The festive season, which is mostly all about Christmas, can be hard for a lot of people so much so that people have started talking about Christmas mental health-related problems. We are here to talk about them all briefly but the information would be comprehensive enough to cover most aspects of everything related to mental health at Christmas.
Let’s Discuss All Christmas Mental Health-Related Problems
On the surface, Christmas mental health-related problems are due to just the usual worries and stressors that come with the festive season every year, it can also be due to an underlying problem that contributes to worsening mental health over Christmas. The underlying problem of mental health at Christmas can be one of these or a combination of the issues listed below:
Christmas Depression
Sometimes called a symptom or an episode of major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder, Christmas depression is one of the biggest culprits of many of our woes that arise during the festive season. It feels a lot like regular depression but symptoms such as extreme sadness, feeling disinterested and lonely, self-harm and suicidal ideation, worsening sleep patterns, intrusive thoughts, and feeling anxious and stressed all the time. It can be a large aspect of a diving mental health over Christmas.
Seasonal Affective Disorder
Also called “Winter Blues” by many, it is indeed an extreme version of the winter blues as it has the same symptoms as the blues and just like it, are only apparent in the winter season but the intensity and frequency of symptoms such as a persistently low mood, irritability, decreased libido, weight fluctuations due to depressive eating, hypersomnia, lethargy, despair, etcetera are extremely high. Now all of this can make a big jab on mental health at Christmas.
Read More: Season’s Greetings or Season’s Grievings? Everything About Christmas Depression
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
Christmas stress and anxiety, which usually relates to generalized anxiety disorder can be extremely debilitating when it comes to bad Christmas mental health woes. GAD is capable of causing extreme fear, worry, stress, and anxiety in affected individuals. These worries and fears are essentially unrealistic and irrational, especially when they relate to everyday behavior.
During Christmas, this everyday behavior turns into trivial worries about everything related to the festive season. A lot of times, GAD is a comorbidity of many major conditions including major depressive disorder. By that design, Christmas depression can also bring along the symptoms of GAD right up to the surface and therefore, effectively ruining mental health and Christmas, simultaneously.
What Might Be Causing Mental Health Christmas-Related Problems?
All of us are affected in radically different ways when it comes to mental health Christmas-related issues. These issues are exacerbated due to a couple of factors that are capable of causing disruption in your relationships, your mental health, and your ability to manage everyday tasks. These might be the factors:
Expecting A Lot From Yourself
We, as humans, have a habit of over-exaggerating things. Sometimes we expect a lot from others in our life, and sometimes we do that with ourselves. While it is not at all rewarding to expect from others, it is the same case when it comes to the self. This is exacerbated during the Christmas season as a lot is expected from you and in turn, you put pressure on yourself and start to expect things like you will somehow manage to buy gifts, arrange a party, be on time for work while preparing for the holiday season, etcetera. That’s expecting a lot indeed and therefore, can induce issues related to mental health at Christmas. Sometimes, you need to take a back seat and relax, even during the holiday season. Not everything has to be perfect.
Family Dynamics
Just as a good family dynamic contributes to a better lifestyle, a bad one will affect one’s mental health. Mental health during the Christmas season will also be affected as a result. Something like family therapy or interpersonal therapy (which focuses on eradicating the faulty behavior stemming from our interpersonal links) can be extremely beneficial in exterminating the fault lines that might contribute to poor mental well-being over Christmas.
Past Traumatic Event
If it has been the case that there was a past traumatic event that was experienced by an affected individual, then it is more than likely that the same person will suffer from some kind of mental health at Christmas as the brain makes associations that relate to specific stimuli. In this case, it is essentially a traumatic event, which is the stimuli and the association is the holiday season and Christmas. So if something traumatic happened during the festive season, it is more than likely that some type of mental health issue in relation to that is bound to happen in the follow-up festive season.
Bereavement Or Separation
For one reason or another, if you are away from your family or friends or even a love interest, it is likely to induce feelings of sadness, disinterest, stress, and anxiousness in you. This is especially the case for someone who is going through a period of bereavement. It is also a good indicator for someone to gauge if an affected individual is going to go through a bad crunch of mental well-being over Christmas.
Burnout
Stressful schedules and keeping busy for excessive hours can contribute to burnout earlier than expected. The time before the holiday season is essentially a crunch time for many and a lot of these people will try their level best to ensure everything is tied up before Christmas arrives. While it is good to be prepared, sometimes this crunch time can lead to all sorts of mental health Christmas-related issues, such as depression and excessive anxiety. While other times it was already there and Christmas has a tendency to bring it out and lead to burnout. Give yourself time too. Plan your objectives before the holiday season in such a way that it does not affect your executive functioning.
Read More: Holiday Anxiety: What and When To Do Something About It
Social Anxiety
We get it, some of us are literally introverts and do not want to be around a lot of people. We know Christmas is just the time that gives platforms to so many events and places to be and that too we can’t take a rain check over. Naturally, social anxiety will kick in, especially if you already tend to suffer from it. Keeping up with your boundaries and those of others. It shouldn’t matter who is on the other side of the relationship, be it your son, sister, parents, friends, girlfriend, or boyfriend or even some distant relative. Your mental health at Christmas comes first. We want you up and working during the festive season, so you can enjoy your holidays properly even if that means staying at home and watching Christmas specials, if that is your thing. There should be no pressure of any kind.
What Else Can You Do To Improve Mental Health Over Christmas?
We have talked about the contributors to mental health Christmas-related issues in the words above. We have also given slight suggestions on what not to do that might contribute to the exacerbation of those problems as there are a couple of other things that might drastically improve the chances of you not having those problems.
Lifestyle Changes
Exercising regularly or practicing mindfulness, especially before the holiday season can tremendously keep you away from mental health Christmas-related issues as they induce effects in the body that help induce better mental health at Christmas and overall.
Avoid Social Media
A lot of expectations develop from social media as people show their best selves there not knowing what is happening behind the curtain. But you as an initiated person might take it to heart and start comparing yourself to others, especially during the festive season. Know that it is all impression management in the end, so there is no need to fret over it and give yourself mental issues.
Seek Support
This can come in any size or shape. Sometimes it can be friends who are always looking to support you in any way possible (this is the reason they are your friends. Friends tend to be there for each other). Another way you can seek support is through some kind of treatment, specifically if it is the case you are suffering some kind of mental health Christmas-related issues such as the ones listed in the initial words of this piece. Many treatment options are available. These can be psychotherapy, psychiatric medication management and there can also be telehealth psychiatry.
Read More: The Rise of Telehealth: Exploring the pros of telehealth
Wrapping Up!
A lot can be done if one knows where to look. The same is true for mental health at Christmas. There are various ways you can avoid having these problems. Inland Empire Behavioral Group can help you with these too and for other problems like psychosis, eating disorder, or bipolar disorder.
