subject: Are Stress And Depression Ruining Your Holidays? [print this page] Stress and depression can creep in during the holiday season. In fact, many people fall prey to the holiday blues. People tend to become more sentimental because they attach so much meaning to the holidays. When memories rush in, they feel stressed out and depressed.
Do not let stress and depression put you down this holiday season. More often than not, stress and depression is an internal battle. You have to strengthen your resolve to be happy this Christmas. Depression can easily overcome you if you let it.
Be surrounded with happy people. Happiness is contagious. If you are surrounded with people who exude only happiness, you should be able to contact their happy bug.
Reflect on the past few months of your life. Have you achieved your goals? Do you remember the things that made you happy? Try to go back to the days where you felt happiest. What triggered the happiness? Summon that feeling once again. You might want to be reminded of your goals to kick the gloom away. More often than not, people feel lost and tired when they lose track of their dreams. But when they are reminded of what they are supposed to do, they are renewed.
Remind yourself that the holiday season is the time to relax. This gives you the license to sleep anytime you want. Take a break from work and spend time pampering yourself. Get a massage or have a haircut. Redesign your home and get a nice painting or tabletop fountains for added ambience. Do anything that might reinvent you as a person and make you feel like there is hope. The holiday season is all about hope anyway.
Do not shun other people away. A good support group is what you need to avoid stress and depression from taking over you this holiday season. Organize a small intimate party with your friends or loved ones and spend time mingling with them. Share stories and perspectives.
Make other people happy. Nothing can beat stress and depression quite like making other people happy. This holiday season, make it a mission to make another person feel happy. Cook for a lonely neighbor, give out some home dcor tips, or accompany an aggravated friend in her shopping escapade. Knowing that you made a person's load lighter actually makes you feel better inside.
Another trick to beating stress and depression is to get rid of the old clutter in your home. They tend to be reminders of the emotional baggage you are carrying. Getting rid of them can be symbolic. They could mean that you are letting go of stressful and meaningless things.
