it's only human
Holiday blues
BY CYNTHIA LEE
UCLA Today Staff
As the holidays get closer and the pace of life grows more frenetic,
the fa-la-la-ing starts sounding a lot less jolly to many who are
feeling overwhelmed. Instead, it’s: ’Tis the season
to be melancholy.
Suffering a bout of the holiday blues is a natural, human occurrence
because stress, whether it is good or bad, has the same effect on
the body and mind, said Mark Frye, associate professor of psychiatry
and director of the UCLA Bipolar Research Program at the Neuropsychiatric
Institute (NPI). While many aspects of the holidays are positive
and enjoyable, there’s a down- side when, for example, we
feel more deeply the loss of loved ones.
“I suspect that our frenetic pace of life and the degree
of isolation that we feel these days probably make these emotional
experiences heightened,” Frye said.
The psychiatrist gave employees attending a Dec. 1 lunchtime presentation
sponsored by the UCLA Staff and Faculty Counseling Center some ways
to discern the difference between the holiday blues and clinical
depression, as well as some tips on minimizing their stress levels.
Before reaching for Prozac or seeking treatment for depression,
he counseled, ask yourself whether your functionality as a spouse,
parent, sibling or employee is impaired by these feelings. Are the
holidays triggering suicidal thoughts? Finally, do you suffer an
inability to derive pleasure from pleasurable things? These are
some symptoms of serious depression.
But if what you’re feeling is the holiday blues, here are
some suggestions from Frye and experts in NPI’s Division of
Adult Psychiatry:
- Have reasonable expectations of what you are capable of doing.
Don’t over commit and don’t let others demand too
much of you. “Stenciling your own wrapping paper that your
sons are going to destroy in seconds seems unreasonable to me,”
said Frye. But if this is your plan, allow yourself adequate time
to do it, realizing that other things may not get done or done
well.
- Don’t let the holidays disrupt your structured routine.
While some people feel compelled to eat and drink with abandon,
breaking their regimen of exercise and healthy eating, Frye emphasized
that structure is a very important part of our lives and gives
us a sense of organization, purpose and completion. Don’t
overindulge in alcohol.
- If you are alone, volunteer and connect with others in your
community. Help serve meals to the needy or wrap presents for
toy drives. Instead of letting her single friends inundate her
with woes about feeling alone, Frye advised one single woman to
organize a constructive outing for her friends — take a
hike in the mountains, he said.
- To an employee who said she is surrounded this holiday by close
friends who have recently suffered a loss or illness, Frye advised
that she must first be good to herself before she can start to
help others.
The Staff and Faculty Counseling Center in the Wilshire Center
is organizing a support group to help employees cope with the holiday
blues. Call (310) 794-0245 for details. For more information about
clinical and research programs in depression at NPI, call (310)
825-3351. |
