Christmas can impact mental health

Unless you are a hermit and never go out, you have already seen the Christmas decorations festooning the stores and malls around our city.

If you need another reminder that the “Festive Season” is upon us, waking up to snow on the lower slopes of the hills around Penticton this weekend would be it!

Unfortunately, for so many, this time of celebration actually brings upon feelings of dread.

Christmas is an emotionally loaded time for many people. For those who have lost loved ones, it can be a very poignant and lonely time.

The first Christmas without a loved one is especially hard. If you know anyone who is in this situation, reach out to them and let them know you are thinking about them. If you are going through this, try not to isolate yourself.

For divorced families, dividing time between different homes is hard, and children can feel very torn between their parents — even as adults.

It is important for the adults to raise their game and put aside their differences. Please do not use your children as pawns for emotional blackmail and striking out at your ex. That is a game where everyone loses.

Christmas is also a time when so many people feel trapped into spending hours around a table with people that they do not like and haven’t seen all year due to family problems.

For those who have difficult family dynamics (and who doesn’t?) it can be awkward fielding questions about who they will be spending the holiday with.

Not everyone has “perfect” high achieving children! Be careful how you ask people about the holidays — think of those who have the tragedy of children who are addicted to drugs for example. They are often upset and feeling shame and embarrassment and don’t know how to share about this.

There is a commonly held belief that Christmas is the peak time for suicides.

This is actually not true, but what does peak is the incidence of depression and worsening depression from November through December. This goes back to the normal level by late January.

If you are suffering from depression, blue moods, or sad thoughts that are becoming overwhelming, please contact your family doctor or mental health worker for help.

If you are not a natural extrovert, attending a lot of functions at Christmas time can be tiring and stressful too.

Decide in advance which you really want to attend and politely make your apologies to the others. Most people understand that it is not possible to be at every party.

Keeping a routine as much as possible is helpful too. Keep your sleep routine as close to normal as you can .

Make sure you take any prescription medications regularly through the season.

Check your bottles to see if you have enough pills to get you through to January as your doctor is likely to be harder to get into than usual, due to all the holidays. Take your vitamin D!

Next week — More Christmas Stress Tips

Dr Wendy Ross is the Lead Physician at the Penticton Cancer Clinic and The Herald’s new weekly health columnist.