Navigating Dead Week Depression and the Post-Holiday Blues
The time between Christmas and New Years–and even extending into the months beyond–can be challenging for anyone’s mental health. If you ever grapple with this weird, transitional time as the holidays wind down and our normal lives resume, you’re not the only one; the National Alliance on Mental Illness reports that 64% of Americans experience a similar struggle, to the point where psychologists have coined a name for the condition: post-holiday blues.
Despite its ubiquity, most of us struggle against this seasonal sadness in solitary, trivializing our own emotions out of the belief that we’re the only ones having a difficult time ending one year and beginning the next. For our blog this week, we wanted to provide a better understanding of what the post-holiday blues are and offer up our perspective on getting through what can be a bleak stretch for many. Most importantly, for anyone suffering out there, we want to highlight that you’re not alone.
To address this condition effectively, it’s important to understand its root causes. Why do so many of us experience the post-holiday blues?
As with so much of mental health, there’s more than one contributing factor.
On a chemical level, the increase in stress hormones that result from holiday excitement–both positive and negative–lead to a sizable form of withdrawal as our bodies return to normal base levels hormonally. On a cognitive level, we perceive this return to normal as a net negative; it’s a fundamental bias of human nature, experiencing psychological distress upon going from a lot of activity to relatively little, especially in such a short amount of time. Regardless of how stressful a time we had during the season, this bias rewrites the mental narrative surrounding our holiday experiences with a more positive glow once the dust settles, further compounding any sadness we feel as we adjust to the “new” old normal and look back upon recent memories. After all, at no other point in the year do our routines deviate from our established norms for such a long period of time (perhaps Europeans are onto something, vacationing for several weeks each August; their winter break probably doesn’t cause quite so much whiplash as ours). This break in routine snaps back on our mental health like a vindictive rubber band and has both psychological and physical causes. Even our diets can contribute:the sugar- and alcohol-laden choices we make around Christmas prime us for a crash once the binge is over.
Clearly, there are plenty of reasons why you may not feel your best in the aftermath of December 25th. How should you address it?
Starting out, we urge you to remember, as the cliché goes, that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Knowing that the holiday comedown is a personal struggle of yours allows you to anticipate it. Plan ahead each year (read our blog on maintaining your inner peace around the holidays for some techniques to safeguard your mental and financial health) to mitigate the holiday hangover and set yourself up for a better post-holiday state of mind. For example, if Christmas finances consistently stress you out, budget accordingly to avoid scrambling come January; if family drama sends you into a tailspin, do whatever you can to minimize the theatrics and be less burnt out in the new year. The point is, whatever your personal Christmas crank, strategize to secure a better mental state for yourself on December 26th.
It’s easier to face the post-holiday blues if you’re not tackling the problem with a deficit.
However, some degree of post-holiday blues may be inevitable, a cruel quirk of fate–or, more likely, genetics. In that case, lean on the things that typically spark joy for you, and listen to your body. While extended periods of time in a sedentary state aren’t necessarily a good treatment for any type of depression or anxiety, sometimes you just need to give yourself a day in bed binging feel-good movies. We all respond to our mental health struggles differently, and the goal isn’t to be a model patient; it’s to find the strategies that genuinely make you as an individual feel better.
That said, there are some basic tenets of medical advice that we can’t ignore. Especially at this time of year when the days are short and the nights are long, getting adequate sunshine and sleep while eating a healthy diet and exercising at least a little each week are all only going to help you recover from the post-holiday blues. If you need a Netflix binge to get through the worst of your symptoms in the beginning, we totally understand–just don’t let yourself stay horizontal for too long.
On that note, if you find yourself struggling for longer than a few weeks, please talk to a trusted confidant, or even your therapist; they’ll help you distinguish between a normal case of winter sadness and something more serious. For anyone already prone to seasonal affective disorder or clinical depression, it’s vitally important that you don’t let a normal case of the post-holiday blues spiral into a bout of your preexisting condition. Keeping tabs on your physical and psychological state and reaching out when you feel yourself slipping can mean the difference between a brief dip in your mental health and a drawn-out episode.
