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HARLINGEN — The time of laughter and singing and families gathering for food and fun and the bringing in of the New Year is now upon us.
With that fabulous season of joy comes another time, that of sadness and desolation and the creeping in of the anxieties of strained relationships.
It’s called the holiday blues, but those two words seem like a sad and simplistic cliché for a broad spectrum of emotions.
The holiday blues, says Dr. Vanessa Vale Saenz, vice president of behavioral health services for the DHR Health, are very common of course during the holiday season beginning around Thanksgiving and continuing through the New Year.
“Most people, when they think of the holidays, they think of happiness, they think of family and shopping,” Saenz said. “Many people take that time to have a vacation or travel.”
However, she said, we often forget that for many people the holidays are a time to more fully experience the agony of lost loved ones, of a first Christmas after the ending of a relationship. Many endure the pain of a custody battle and the children spending the holidays with the other parent.
“Maybe someone lost someone to an illness … to an accident,” Saenz continued. “It was a sudden and unexpected loss, so these times tend to just be really difficult for people because there is a spotlight on everything difficult about not having your loved ones or not being in that relationship that makes things a lot harder for people.”
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley says that 14% of the American population suffers holiday blues that can trigger feelings of anxiety or depression.
“The holiday season can produce depression or cause sadness for various reasons,” said Dr. Alcides Amador, assistant professor of the UTRGV School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry.
“A person may be unable to make it home for the holidays or have a difficult financial situation,” he has said via the UTRGV website. “Even if someone faces challenging circumstances, it can be difficult to celebrate the holidays, which are often associated with happiness and joy, and could prompt holiday blues.”
A disruption of routine during the holidays can especially affect children, said Sylvia Gamboa, director of guidance and counseling for the Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District.
“Many times when kids are at home they get out of their routine, and that can really have an effect on them,” Gamboa said. “They may be sleeping more or less, and that can throw them off as well as just the stress of holidays. There are a lot of family gatherings and high expectations so that can also affect students as well if they may feel overwhelmed.”
Gamboa said it’s important for parents to keep their children on a routine during the holidays.
“They should try to make sure that our kids are not in their rooms just sleeping,” she said. “It’s also important for parents to communicate with kids and give them a safe space where they feel like they can talk safely with their kids.”
Gamboa also urged parents to limit their children’s time in front of screens as too much screen time can lead to anxiety. Children, and actually people in general, need to have in-person interaction with others.
Saenz emphasized the same point.
“Social media is a great time to see family members, your friends who may live far, catch up on what everyone’s doing, but it’s also a trigger,” Saenz said. “It can be a hard time coping if you don’t have your loved ones, or maybe it’s your first holiday without your children, and then you’re looking at all these beautiful family pictures, that can be hurtful also. So just be conscious about the way they are feeling and reacting to seeing things on social media and limiting that if you can.”
Amador provided these four suggestions for beating the blues: stick to regular routines, getting exercise, setting a holiday budget, and sticking to what is possible instead of stressing out over unreachable goals.
If you’re struggling with depression, you can call the crisis hotline for Tropical Texas Behavioral Health at (877) 289-7199.
