Taking on the Holidays: tackling depression
Are you struggling to find joy and excitement when thinking about upcoming holiday parties, events, and things that others are expressing excitement and anticipation for? Are you finding it harder to get out of bed in the morning, create positive thought patterns, and simply enjoy life? While depression can look very different for many people, depression in the holiday season is quite common.
It’s estimated that roughly 5% of people suffer from depression symptoms regularly. Some studies report up to 64% of people with mental health concerns see an increase in symptoms over the holiday season. So what can you do this holiday season to manage depression well? Here are six steps that you can take to increase your depression management over this holiday season and beyond. It is essential to know that depression comes in varying degrees. Moderate and severe depression is best treated with a trained professional to assist you and safely manage depression symptoms. The concept below exhibits basic strategies but is not meant to be a substitution for quality medical and mental health interventions appropriate for the varying degrees of depressive symptoms and experience as possible.
Know your pattern, and do not be caught off guard. It is not uncommon for depression and other mood-related mental health challenges to have some sense of pattern and consistency surrounding them. Knowing your patterns can be incredibly empowering. So take some time and think about when your depressive symptoms may have been the most challenging or significant? See if you can identify what times of the year, week, month, days of the week, etc., were the hardest. Suppose you do not have quite enough information to think back on your depressive tendencies; start taking notes today to create some data for yourself as you’re moving forward. Depression can be triggered by situational factors, life events, hormonal cycles, seasons, and much more. The more you can know and understand your depression, the more power you will have to manage it well.
Know your non-negotiable - what are the things you have to have or do to maintain basic energy levels, feelings of functionality, etc.? Sometimes these can be best identified once you understand your patterns from question one. But consider: do you need a certain number of hours of sleep, need to eat in a specific timeframe, require a certain amount of downtime, feel your best when you participate in physical exercise, creative expressions, music, reading? When you think about when you function your best, what are the things you have, and those may be part of your non-negotiables as you take on this holiday season. A non-negotiable means that we prioritize those activities or events or things that are critically important to us at all costs. It may mean that we show up late to a gathering, slip out early to prioritize sleep, say no to an optional event, etc.. Still, that prioritization may be part of your plan to make it through this holiday season with as much health and well-being as possible.
Know your safe people - connection is a critical element of depression management. Human connection creates oxytocin, part of the neurochemistry that helps to offset a re-balance depressive episodes. The tricky thing is, many people report the desire or urge to withdrawal during depressive cycles. So when depression surges increase, know who your safe people are to reach out to you. Know who will understand, support, and check-in in ways that will encourage you to do healthy things.
Know your limits. Knowing what you canning can’t do is so critically important. When we push our bodies beyond what we are capable of, injury, sickness, and negative consequences occur. Being able to know, define, and stand up for your limits is essential.
Know your negative thought cycles and plan for them- A frequent aspect of depressive symptoms is negative thought patterns. On a good day, many people with depression can accurately and adequately counter those negative thoughts with objective truths, additional information, or general positivity. When we are stuck in a depressive episode, accessing those positive or accurate thoughts becomes much more challenging. If you know your common themes regarding depressive thought patterns, take the time on a good day or with a therapist or with a trusted friend to write out the objective positive truths that counter your negative thought patterns cycles. Have them written out and on hand so that when those negative thoughts come, the counterbalancing material is already there to assist you and remind you of your identified truths.
Know your goal. At the end of a holiday party, at the end of a holiday trip, and at the end of the holiday season, what do you hope to be able to say that you accomplished? Find a goal that means something to you. Find a goal that is attainable for you. Stick with your goal.
Depression is best treated by trained, mental health professionals. If you are looking for someone to partner with you in your journey towards depression management, reach out to our trained therapist today. Our team is ready to help those battling depression from our Arlington, Texas therapy office or online through our online therapy for all Texas residence. Let our team partner with you and your depression management journey.
