12.10.04
Holiday Blues

The holiday season can be a sad and lonely time for some people. But a few coping strategies can help.

Some people experience the “holiday blues” during this time of year. This feeling of being “let down” is fairly common says Dr. Karen Broquet, associate professor of internal medicine at SIU School of Medicine. Dr. Broquet says the blue feeling is usually caused by unfulfilled expectations.

SOUND BITE: “There is this mindset or expectation that everything should be perfect during the holiday. We should have this lovely decorated home, family all together, gifts piled a mile high in the room. And for a lot of folks, that doesn’t really mirror what is going on in their daily life.”

Dr. Broquet says people who are feeling a bit sad can do some things to overcome those feelings. It can be helpful to be aware that feeling blue at this time of year is rather common. She advises people to turn off the television to avoid messages about having a perfect Christmas as well as all the things to buy for a spouse or children. She also advises focusing on the things people do have in their lives rather than focusing only on what they don’t have.

SOUND BITE: “ . . . reaching out and helping others is an amazingly helpful way of counter balancing this. Other very important things are to be moderate in the amount of food and alcohol people take. It is very, very easy and tempting to overindulge on both rich fatty foods and alcohol over the holidays and that really just sort of compounds feeling sluggish, feeling snappy and irritable . . . ”

For most people, the “blue” feeling will go away after the Holidays are over. If it does not subside within a few weeks, Dr. Broquet recommends seeing your family doctor for an evaluation.