to be adamantly opposed to using a portable DVD player in the car to entertain the kids because I thought it would create two spoiled monsters whose imaginations had rotted courtesy of Disney. One nine-hour car trip home to Ohio for Christmas, I cried uncle after six hours of constant squabbling and screaming coming from the back seat. Now David and Katherine only fight over which movie they get to watch first. If you have a no-food rule policy for the car, I'd amend that one during the holidays as well.
Make Your Own Traditions
Making your own tradition might mean Christmas Eve is reserved for your family and the extended family is invited over for brunch on Christmas Day. Or vice versa. Basically, it's laying down some rules so that you have better control over the situation. As a people-pleaser who hates to cook, I make a better guest than host, but sometimes serenity comes in taking the driver's seat, and telling the passengers to fasten their seatbelts and be quiet.
Get Out of Yourself
Matthew 6:21 says "for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." In other words, start with the things you like to do. For me, that is saying a rosary for a depressed Beyond Blue reader, or visiting a priest-friend who needs encouragement and support in order to continue his ministry, or helping talented writer friends get published. I'd like to think this is service, too, because if those people are empowered by my actions, then I've contributed to a better world just as much as if I had dished out mashed potatoes to a homeless person at a shelter.
Exercise Your Funny Bone
Therese Borchard writes the daily blog, "Beyond Blue," on Beliefnet.com and is author of "Beyond Blue: Surviving Depression & Anxiety and Making the Most of Bad Genes" and "The Pocket Therapist: An Emotional Survival Kit." She also moderates the online depression support group, Beyond Blue, which was just voted as Beliefnet's Top Support Group. Subscribe to Beyond Blue here or visit her at www.ThereseBorchard.com.
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