The holiday blues are, unfortunately, extremely common. They affect men and women, young and old, and range from mild sadness to severe depression. They can be the result of simple pressures or expectations that accompany the holidays, such as gift buying, decorating, meal preparations, or apprehension over a big family gathering. They can also be caused by loneliness, sadness, or grief over someone who is no longer here.

The holidays can be a tough time for people who are grieving or coming to terms with loss in their lives. Not only the death of a loved one - although that type of loss can certainly be illuminated during the holidays - but simply being away from people that are cared about can be a source of upset. Distance from loved ones, for example, can become a focus during the holidays as memories of times spent together are recalled and separation is highlighted.

Cultural expectations can also contribute to the holiday blues. Often unnoticed or invisible to an individual’s conscious thought, expectations can be a significant source of upset when they can not be met or if the individual does not necessarily agree with the expectation. For example, as we are inundated with images of “holiday cheer” through television, print, and radio advertisements, what is someone to do if they can’t “get into the spirit”? Those individuals not in sync with holiday expectations often think something is wrong with them. This thought process can operate as a double whammy for the individual, who may have legitimate reasons for feeling less than joyful in the first place and becomes overtly aware that he or she is not happy like everyone else.

There can also be a physiological component to holiday depression. Some people annually experience the "winter blues," or what is clinically known as seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Approximately 11 million people are diagnosed with SAD, and women are four times more likely to suffer from it than men. SAD results from fewer hours of sunlight as the days grow shorter during the winter months. Many people feel mildly depressed during the winter, but some people have more severe bouts of feeling down all the time, low energy, problems with sleep and appetite, loss of interest in activities, and reduced concentration to the point where they have difficulty functioning at work or at home. Other common symptoms of SAD include oversleeping, extreme fatigue, increased appetite with carbohydrate craving, overeating, and weight gain. With more severe episodes, people may have suicidal thoughts.

Research has shown that many patients with SAD improve with exposure to bright, artificial light, called light therapy, or phototherapy. As little as 30 minutes per day of sitting under a special fluorescent light box can result in significant improvement in 60% to 70% of SAD patients.

In addition to the above explanations, a post-holiday letdown resulting from emotional disappointments during the holiday months, a lack of activities to tend to or participate in following such an eventful time, as well as physical reactions caused by excess fatigue and stress, may cause holiday blues to continue into the new year. If coupled with SAD, these feelings can continue through the winter months.

Tips for coping
There are three C’s of coping for those who suffer from holiday blues: Choose, Communicate, and Compromise. Make choices about what you want to do. Communicate those choices to people around you. If your choices could cause other people grief, try to compromise and find a middle ground.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Psychological Association, and the National Mental Health Association offer these additional tips to help prevent holiday blues:

If someone you know is experiencing holiday blues: