When The Holiday’s Don’t Bring You Joy: 4 Tips For Dealing With Depression
The holidays are a joyful time for many people. Gatherings with family and friends. Good food and memories are made almost daily. It paints an idyllic picture and implication that everyone has a joyous holiday season.
However, the holidays aren’t always joyful for every single person out there. There are many broken hearts who mourn the loss of those who have passed on. People who can’t be with their families and those who don’t have a family to celebrate with. The ideal picture that society draws isn’t always what is painted.
Even when there are no specific causes, it is still really common for someone to suffer from depression during the holiday season. For whatever the reasoning may be, joy just can’t seem to be found during the holidays. If you are one of these people who deal with depression during this time of year, our hearts are with you. We know how challenging this time of year can be, so we’d like to offer some tips on dealing with depression during this time of year.
1. You Shouldn’t Feel Guilty For How You Feel
With everyone so joyful around you, you may feel shame for not being able to be as happy as they are. You should never feel shame for what you are going through. You should especially not let anyone who makes a comment like, “Why are you so down, you should be happier!” affect you, either.
There are struggles we go through in life that are our own and they don’t have to make sense to anyone or even ourselves for them to be real.
2. Take It One Day At A Time
No matter what is causing your depression, or if there is no specific reason, just take it one day at a time.
Focusing on one thing at a time and not trying to focus so much on the days ahead is sometimes all we can do. Just getting through the morning, work, and cooking dinner is enough. If you have no space for anything else, that is completely okay. The only timeline that you should be on is your own, not someone else’s version of it.
3. Remember You Are Doing Your Best
This goes along the lines of what we said above. Depression often tells the lie that we aren’t doing enough. That we aren’t enough. That we should be doing more or better. Don’t believe the lies it tries to convince you of.
At the end of the day, no matter who we are, we are all just trying our best. Sometimes, we make mistakes. We have days when we just don’t feel right and can’t get anything done. If you’re depressed during the holidays, especially, it can feel like these lies really start to add up and become more frequent.
4. Share How You Are Feeling
Do you find that you are wanting to self-isolate more during the holidays? If you are, know that you aren’t alone in this. Even though the emphasis is placed on surrounding yourself with people all the time, sometimes we just don’t have the bandwidth to do that.
If you have friends or family you can talk to, don’t be afraid to talk to them about what you are feeling. It doesn’t have to make sense to them or to you, but getting everything out in the open can help you feel better about it.
But if you don’t have anyone you feel comfortable talking to, it’s okay. You always have the option to reach out to a therapist to have a shoulder to lean on. As challenging as it can be, you have every right to feel supported during the holiday season. Reach out to us so we can help you get through the holidays with depression therapy.